The most powerful thing bloggers can ever do to raise their visibility and traffic is to become a regular contributor on related blogs.
Writing a guest post targeting a specific keyword phrase in the anchor text that links to a post or page targeting the same phrase on your own blog can get you to page one in the search engines.
I encourage bloggers to put together their own collaborations and provide free mentoring to blogging collaborations on request. One of the strategies we use is to put together groups of five bloggers who agree to become regular contributors.
You write one guest post a week to be published on one of the other blogs and you agree to publish one guest post a week from one of the others on your own blog. Here is a schedule you can use that has each blogger publishing the same day on each other blog.
By using this schedule you and your readers will know which day they can read you on each blog (and you will want to publish a short post on your own blog letting your readers know what you’ve written about and linking to your guest post. Don’t forget to use anchor text!
| Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | |
| Blog 1 | Writer 5 | Writer 4 | Writer 3 | Writer 2 | Guest 1 |
| Blog 2 | Writer 1 | Writer 5 | Writer 4 | Writer 3 | Guest 2 |
| Blog 3 | Writer 2 | Writer 1 | Writer 5 | Writer 4 | Guest 3 |
| Blog 4 | Writer 3 | Writer 2 | Writer 1 | Writer 5 | Guest 4 |
| Blog 5 | Writer 4 | Writer 3 | Writer 2 | Writer 1 | Guest 5 |
In months that have a fifth week you can feature five additional guest bloggers. When you have five who want to be regular contributors you may want to do a second collaboration group.
Guest Blogging Resources:
Gail Gardner
Great post.Guest blogging is really a good strategy to get free content, traffic and exposure.It will create back link to your site as well will attract new visitors, if the guest posting site has good number of followers.
Thanks!!
Maybe even a group for that matter, although we have to take into consideration as well is our ability to come through on deadlines. Because we can ruin our reputation by promising articles for different people and not making the timeline because of the amount of work overwhelming us.
Very nice . Definitely guest posting is helpful apart from getting back links its also give brand recognition.
Great idea! The power of guest blogging is really something that all bloggers should seriously consider.
Excellent article. I’ve also noticed that guest writing or guest blogging practiced by bloggers is a fantastic technique. By guest blogging the blogger gets traffic and the blogger don’t even have to pay to advertise his blog through the article. Wish we could implement this technique in other profession and businesses as well.
I would like to join a blogging network group, does anyone k now of any?
Hi Davida,
I’m not sure what type of group you’re seeking. Read the post I just published and if that isn’t what you mean explain further. I’ll put it in CommentLuv in this reply.
I’m not sure if you mean collaborations or maybe something like Blog Engage or BizSugar.
growmap would love you to read ..Blogging Collaborations and Best Practices
Excellent article, Will make use of it in my blog,thanks for sharing…
I like looking forward to Growmap blogging as a site because of the professional information that is reliable for a beginner blogger like myself. The 5 collaboration blogging and schedule makes practical sense and can be just as instrumental. Thanks. I’ll continue research and work on my skills to prepare for the invitation.
I think that this idea is going to take off for the blog community. I know I will incorporate this great idea into my own blog.
Great idea and schedule. We have recently been approached by more bloggers asking to guest post with a keyword hyperlink. We are encouraged because only a year ago it was harder to guest post! At least from our niche. I like where this is all going.
Hi Austex,
I have been raising awareness on the importance of bloggers working with local businesses for almost two years now or maybe longer. The idea is no longer just a flicker…it is now a movement. Search for the hashtags #ShopLocal and #EatLocal on Twitter and check out the Washington D.C. Influencers site and you’ll see what I mean.
growmap would love you to read ..Social Media: Why You MUST Specialize
Wow thanks, for this good help to keep track of writers and blogs. Right now I have a horrible spreadsheet in excel. And i drive me crazy to keep track of everything.
I think i will implementate this today.
– Daniel Pedersen
your idea is splendor, its really a best schedule for guest bloggers. nice and keep on sharing and writing more posts.
Hello Gail
with this post you give me the idea how guest post work. having a schedule like that make great organized blogger.
Thanks
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I now have an idea how guest blogging can increase rank. I would remember to place an anchor text. Honestly, I have yet to understand blogging collaboration, I am aware about its benefits but yet to learn more about searching for the right partner.
Hi Eli,
Think of it like multiplying instead of adding. As an individual you can only grow by what you are doing; when collaborating you immediately get the benefit of each blog’s reach.
growmap would love you to read ..Happy Birthday GrowMap 3 Years Old Today
P.S. I have to wonder if it has occurred to you or any man interested in the subject of your blog that this whole idea of targeting women like they’re some kind of prey is just creepy.
YES, I realize that men have been conditioned by society, the media and everything all around us to believe they SHOULD want to be Casanovas and women have been conditioned to believe they need a knight on a white horse to sweep them up and ride off into the sunset – but that does NOT mean we shouldn’t wake up and realize that conditioning for what it is and THROW IT OFF!
Your use of the word ‘exploit’ is exactly right. To do this kind of thing is EXPLOITIVE.
