Take your Guest Blogging to the Next Level

November 29, 2011 - Last Modified: April 1, 2014 by Brian

I’ve been blogging online now for over three years and I’ve managed to create one technique that has proven to drive traffic and build real relationships. To accomplish this task you have to be determined and ready to engage with other bloggers.

This method is commonly used and you have definitely heard of it before. What you may not have heard is how to make this method work to your advantage to drive real traffic and build real long term relationships.

The best method for driving online traffic is Guest Blogging…

Guest blogging requires a lot more work than blog commenting or other traffic generation methods but quickly builds stronger relationships. You know all the details about guest blogging and I’m not going to be mentioning them again but I will mention how to take full advantage of your guest blogging efforts.

#1 You must reply to everyone leaving comments on your guest article.

This is the first step to building your new relationship. If you don’t go and reply to the bloggers leaving comments on your guest article you might as well never guest blog in the first place.

You may have noticed I said it was the first step. Amazing right because this first step is huge and can take a lot of time to accomplish, how can there possibly be a second step to this method?

#2 Follow their CommentLuv and engage on their blog now.

This is your next step when it comes to making the most out of your guest blogging article. I know you may not have a lot in common and sometimes you won’t be able to comment but for the majority of comments you will have some common ground and interest.

Example:

My latest article on Basic Blog Tips is named, The Emotional Roller Coaster of Blogging “Keep Your Head Up”.

The reason I wanted to share this with you is to demonstrate what I’m talking about.

You will notice I’ve taken the time to thank everyone for the comments and have replied to them with a nice comment. As mentioned above this is the first step of two in order to build on these new relationships. At this point the relationship is very important to me as I need to meet more people online and build my own blog traffic.

Now I want you to look at the people leaving comments. Take a close look at their comment Luv and follow a few of them. You will see I am there again engaging on their blog thanking them for the comment and leaving one of my own on their latest article.

This second step brings my new relationship to the next level. Now this won’t always work but the majority of bloggers will appreciate this and they will take the time to get to know you better. They will visit your blog and perhaps if you’re lucky leave a comment.

So when you go out there into the wild and start doing guest posting make sure you’re getting the most from your efforts. Don’t just write the article and leave it behind you. Take the time to engage with the readers, visit their blog, follow them on twitter and bring your relationship building to the next level.

Feedback and Discussions

Do you engage with the people leaving comments on your guest articles?
Do you go as far to even visit their blog and return the comment?
Do you add them on twitter and tweet their latest blog articles?

I know my method requires a lot of work but I promise when it’s done right you will see a substantial difference for your ROI.

About Brian

Follow @bbrian017

Hi There my name is Brian, I'm the owner of social network for bloggers named Blog Engage. I also own a personal blog about SEO and Marketing check it out if you wish.

{ 37 Responses }

Rob Mitchell says:

Thanks for your insights. I'm fairly new to blogging and it has taken a log time just to try and increase my traffic. I don't know how to find my competitors so that I could ask someone to guest blog. I get very few comments. I am lucky to get one comment every two months. I have't made any money on my investment. It takes a lot of time and I am not seeing any returns. I would appreciate any helpful tips that you could help a struggling blogger? It's so frustrating. Thanks.
Azmain says:

Hey Brian Thank you so much for this post! I've recently started my blog and I've been hearing a lot about how much guest blogging would help my blog's visibility, but I literally had no idea where to start! I have no problem with writing, its just that I don't know how to get my foot in the door. Your post really helped point me in the right direction. Thank you so much! Az
The Londoneer says:

I think it's also worth adding that you shouldn't accept every invitation to guest blog, and I'd like to recount a recent experience which might give you pause. I've completed a few assignments on various travel blogs recently and was approached last week by a commercial organisation (they're a large travel company) suggesting that I write an article for their blog. Now because they are so large I was flattered, and immediately said yes. Since then I've submitted a draft which they've rejected, requesting a big rewrite (which will extend the length of the article considerably, and take up a lot more of my time). I've looked at other guest posts and realised that these are all apparently written by the same person i.e. it doesn't look like guest bloggers are being credited appropriately. It's also worth noting that these guys are in the business of selling holidays - surely they can afford to pay for articles?? I'm beginning to think that I should decline to rewrite the article and leave it at that...
Nick Montana says:

Good advice. I take in a lot of guest post across a number of different blogs and seldom does the writer participate in the discussion nor promote the page on social networks. If they would tweet, like, plus, digg, it would be a good help.
Kimberly Gauthier says:

I am completely blown away by the first step, but I have to say that I agree with you. Whenever I comment on a guest post, I don't expect to get a response, but I remember the bloggers that do take the time to respond and/or visit my site.
Gary Miller says:

Brian, this is a really good article on Guest Blogging. I've never really thought about the benefits of doing it but I'm beginning to catch on. I especially like the concept on leaving a comment on other peoples blog that leave one on mine. This is a great tip, thanks so much.
Shawn says:

