When most people think of landing guest blog posts, they think of sending emails to bloggers or using other digital means to establish relationships. However, there’s one extremely powerful method of landing guest blog posts that a lot of people miss: networking.
How can you use the power of networking to help you land guest blog posts?
==> Go to Conferences and Events
Let’s say you’re in the tech space. You want to land high profile guest blogging opportunities. How do you make those connections?
Sure, you could email them about a guest blog opportunity. Yet chances are they get at least a dozen, perhaps even a hundred such emails every single day.
You could try to call them. Likewise, you’re probably going to get screened as they get so many requests.
The one way you can circumvent all of this is by meeting people face to face. Meeting them in person allows you to bypass all their safeguards and allows you to establish credibility and a real connection.
If you’re in the tech space, go to tech conferences. If you sell fishing gear, go to fishing expo centers and trade shows. If you run a health blog, go to raw food fairs and health expos.
==> Meet Other Writers
Sometimes you won’t be able to get to the people who run these blogs and websites. For example, Michael Arrington of TechCrunch, one of the most highly trafficked sites on the web, is simply inaccessible – even in person. He’s constantly surrounded by people who want his attention.
To land these kinds of high profile gigs, the best path is often to build a connection with people who’ve written for those sites before.
If you can meet other bloggers who’ve guest posted for those high profile sites and win over those bloggers, you might be able to get a recommendation or an endorsement. That could be all it takes to get your foot in the door.
==> One Post versus 100 Posts
Going to these networking events takes a lot of effort and resources. Often times you’ll have to buy a plane ticket and an event ticket, plus pay for a hotel for a few days. All of this costs time and money.
Wouldn’t it be easier to just sit in your bedroom and land smaller guest posting gigs?
Yes – it would. But that brings up the question of whether it’s better to land just one big guest blog posting opportunity or 100 small ones.
The reality is, getting one major guest blog posting opportunity on an extremely high trafficked site can have more of an impact than doing a hundred or more smaller ones.
Yes, going out of your way to network with strong influencers takes a lot of effort. The flip side, however, is that landing just one of these gigs is often enough to propel your blog to the next level.