Promotion is a crucial part of managing any business, but it is especially important to ensure the success of a startup. A new company does not have the momentum to rely on and to make it big – or, in fact, to survive – has to quickly establish an explosive rate of growth and maintain it for long enough to win a section of the market and become profitable.

But what exactly do you have to do? Experts state time and again that one of the most time- and cost-efficient strategies for promoting a business, especially a new business, is guest posting. A well-thought-through guest blogging campaign kills an entire flock of birds with one stone: it establishes your authority in the industry, increases brand exposure, boosts targeted traffic and so on. In this article, we will cover how you best do it in 2020 – let’s go!

1: Know your goals before you start

At a glance, one may think that guest posting is straightforward – simply post as many posts across a variety of high-authority resources, and you are golden. However, just like any other marketing strategy, to achieve results with guest posting, you have to first know what these results are supposed to be. Do you want to attract traffic to a specific landing page? Then optimize your posts to suit its contents better. Do you want to grow your emailing list? Then add motivation to subscribe to both your guest posts and your landing page. The same goes for any other motive.

2: Develop a personalized approach to each host blog

A while ago, it was considered normal to simply find a few dozen blogs with audiences resembling those of your own and send them a one-size-fits-all email offering to write a guest post. These days, however, guest posting has become way too popular a strategy for this to work. Owners and webmasters of popular, high authority websites (there is little sense in dealing with any other kind) receive dozens of such offers every day and usually send them to the dustbin in bulk. According to the guide by guest posting service http://luckyposting.com, the only way to avoid it is to create a unique pitch for each host blog. You have to study the owner’s preferred topics, style and requirements before offering anything. Better yet, establish relationships with him/her before you write your email – this way, it is more likely to be noticed.

3: Perfect your bio

The bio is what your entire effort all about, so do not approach it lightly and put some effort into it. Some blogs are very strict about what they allow you to put in it, but sometimes you will get more choice. If you are allowed to do so, put a lead magnet (i.e., an incentive for the readers to give you their email address or other contact information) in your bio. Add a clear call to action so that the reader knows what to do next – usually, it means asking to follow you on social media or offering to download a free resource.

4: Start early

Whether you offer a standard product/service or develop an app or software, do not wait for the launch to start your campaign. Guest posting is a slow burner, especially if you do not have a prior reputation in the industry. First posts are unlikely to cause much traction, but the effect will accumulate as you continue to post regularly across a variety of high-authority blogs. Considering that the average cost of creating an app ranges from $15,000 to $50,000, depending on how complex it is and what niche you are in, you want to be sure that the ground is ready for it when it launches.

Establish a blog and post in it consistently so that you have some presence by the time you start offering your guest posts. Then start pitching your guest posts and publish at least one per week across different resources for a few months. By the time you launch your product, both your name and the name of your brand should be firmly associated with your niche.

5: Be active in the comments

If somebody comments on your guest post, try not just to respond, but also to make your response meaningful and valuable. You should do it not merely because it is polite to answer when you are addressed, but because it shows that you do not publish your guest posts mechanically, and there is a real person behind your writing. You establish connections with a new audience and make its members more likely to visit your website and, eventually, buy your product. What is even more important, the blog owner/webmaster will be happy to see the additional buzz in the comments. If you ever offer another post to this blog, he/she will be more responsive to your pitch.

Do not worry if your guest posting does not bring immediate results – it requires time to start working, but when it does, it blows most other strategies right out of water.

Author

Founder of Paisley.org.uk in 1998 and constantly strives to change peoples attitudes to the town, Brian is a self described Paisley Digital Champion who promotes Paisley via any means necessary. You can also follow me on X