When you take the time to guest blog on another site two things are about to happen. First the reader will be engaged from your article learning new information that will benefit them or add value to their online activities. Second will be a relationship building activity like nothing you have ever experienced before.
Quality Content that adds Value
As a guest blogger it’s our responsibility to provide content that will not only entertain the audience but also captivate their interest as we engage with them in relationship building conversations. When a reader comments on your guest post this is your first chance to build a long term and beneficial relationship with someone new.
All great guest blog sites like Basic Blog Tips, Famous Bloggers, Blog Engageand Hot Blog Tips have additional social plugins for you to bring your relationship building to the next level.
I’ve guest blogged on all these sites with one article having over 500 comments named, How to Drive Consistent But Free Traffic To Your Blog . I don’t just guest blog and run you know, I engage with all the comments people leave. I follow them on Twitter, comment on their latest articles and help promote them by sharing on Twitter or Facebook.
Make the Most of It
As a guest blogger this is your opportunity to make the most out of your guest post. This is your chance to build the relationships you need to be a success online. These are going to be some of the strongest most engaging friends you will have the opportunity to meet. It’s our responsibility to make the most our of this guest posting opportunity.
Guest blogging alone will not build these relationships. You must reach out and extend your introduction using social media. I’m talking about Facebook, Twitter and any other social network you’re a member of. Please remember it can also be smaller communities; Like I’ve said before at Basic Blog Tips, What if I Were To Say To You, Size Doesn’t Matter?
When readers leave comments they leave the key to opportunity, they leave a way for you to connect back. On most guest blog sites you can follow their URL, Twitter handle or their latest link via comment luv. There are a total of four key elements you can use to connect and build relationships from guest posting.
The Comment Reply
This is by far the best method to engage and build a new relatsionhsip. If someone comments on your guest post you must always reply. When you do comment reply make sure to thank the reader for actually commenting. I also like to mention that I’ve connected with them online and look forward to seeing more of them. The best comments are the ones that actually provide value to the guest post or bring up good questions regarding it’s validity. Have a look at the comment below and you will see how I encourage the reader to once again return and engage with me.
Username URL
This is very basic functionality when it comes to leaving comments. We all know the URL leads back to the readers site but these days it’s rarely even a blog. It’s some company or random non blog related website. This is why I just love comment luv as you know when you click it there’s going to be something for you to comment on or at least tweet on the other side.
Twitter Handles
I like to first follow the reader on Twitter and send a personal thank you for leaving the comment and interacting with me on the guest post. I will accomplish this from using a direct tweet to the user. Under normal conditions at this point you will also be able to visit their blog, comment with them and start building your new relationship. Social media is an amazing tool when connecting and building your new relationships, use it to your advantage.
Comment Luv Links
When readers leave comments on most guest blogs they are also allowed to leave their latest article with comment luv. This is such an amazing opportunity to give back to this reader for commenting on your post, while at the same time leaving you a new way to connect with the blogger. I always visit my readers articles and tweet them! For the most part I will also be interested enough to comment.
My Final Thoughts
In my post today I wanted to share with you ways to engage with our readers when our guest articles get published. As a marketer our job has only become. You have other social media relationship building responsibilities to apply. The guest post is just the door being opened, as that is what guest posting does, it opens doors. It’s up to us to walk in and see what’s on the other side.
One final note: No matter how hard you practice what I say in this article you have to be sincere in order for these relationships to work. Don’t force comments if you have nothing to say. Tweet, say thanks for the comments, build the relationship but be real and sincere when you do it. You can only be fake for so long, to do this you must truly love what you do.
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