Why guest blogging should be in your marketing plan

Guest blogging was declared dead in 2014 by a former Google employee, Matt Cutts.

Cutts declared its death because he argued that it was frequently used by spam sites to subvert Google’s search algorithm to try and artificially boost a websites page ranking.

Despite these opinions, guest posting is alive and well across all industries because it remains a solid technique for building brand awareness, reaching new and valuable audiences, driving traffic to websites and therefore helping businesses grow.

Want to post a guest blog on our website? Learn more about our Member Content program here.

What is guest blogging?

Guest blogging means publishing your original content, like an article or e-book, on a third-party website as a way to attract new customers to your website or simply promote your business. The best guest articles are unique, original and relevant to the audience of the publishing website.

Build brand awareness

Building brand awareness is the process of creating connections and associations in a consumer’s mind with your product. Though brand awareness is hard to measure, it drives a lot of customer behavior. When faced with a buying decision, customers are more likely to choose the brand they recognize than an unknown one.

Guest blogging helps build brand awareness and positive associations in your customers’ minds by establishing your brand as a thought-leader in your industry. Sharing your expertise in guest articles increases positive exposure and awareness among your target audience. Over time, this increased awareness should lead to more customers.

Reach new audiences

Guest blogging also allows businesses to reach new audiences. By posting on relevant, third-party websites, you reach new consumers that are outside your current sphere of influence.

Many businesses post similar content in the same places over and over again. While creating high-quality content is always a good idea, branching out on a new platform can help keep your content from becoming stale.

Furthermore, when you post on a third-party website with an established audience, that audience’s trust in the platform rubs off on you too. Building trust with your target market is another key to growing your business.

Drive traffic to your website

Though the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) importance of guest blogging has come under scrutiny in recent years, there is no denying that getting your content on other websites will drive more traffic to your site.

By providing links back to your website, you give readers a chance to find out more about your business. If you direct them to a landing page that gives them a chance to take an action, like contacting you for more information or making a purchase, you can also create more revenue-generating opportunities.

Grow your business

As part of any robust marketing plan, guest blogging is a great way to grow your business by increasing brand awareness and creating more opportunities for strangers to become your customers.

The Nashville Chamber provides guest blogging opportunities for members at the Engage ($1,500) membership level and above. Our website has tens of thousands of unique visitors each month – submit an article here to get started.