There is one thing every man needs to know. As long as he just wants to get laid – and any woman of a particular age or shape or blondness will do – he deserves for that to never happen.
As soon as you really care about a woman as an individual THEN you won’t need to learn how to pick her up because she could actually WANT to know you.
growmap would love you to read ..Happy Birthday GrowMap 3 Years Old Today
I’d like to see if someone has seen the article I placed in the website.
It was a guest blog for Linda Christas College, and evidently is causing quite a stir.
Stetson Riley would love you to read ..Street Gangs Oppose the Legalization of Drugs
Hello Stetson,
I just searched and do not see any guest post that includes the phrase Linda Christas College in it. Please clarify. If you have a guest post you would like me to publish let me know by replying here and telling me how I can best connect with you. You can also try the information on my contact tab to reach me.
growmap would love you to read ..Bloggers And Small Businesses Can Conquer Cyberspace With Collaboration
Interesting concept and great idea!
Hello Gail. Yes, I now have my blog on strict schedules. 09:00, 12:00 and 15:00 (if there’s a post) and it we’re really productive that day the last post would go up 17:00. I have a similar grid up in my office and I think it helps one be more organized.
This is a fantastic idea, especially for procrastinators like me! Having a schedule to follow definitely helps to stay organized and follow through with your guest posting efforts.
Satrap would love you to read ..4 Simple Tips on How to Make Money Blogging
I love finding new ways to organize my internet business activities. My biggest trouble is probably finding good guest blog spots right now.
A very useful system for those looking into organizing their guest blogging. All I have to do now is find 4 bloggers that I like and are willing to join the system.
Cheers !
Myke would love you to read ..Playstation Vita (PSVita) Release Date
Hi Myke,
I’ll be doing a post on how to find other blogs in your niche or geographic location next week that can help you with that.
Gail,
Thanks. I was actually searching through the comments for some guidance here.
I’m working with local businesses to help them with their internet marketing efforts. The obvious place for me to guest post would be where those people are hanging out. The trouble is, I’m having problems finding them!
Joe would love you to read ..The Lazy Small Business Owner’s Way To Great Market Research
Scheduling tasks is a fair way to keep everyone organized. Plus, this will make sure that you cater guest blogs every month. Seems like you have many people writing for Growmap and with guest bloggers too. Congrats 🙂
This is a good idea. With these kind or approach we can at least make our regular reader aware of the next blog release. its very innovative and full of great content.
Cool post, guest blogging not only helps with SERP but it also helps you build your audience, credibility, and authority. And having a schedule just make it a lot easier for both you and your readers.
That just might be what the doctor ordered.!
Writing post and the schedule when it should be published, can be a big help to have new post every week. Because I might write 2 posts in one week, and none the following do to lack of time.
Hi Gail, I like having a schedule on a grid like this. It looks so organized that it makes it seem easier this way. Thanks for the tip. Btw – I submitted this to Blog Engage.
Chat soon my friend!
Ileane would love you to read ..Can You Give Away Too Much Content?
Hi Ileane,
Thanks as always. I wish I could remember who did the table coding for me so I could thank them. I had this saved until I had the time to elaborate on how to use it.
I’d love to see many groups of bloggers or blogs that have converted from being the voice of one person to having many regular contributors use the schedule for their benefit.
Thanks for submitting it to Blog Engage. I’ll have to go find that link.
The great thing is that guest blogging does not take anything away from the blog owner because its the next natural step towards a newspaper, where many authors contribute to the success of the newspaper, the same applies to a blog or a topic blog with many related blog posts.
It’s a great idea – how mmany times have you lost track of a favourite TV show becuase the network changes the channel or the times or days’s it’s on? As a blogger you don’t want to lose an audience that may be following your writing.
This is a great idea. Not only does it give you control, it gives your readers a sense of who will be posting next.
yes Anna i like the idea of having a schedule of the post in that way the reader easy for them to follow specially interesting topics.
Sam would love you to read ..play angry birds on pc
I like the idea about the schedule of the guest posts. I think it will help readers for sure to see and to look forward to the coming post. It will only increase the popularity of the blog.
Very interesting indeed. I still however don’t understand how the guest blog will raise my rank. Do I leave a link to my own blog with my post on someone else’s site?
Hi Craig,
Click on the guest post category here and look at the guest posts I’ve published. When I ask a blogger to write on a particular topic I introduce their post and why I feel it is important and I close their post with a recommendation for them.
YES they get links and not just links. YOU as the guest blogger can choose what anchor text and landing pages are important to you. See my post about building traffic for how to decide that.
While some major sites do NOT allow ANY links, even most traditional sites allow the author at least a couple of links, a short bio, and if they’re smart to mention their Twitter account.
You have to look at the big picture long term. Every guest post increases your visibility, directly provides incoming links and is likely to indirectly increase the number of incoming links because others read the post and decided to start linking to you.
It also brings you a larger audience and should increase traffic to your own site plus more subscribers.
thanks a lot Gail for clearing that one up. I’ve always thought, mistakenly, that guest blogging was rather a waste of time and article creativity…now i know better.