Guest Blogging is About More than Links

Although it’s not a new concept, over the past eighteen months, the impact of guest blogging has significantly increased. While it used to be notable when a blogger published a guest post, there are now a substantial number of blogs that are run almost exclusively through the publication of guest posts. It’s not hard to see why many bloggers have made guest posts a core part of their publishing strategy. Instead of spending hours coming up with an idea, outlining it, researching, writing a post and then editing it, a blogger can simply publish a post that’s been written by someone else. When a guest post is good, it’s beneficial for both the blogger and the author who wrote it.

On the other hand, you may assume that when a post is bad, it’s not helpful to either party. In reality, this isn’t actually true. Since the blogger still didn’t have to spend time writing it, they may be just as happy. And for many guest authors, their only concern is getting a backlink. Unfortunately, this is a very shortsighted approach to take. Even though the backlinks created by guest posts can be beneficial, that’s far from being the only reason writers should take the time to create them.

If you’re serious about blogging, you’ve probably realized that throwing together a blog and slapping AdSense on it isn’t going to help you earn any substantial amount of money. While this may have worked for a select group of bloggers in the past, blogging is out of its infancy and has become mainstream. As a result, blogging itself is no longer the end game. Instead, it’s a channel for you to build an audience. Whether you have a service to offer or a product to sell, you can use blogging to attract people who want to know more about you and your business.

Because the real key to blogging is about more than rankings and traffic, simply churning out guest posts is missing the real benefits of this practice. By putting time and effort into the guest posts you write, you will be able to:

Attract New Readers
This may seem obvious, but many people overlook the fact that guest posts are the ideal way to attract new readers who may have otherwise never heard of someone and whatever they have to offer. But in order for this to happen, readers have to make it through a post and to the byline. If a post is nothing more than fluff that was written for the sake of racking up a backlink, readers aren’t going to take time to learn more about the author.

Build Credibility for Yourself and/or Your Business
The impact of this benefit may seem vague. However, if you put real effort into the guest posts you write, you will be able to experience it for yourself. Although there’s no set timeline for being viewed as an authority, when people regularly read thoughtful posts you’ve written on different blogs, they’re going to realize that you’re someone who knows what you’re talking about.
What are your feelings about guest blogging?