When you think of big vloggers, bloggers and even instagrammers, Zoe Sugg aka Zoella may come to mind, followed by her YouTuber boyfriend Alfie Dayes, or Youtuber brother Joe Sugg. Maybe then an image of their YouTuber friends the Saccone-Jolys will pop up or even beauty guru Tanya Burr with Husband Jim Chapman. You might even think of YouTuber Marcus Butler and his law student turned lifestyle blogger ex Niomi Smart. Those are only a few names of currently the most successful and influential vloggers and bloggers. The list goes on and the friendship cycle is never ending.

 

Their friendship along with their popularity was instigated by guest blogging and vlogging; by collaborating and appearing in each other’s videos or writing and publishing a post on someone else’s blog.

 

For the big blogger/ vlogger influencers out there, their collaborations now go beyond professional ones, they all have an established friendship and now embed collaborations naturally. They are constantly together, appearing in each other’s videos, going on group holidays, reaching out and appealing to a more widespread audience.

 

Guest posting is the single most important part to increasing popularity yet is an incredibly overlooked strategy; taking advantage of each other’s already established audience, and diverting them to their own channels. It makes sense as it’s one of the best ways to speak directly to an already formed and engaged audience which shares your enthusiasm and interests.

 

 

How Guest Blogging Works

You could be the host blogger or the guest blogger. Being the host blogger involves having other bloggers write and post content on your blog page. Whilst being the guest blogger means that you will be the one to write and publish a blog post on another blogger’s page. Both are beneficial and depend on what your goals are. By being the host blogger you are enhancing your blog with new content and exposing your audience to a new style, which hopefully they’ll appreciate. Being the guest exposes you to a new and unknown audience.

 

Guest blogging is a two way street, whether you’re the guest blogger, or someone else is posting on your blog,  the only way is up, literally, it can only increase your audience. Be sure to keep an open invitation to bloggers who want to write on your blog. Not only will this divert their audience to your blog, you will also have more diverse content which is normally appreciated by your audience.

 

 

The Benefits of Guest Blogging

The main benefit of guest blogging is grabbing the attention and reaching out to an already fully formed and established audience who show an interest in the niche you are an expert in. If you do it right you will be able to divert them to your blog increasing traffic, and potentially your following.

 

By associating yourself with the best bloggers in your niche,  you are quickly and effectively building your authority. If enthusiasts in the same niche a yours read the most popular blogs and your posts keep appearing in other blogs, they will start giving you the respect they already give to the top bloggers they follow. This works especially well if you’ve only recently become a blogger.

 

When you are a guest blogger, especially a good one you add value to the other blogger’s blog. In turn they’d grab any other opportunity to work closely with you. Forming the start of a blogger relationship. Having bloggers as friends is hugely beneficial,  you can receive free advice and grow your influence in the realm of social media, hopefully leading to subscribers.

 

The host blogger must under any circumstance, include a link to your blog, either at the beginning or end of the post. Being mentioned, and your blog tagged in other sites should raise the value of your blog. Improving your SEO and driving you up on google searches.

 

Writing as a guest in your niche forces you to keep up with the fast pace of current events. You want to make a good impression, so guest blogging forces you to take an extra step with your research.

 

To your own and fellow blogger’s audience, you are considered an authoritative figure. They are already engaged and want to hear what you have to say. Readers also enjoy new things, so as a guest blogger, you will have a sense of excitement and authority. It will be perceived as if the blogger they’ve been following and looking up to over the years has chosen you to guest blog and so you are the chosen one. You are liked by the blogger and so the audience will in turn like you too.

 

 

 

How to Approach the Guest Blogging Strategy

Firstly it’s important to determine your goals, decide whether you want to host or be the guest blogger, though you should be doing both. Your goals should be to position yourself as an authority figure in the industry, divert traffic back to your blog and even if you’re the host, help increase your associate’s blog traffic.

 

Next step is to find a blog to be a guest on. Typically finding opportunities to guest blog involves googling, identifying bloggers who speak directly with a similar audience to yours.

 

Rather than just a blogger who you’ve come across on google it’s best to approach a blogger you’ve already been following or reading for some time. You should already know some bloggers out there who blog about similar subjects as you. This way you could alter your pitch making it more personal. You will be able to write a little about the blogger, what you like and find fascinating about the way they blog. This will get you brownie points, but don’t make it too formal, consider the blogger to be your friend. You should aim to gain a friend blogger at the end of it so that there will be many more collaborations in the future to follow.