Despite what some bloggers might tell you, guest posting is not dead. I’m living proof of that fact. Guest posting (or guest blogging as most people call it) is merely in the midst of an identity crisis, one that has plagued the practice ever since the Google Panda and Penguin updates. It was wise of Google to prevent the spammier blogs from getting top priority on search page results just because they play a clever SEO game, but their update also cast an unflattering light on some bloggers that didn’t deserve it.

Guest bloggers were among those branded with more suspicion, especially after Panda. Webmasters were more cautious about whose content they hosted on their sites (for good reason), but some decided to do away with guest blogging altogether just to play it safe. I can’t help but feel that those webmasters shut out a ton of opportunity and quality content when they turned their back on guest bloggers. I still think that guest posting works fantastically as a vehicle for marketing great content; it’s why I’m writing right now.

Still don’t believe me? Consider these points before you make a decision on guest bloggers.

A Way to Meet Influential Bloggers

One of the most common refrains you’ll hear about guest blogging is that it makes for a convenient networking tool. Guest posting can be a great networking tool, especially for newbie bloggers looking to gain some wisdom from industry veterans. I’ve formed a healthy rapport with many webmasters who appreciated my work.

Most webmasters will thank you for your work and leave the door open for future posts, but few will take the initiative to talk shop about their site or the niche they write for. It’s your job to take the initiative. If you think that you could benefit from picking the brain of a more experienced webmaster, by all means try shooting a few questions their way. If they liked the guest post you wrote for them, chances are that they’ll be willing to exchange a few emails. The worst that could happen is that they don’t respond to your questions and you move onto another blog.

An Easy Way to Revitalize and Expand Content

Another advantage of guest blogging is the way in which it benefits the blogger and the webmaster. Webmasters looking for guest posts want to spice up their content, and guest bloggers love having an opportunity to share their voice with a new audience. But this is an obvious advantage of guest blogging: it’s a way for newer writers to market themselves to a readership, and it gives webmasters one less post to worry about writing.

The less discussed benefit to this dynamic is that it gives both parties the chance to experiment with content outside of their normal purview. A webmaster running a news blog about college-related events and stories might contact the services of a student blogger to write a few guest posts about college living from a first person perspective. Or, say a tech blogger decides to step outside their comfort zone and write a guest post on online entrepreneurship for a small business blog. Either of these scenarios showcases the guest post’s ability to diversify and expand on a blog’s content. You can do the same if you’re willing to take a risk and write content outside of your niche.

Content marketing for B2B is challenging, but guest posting can help. Guest blogging takes confidence and considerable writing skill, but that doesn’t mean that most bloggers can’t use it their advantage. I’ll say it now, and I’ll keep saying it to any blogger willing to listen: long live the guest post!

This Content Launch post was written by Samantha Gray, an expert in online education and a freelance writer. Pursuing an online bachelor’s degree is often fraught with myths and misconceptions. Samantha shows her readers the way. She wants to hear your feedback and ideas, too, at samanthagray024@gmail.com.

 

 

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