Excellent Article. I am a new blogger myself and I am currently working on building relationships with my readers and other bloggers. Trying to get back links and so on. You need not get discouraged if you don't see a lot of traffic right away. Keep writing quality content and working on your relationships and the traffic will come. If anyone reading this check's out my blog and writes about similar topics I would love to hear from you. Maybe we can give each other some link luv along with comment luv. I just started blogging about a week ago but I am loving it. Thanks for the good read and keep it up.
babuska says:

Hi Raj, this is my opinion, but I don’t think Google will ever discount guest blogging.
Brad says:

For me com luv has helped the most.
Danielle McGaw says:

Great post Brian. I managed to get out about 10 guest blog posts this year but I wasn't really focused on a plan. This coming year I am planning to get more focused on guest posting, finding blogs that can be helpful, and engaging the readers even more!
Mandy Kilinskis says:

What an excellent post, Brian! I always make sure to respond to the comments on my guest post. It's the same as your own blog - you don't want to leave your commenters hanging! Subscribe to the comments, and if you can't, just keep a running list of the links to the posts. I will visit the guest posts multiple times per day within the first three days of publication, then once a day for the rest of the week. Then I check it about twice per week for the next three weeks. I've created some excellent blogging relationships because of people who have commented on my guest posts. I'm glad that someone actually wrote a blog about it!
DiTesco says:

Hi Brian. I can't agree with you more. Guest blogging is indeed a very effective way to just about anything. From building relationships to getting exposure, from traffic to branding, etc.. I can think of many other advantages it brings. Now you have hit the "sweet spot" on guest blogging ethics.. If there is anything I hate more about guest bloggers is when they "set and forget". They don't reply to comments, they don't help promote their own articles (which is mind boggling), and rarely engage with people talking the time to discuss their view on the articles. I really have to find a way to "diplomatically" penalize guest bloggers who says that "they will" but actually "never did". Any thoughts?
- bbrian017 says:
  
  Hey DiTesco, just for the record I do have good intentions on guest blogging for your blog as well. I just know your audience would be great for the content I write. With regards to creating a rule or some way to ensure bloggers engage with the readers I really don’t know. The sad truth is you have no way to even knowing if they will reply or not when publishing the content. I think from your perspective, if a guest blogger doesn’t engage with your readers and it happens on a regular basis I would 100% not allow then to post anymore. But again what if their content is amazing and you don’t’ want to miss out on it? I’ve even seen you do this in the past but the last option is to engage for them. Watch your guest posts for comments and if anyone engages with them reply yourself and I know you have done this on a few occasions with comments I’ve left on your guest authors posts. At least this way it shows you care and to me that's the most important factor of them all. Also for the record your not the only one in this situation, I think it's becoming a huge issues with guest blogging.
Mike DeWolfe says:

I have always been open to helping and offering advice-- I do lots of that on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. I'm a published writer who's been blogging for years. I get compliments on my writing and subject matter. You'd think I could find some guest blogging gigs or at least some people willing to guest post on my blogs, but no dice. I know that as a consequence my inbound links are pretty poor. All that said, I will sign up for Famous Bloggers and give it a try.
- bbrian017 says:
  
  Hey Mike, Sometimes it's not about what you have to offer but what the guest blog is willing to accept. If you can blog within the niche of that blog I don't see any issue but if your simply blogging to get some backlinks then yeah most people will not allow it. With that said if you have good quality content and engage with the audience then I don't know what the issue is.
  - dewolfe001 says:
    
    Hi Brian, I'll be honest: I do want backlinks. But I usually write to put my voice to a topic I am interested in. I'm happy to both only aim at niches that I have familiarity with where they are open to guest posts and I am happy to produce as polished material as possible for their blog (eg. http://lifeasahuman.com/2011/mind-spirit/life-coaching/build-a-goals-engine/). My thing is that I haven't found many who have said, "hey can you do a guest blog about X?" I've been working on a series on my company site and the series is in a bit of a blind alley because there are specialist opinions that would really drive the thread. I've been trying to get niche experts to contribute, but I haven't had any takers. - Mike
Shalani says:

I like it because it gives me my own voice and I've gotten to "meet" some really neat people. I do follow some other blogs and enjoy reading what they post. It's amazing how creative and funny some people are. I'm trying to transition my blogging into an income which would hopefully allow me to stop working for others and focus on writing full time. We'll see what happens!
Dean Saliba says:

I have accepted 80 guest posts on my blog so far and not one of the guest posters has come back to answer any off the comments, leaving me to try and reply to them myself. I even email guest posters about a week after the post goes live but I don't hear from them again.
- bbrian017 says:
  
  Hi Dean, I'm really sorry to hear the bad luck you have had with guest bloggers. I don't do a guest blog unless I have the time and ability to engage with the readers. If you’re having continued issues like that I would suggest trying to confront it before your guest bloggers get used to this attitude.
Michael says:

Hi Brian - I have just started guest blogging and I am having great success from it. @Raj - My experience has been that links from guest blogging and commenting are indexed faster and appear in my link profile more often than any other method of backlinking I have attempted. I believe this has a lot to do with the Google Fresh update.
- bbrian017 says:
  
  Hi Michael, that's great how you have been enjoying guest blogging and having success with it. When i guest blog I don't look for links as you can tell I have no links in the articles. I guest blog to share my thoughts and generate new readers to my own content.
- Raj says:
  
