7 Reasons Why Every Entrepreneur Needs to Guest Post

Guest Post by Jennifer Blanchard

You’ve probably heard of guest posting—writing and publishing an article on someone else’s blog who has more traffic than you. And not just any old traffic, but your target audience, the one you want to get your message in front of.

It can be powerful stuff when done right.

Guest posting is actually what put my blog—and business—on the map.

Back in 2009, I’d been blogging for a year but still didn’t have any readers. I had been following the blog Copyblogger for a while, and knew it had more than 100,000 subscribers. The place is considered an authority in the writing world (which was the world I wanted to break into).

So on a whim, one day I pitched the editor an idea for a guest post. He wrote back almost immediately and asked me to send the article over.

The next day, it was live on his blog and my site almost crashed from all the people who visited (more than 5,000). My traffic was jump-started.

At the time, I didn’t have a fancy website (it was built on Google’s free blogging platform, Blogspot). I didn’t have branding, a logo or a clue what I was doing

And that didn’t matter one bit to the blog’s editor. He couldn’t say no because the guest post was a perfect fit for his audience and he knew they would eat it up.

In case you need more proof that guest posting can only help your business, here are the seven reasons why you need to guest post right-freaking-now:

1. Cause Everyone Else Is Doing It

Kidding.

But in all seriousness, everyone who wants to make an impact and spread their message is doing it. Check out Becky’s Entrepreneur Incubator Facebook group any day of the week and you’ll see members sharing links to their guest posts.

Guest posting is the number one way to get targeted traffic to your website. And targeted traffic means more eyes on your content and sales pages.

2. Exposure to Your Target Audience

Guest posting on blogs that have more traffic than you—but the same target audience—is the best way to get exposure. Not just for your business, but exposure to your target audience, the people you want to serve.

The more you can get in front of your target audience, the more you can help them with your content and through conversing with them in the comments of the post.

3. New Email List Subscribers

Guest posting is an amazing way to get new subscribers on your email list, which means leads for your business.

I often guest post on StoryFix.com, which is Bestselling author Larry Brooks’s blog. The last time I guest posted there, I got fifty-six new subscribers in one day. That’s fifty-six new people who opted in to hear from me.

Most of the money in my business comes through my email list, so getting new subscribers is of top importance.

4. Practice Being Visible

Some entrepreneurs are great at being visible. But for many of us, being visible is a challenge. Guest posting allows you to “dip your toe” into being visible.

The more you practice being visible to your target audience, the most your target audience will be attracted to you.

5. Confidence

Seeing your name on the Huffington Post (or whatever site you’re dreaming of) makes you feel awesome. And the more awesome you feel, the more good things you attract to yourself.

Putting yourself out there builds your confidence muscle.

6. Back-Links

When you guest post on someone else’s site, you get a link back to your site. This is great, of course, for traffic purposes, but it’s also super important for Google ranking. Google loves when your site is connected to other popular sites.

So the more popular sites you’re connected to, the higher your site will rank on Google. (Admit it, you know it would totally kick ass to show up on the first page of Google.)

7. Connection

Most people think you have to get connected with popular bloggers before you can guest post on their blogs. But it’s actually the opposite. In order to get connected with these bloggers, you have to guest post on their blogs.

When you pitch them a guest post and they accept, you’ve just taken a huge step toward creating a genuine connection. The more you connect with popular bloggers, the more you’ll grow your visibility. And the more visible you are, the more clients you’ll attract.

Now go pitch your guest post.

Jennifer Blanchard is an author and fiction-writing coach who helps emerging novelists write and revise their stories. Her guest posts have appeared on the Huffington Post, Copyblogger, and MindBodyGreen, among others. She recently launched Guest Post Guru, a 14-day coaching program to help you publish your content where you’ve been dreaming, get traffic and boost your subscribers.

Want to make money? Be yourself.

Once upon a time I was a relationship coach. I helped women who were in toxic relationships get their shit together and discover why their patterns kept repeating.

I was pretty damn good at it. My clients were much stronger, had more confidence and were more liberated after working with me. I forged this path for nearly a year, then I started to feel like something was off. I wasn’t making money, wasn’t attracting the right type of clients, and frankly, my business became stressful.

I loved working with women, helping them claim their power, own their strengths and go after what they wanted. But I was sick of hearing about relationship drama. I was bored with writing about what a healthy relationship was. I was tired of people referring to me as a relationship coach and asking where they could find other singles.

The truth is it was never about the relationships, it was about them- their confidence, their self-esteem and their beliefs in themselves. Relationships were the avenue I chose because it’s how I thought I could get clients. Sure, heartbroken women reached out to me, but as far as paying clients – they were far and few between.

I wasn’t making money in my coaching practice and I couldn’t figure out why. I was doing all the right things: newsletters, sales funnels, social media and more. But something wasn’t translating.

After eight months of struggling with my biz, buying all kinds of e-courses and programs, I decided to hire a coach. I thought maybe having someone in my corner would help me get clarity. I was right. My business has drastically changed and I’m no longer hiding my business, what I do and how I do it. I’m no longer nervous to put myself “out there”, or to talk about what I do on my (personal) Facebook wall. Now I’m doing what I love, and guess what came along with that?

More happiness. More opportunities. More clients. And more money.

I learned a lot along the way. Investing in myself and a coach was one of lessons, but there are other lessons to remember as your forge your entrepreneurial path.

Business is constant evolution. Things will constantly change and expand. Go with it. Whether it’s your business branding, your ICA, your website or your services – be open to changes. Chances are they will be good for business. Test what works and what doesn’t. If something isn’t making you money, chuck it and come up with something better.

Just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean you should do it. For example, ahem, relationship coaching. Yes, I was damn good at coaching broken hearts to clarity, but I didn’t enjoy it much. You might be good at social media or strategizing, but if it doesn’t light you up (and you’re not turning a profit), it’s a-okay to start something new. Likewise, if you are doing tasks in your business that make you pull your hair out, quit them, and fast. Hire someone to do it for you. The benefits will outweigh the costs.

Be your own compass. Listen to your gut, your heart and those little voices in your head. Tap into your intuition and trust it. If you start to feel like something is off and isn’t working for you anymore, listen. If the type of clients you originally wanted to work with drain you or don’t see the value in investing in themselves, find new people.

Turn off the noise. Groups, sponsored posts, webinars, the next shiny object – turn it all off. Figure out what you want first, then seek someone to help you get there. Groups are perfect for tips and tricks and promotions, but I’m always floored by the amount of people I see asking generalized business advice there. These groups often become excuses as to why you haven’t reached the next level in your biz. So much is going on and there are so many opinions, you need to be mindful of who you allow to influence your business decisions. You only need two things: a good teacher and an awesome support system.

Get your personal life right. Another reason things felt off in my business was because it didn’t align with who I was. You can’t hide behind the mask of your business forever. Start showing up. You have to own what you do and stop living a double life. You are you, and your business is an extension of you. If it’s not aligned, you will always be searching for something more.

Guest post written by Jenn Scalia

Jenn Scalia coaches smart, successful women on how to get clear on what they want (as opposed to everyone else). Her clients have suffered from self-doubt, have trouble setting – and keeping – boundaries and don’t know how to love themselves more. She helps them transform all that and ultimately change their lives.

To learn more about Jenn and her coaching programs and courses, visit www.JennScalia.com.