A guest post is a written comment or review posted on a particular blog, usually on the blog owner's discretion. A guest post helps increase visibility of the blog and increase traffic through links back to the author's website. Guest posts are often made as a way for one blog owner to promote another blog on their blog.
There are several ways to apply for guest posting opportunities. One way is to send an email to the blog owner asking them if they would be interested in accepting a guest post. Another way is to visit the editorial board of other established blogs and applying via an editor. You can also search for guest post opportunities via Google or Yahoo answers.
Guest blogging is good for blogs that are not very popular or are experiencing high levels of traffic. It is also good for blogs that need content rewritten in certain areas to meet niche requirements. For example, if you run a pet store and have a few pages of very specific information on a number of breeds, it would be a very smart move to hire a freelance writer to write guest posts on pet care. Pet blogs should focus on breeds rather than individual dogs. However, pet lovers who want to write guest posts on a wide variety of topics may find the earning potential to be very lucrative.
When applying for either way, it is important to be thorough and provide only the most relevant information. The application should also include a short bio and link to your personal website. Guest blogging gives you the chance to put your name behind the blog and show some expertise on a specific topic while getting first name recognition from your potential employers.
The best way to get noticed when seeking a guest post at either Blogger or Twitter is to do something a little different than the masses are used to. Most guest blogging opportunities center on a blog comment or two. These comments are often downvoted in both sites, which makes them seem non-relevant. It is up to the blogger to make their guest post worthy of being posted as a guest. One way to do this is to offer a new perspective on a niche topic or create an original piece of creative content.
Another reason guest blogging makes sense for first name recognition is that each individual post can link back to another person's blog. As more people see that a blogger is respected, they are more likely to follow that person and check out their other work. If that other person uses a post as a guest post on their site, others who check out that post are given the opportunity to see other interesting posts written by that person.
There is no better way to gain the trust of a niche market than to offer them something unique. Some authors choose to focus on one particular niche, while others choose to write about many different niches. It is important to realize that niche blogs usually enjoy higher search engine rankings. That's why it is important to choose a topic that will have interest in search engines. Some common niches are health/fitness, relationships/love, and money/finances.
The benefit of guest posting on blogs other than your own is that you gain the exposure that you would not otherwise get. It takes the hard work out of trying to gain the readership of a specific niche blog. If a blogger can find a niche that they feel strongly about and offer to write content on it, others will want to follow that blogger to their other blogs to read what he has written. Other bloggers who are not as successful in that niche may then take over those guest posts on other blogs to spread his or her name further.