The Power of Guest Posting

By Melissa Batai

If you're a blogger, staying confined to your own blog is easy to do. However, if you want to expand your reach and get new readers, one of the best ways to do this is to guest post on other blogs, especially those within your niche.

Getting started is easier than you think and can reward you in multiple ways, even if you don't get paid for your post.

Benefits of Guest Posting

There can be many benefits to guest posting:

• More visitors to your blog. You'll likely see a surge of visitors to your blog on the day the guest post is published. You may want to consider putting up a welcome page for these visitors and highlighting some of your most popular posts.

• More loyal readers. If the topics on your blog interest the new visitors, you'll likely end up with new readers. This is most likely to happen if your blog has much in common with the blog that you guest posted on.

• Increased recognition. The readers will be exposed to your name and your blog's name. If you continue to guest post on other blogs in the same niche, those same readers may see your name again and again. Even if they don't become loyal readers after the first guest post, if they continue to see your name as a guest poster on their favorite blogs, they may eventually .

• Potential to increase your traffic even more. If your new visitors like your blog, there is a chance that they will tell their friends about your blog, resulting in even more visitors.

Responsibilities of Guest Posting

As a guest poster, you have several responsibilities.

• Of course, you should submit a guest post that is accurate and error free. It should require very little to no editing on the part of the blogger or her staff.

• You should also be available to respond to comments on the day that your guest post is published and the next few days.

• Finally, after your post is published, thank the blogger who gave you the opportunity to guest post. This may be the beginning of a working relationship, but even if it isn't, you still want the blogger to remember you positively.

Guest posting can be a great way to grow your blog and gain new visitors, and it's surprisingly easier than you may think.

Melissa is a freelance writer who is a homeschooling mom to three kids, ages 9, 4 and 3. She blogs at momsplans.com, where she writes about personal finance, family, homeschooling, and living with food intolerances.