  @Michael: Currently yes, I do agree that Guest posting has a positive impact both on the traffic and (perhaps) on the ranking. That's mostly because guest posting is pretty much limited, regulated and out of spammers/ marketeers hands. I am talking about the scenario in future, when like everything else, guest posting could also be used for sheer commercial / SEO purposes, if they are not being utilized so already.
Olan says:

Hi Brian.. nice post! I am a newbie blogger and these were really a good tips for me... I am really struggling right now but I hope my blog will be getting more traffic in the future...
Dave Lucas says:

Hey Brian! watching for comments on guest posts takes most of the morning for my friend Terry "Saki" Tumi. She tracks her articles with CommentLuv and Google Reader and others. Ick! For me, that would be time I don't have - maybe I could find an outsource on fiverr? LOL! Dave
- bbrian017 says:
  
  Hi Dave, I really don't suggest out sourcing comments unless that individual understand who you are, what's important to you and takes the most respect and professionalism when commenting on your be half. I've seen people offering services like this but I highly don't recommend it. You know what they say, if you want something done right, do it yourself.
Bishwajeet says:

I have seen the level you engagement you are having at Blogengage and it really great :)
- bbrian017 says:
  
  Hi Comptalks, yes I work very hard on building the level of engagement on blog engage. I think it's very important for us bloggers to stick together and help one another gain traffic and new readers. This is a great time to be a blogger with all the growth and developments it's now become a lot easier and more interactive than ever.
Jym says:

Excellent, love the tips here Brian. I'm new(ish) to guest blogging but it certainly seems even more important to follow up the connections and comments that are made. While your post is fresh there's a window of opportunity to capitalize on the discussions and conversations arising from it... Why waste it by not jumping in there with both feet? Didn't know you'd been at BBT recently, I'll have to pop over and check your post out. Cheers, Jym
- bbrian017 says:
  
  Hi Jym, Yeah I have two articles over at BBT and I'm loving the vibe and feeling that Ileane has created over there. My article was so engaged it was a superb experience that allowed me to even come up with a cool article here regarding it and my activities. I plan on guest blogging again but I have to take it slow so I can engage with each article like I am today to the fullest. It’s very important that my guest article have good interaction where we all learn something new.
Neeraj Sachdeva says:

Brain, I have never really given much thought to going over and leaving my comment in a visitor's blog. However, now I will. As you have shown in your example, this is a golden nugget, and essential to build relationships! Takes more work, but most definitely worth it in the long run! Thanks for this revelation!
- bbrian017 says:
  
  Neeraj, if you can it’s a great way to engage with new bloggers. The important thing to remember when doing this is to make sure you have a real genuine interest in their comment luv. Don't just follow everyone because they comment. Try and see if you have a real interest and if so engage with that blogger. Your right when you say it’s a lot of work and in fact it’s almost two times the amount of work but when done right it can be very beneficial for new blogger trying to build new readers.
Raj says:

Nice article, illustrated with examples Brain. I have one question to you - Is there a possibility that Search Engines might discount (not consider) the links from Guest blogging efforts anytime in the future?
- Neeraj Sachdeva says:
  
  Hi Raj, this is my opinion, but I don't think Google will ever discount guest blogging. You are adding unique content and improve interaction. I don't think that can ever be discounted! The same goes for the links within these posts! (How will Google go about distinguishing guest posts with link to my blog and your own posts with links to my blog?). Sorry Brian, the stage is yours again!
  - Raj says:
    
    @Neeraj: Its possible. A link, is supposed to be a vote for certain site/ article based on the context / usefulness of the content. If a link appears within a post (on a keyword, for example), its supposed to expand and give more clarity on that keyword. That's the purpose of linking. But with Guest posts, there are two issues. Links are artificial (they appear out of context), though the content itself is original & people do guest posting just to get links (at least some of them do). Its very easy for Search Engines to identify guest post links as they are clearly mentioned as such in every guest post. Forget being mentioned, even if they are not mentioned, they can still be identified. How do you think Search Engines identified paid links?
    - Neeraj Sachdeva says:
      
      @Raj, you know, I didn't think of that. You are quite right. Now I am worried. That would make guest posting restrictive to similar sites or in context-links!
- bbrian017 says:
  
  Personally this will not affect me and in all honestly it's very hard to tell something like that. I think the true point of guest blogging is to build that new relationship with people you may have never known before. When it starts being all about the links then it's a completely different game. I really don't link to anything in a guest post, to me it's all about winning over the audience.
  - Raj says:
    
    +2 :)

Take your Guest Blogging to the Next Level

#1 You must reply to everyone leaving comments on your guest article.

#2 Follow their CommentLuv and engage on their blog now.

Feedback and Discussions

About Brian

Our Newsletter

You have Successfully Subscribed!

#1 You must reply to everyone leaving comments on your guest article.

#2 Follow their CommentLuv and engage on their blog now.

Feedback and Discussions

About Brian

Reader Interactions

Related Posts

{ 37 Responses }

Our Newsletter