Photo by Carf

Over the years I’ve been blogging, I’ve been fortunate to be able to write guest posts for several high profile blogs, including in front of an audience of 45,000 at John Chow Dot Com, and most recently on Darren Rowse’s Twitip.

I’ve previously spoken about guest blogging, specifically how to secure guest post slots and how to make the most of guest posts, so I won’t go in to those two things too much in this article. Today, I want to help you to identify and ask the right questions when deciding which blogs to write guest posts for, and how to ensure the audience reading your guest post clicks through to your own blog.

John Chow Dot Com Vs Twitip

Before I analyse the results of my guest posts on these two blogs, I want to set the scene:

Subscribers (at time of writing guest post):
John Chow Dot Com: 45,000
Twitip: 6,000

Average Comments Per Post
John Chow Dot Com: 50
Twitip: 30

Average Visitors Per Day
John Chow Dot Com: 6,600
Twitip: 5,000

All logic tells us, while looking at those stats, that the best blog to write for (most subscribers, most comments per post, most visitors) would be John Chow’s blog. But my own results tell a different story.

Guest Post Conversion

Here are the results during the seven days after the guest posts were published (including the day they were published):

Total Visitors from Guest Post
John Chow Dot Com: 39
Twitip: 125

Total Page Views from Guest Post
John Chow Dot Com: 103
Twitip: 175

Total Subscribers Gained from Guest Post
John Chow Dot Com: 0 (0% conversion)
Twitip: 4 (3% conversion)

From those results, we can clearly see that the initial public stats, that is the subscribers, visitors and comments, do not mean your guest post is guaranteed to bring good results. In fact, under the surface, there are several things that Darren at Twitip does that ensures guest posts convert relatively well compared to other blogs.

Why Do Guest Posts at Twitip Convert Well?

When trying to decide which blogs to guest write for, you often have to look beyond the basic stats to gauge an idea of how valuable your post will be to the community. Twitip has three things that the stats can’t show, but that ultimately lead to exciting conversion rates for any guest poster.

1. The WordPress Author is “Guest Poster”

After writing many guest posts across a wide range of blogs, the biggest problem I’ve found is that many blog readers are ‘Author Blind’. Because the blog author can’t setup an author account for every single guest writer, he or she usually publishes the post under his own author account. This causes lots of problems, because many readers simply don’t realise the post is a guest post. Here is just a sample of the comments on guest posts I’ve wrote, where commentators have referred to the blog author rather than me.

At Twitip, Darren has a WordPress author called “Guest Poster”, which he uses to publish all guest posts. Immediately, his readers are much more informed about who the author is, and immediately they know that they should look for the biography of the guest author in the blog post.

2. Darren’s Readers are Loyal

Whereas John seems to have a high turnover rate of readers (that is, many readers read his blog for a few weeks, then move elsewhere) Twitip is a relatively new blog with loyal readers, who have built relationships with Darren, and have become prolific commentators.

Going back to yesterdays discussion on how people buy based on relationships and emotion, readers at Twitip are far more likely to see a guest post as a recommendation by a friend (Darren), and are therefore more likely to click through to the guest authors blog. John doesn’t have the loyal following or relationships, unlike Darren, that aid in the sales (or conversion) process.

“Relationships and Loyalty Abound at Twitip”

3. The Author Biography Isn’t Skipped

One of the problems I’ve found with guest writing, is blog authors try to make the one paragraph biography of the guest writer stand out. They’ll make it italic, bold, and maybe even have a bright yellow background. Unfortunately, this totally counteracts the attempt to get it noticed.

On a blog where people are used to adverts, like JohnChow.com, text that is heavily styled and at the top or bottom of the post will often go unnoticed. Readers minds treat it like an advert. They’re blind to it.

While at Twitip, Darren makes little attempt to make the paragraph stand out. It’s often just italic text with normal links. This equals normal reading by the audience. Rather than separating it from the real post content with fancy styling, the paragraph gracefully flows at the top or bottom of the post. Whereas at other blogs, readers know they’re about to read a bio before they even start reading it, at Twitip, readers only realise they’ve read the biography after they’ve read it.

Remember to look beyond the basic stats when considering which blogs to write for. There’s far more to it than the amount of subscribers. The quality of those subscribers is just as important.

What Can I Do to Ensure my Guest Post Converts Well?

Of course, there’s only so much return you’re going to receive by picking a blog that presents itself well for guest authors. 60% of the battle is ensuring your actual guest post does the right things to convert. Here are four things to remember when creating guest posts for high conversion:

1. Ask the Author to Put Your Biography at the Bottom of the Post

How often do you want to click on a link of a guest author before you’ve read their guest post? How often do you finish reading their post, then remember to scroll back up to the top of the page to click through to their blog? I’d imagine the answer to both those questions is “Not often”. You’ll get a far higher click-through rate if you ask the blog author to put your paragraph biography at the end of the guest post.

With that said, in an ideal world, you would ask the author to quickly introduce you in one sentence at the top so readers know whose writing they are reading, and then add the main paragraph biography at the bottom. This is what Darren did for me with my guest post at Twitip.

2. Link to a Specific Blog Post in Your Biography

My guest post at Twitip was the first time I’ve ever linked to a specific post on my blog from my guest author biography. I was amazed by the results! Over the seven days after the guest post, 94% of the clicks from Twitip were direct to the specific post I had linked to. Very few people decided to click to my blog homepage.

Always ensure you link to a specific, targeted post from your author biography.

3. Links Inside the Blog Post Don’t Work Very Well

On several of my guest posts, I’ve linked to a post on my own blog within the guest post content. While I’ve had a few click-through’s, there’s never any harm adding the link, don’t expect great results. Most people find it awkward to stop in the middle of reading an article so they can open up another post. You’ll always get more click-through’s by linking to the post in your guest author biography.

4. Before Proceeding, Ask Previous Guest Authors for Reviews

Take 15 minutes to look back through archives of the past two months of a blog you’re considering writing for. Pick out three or four names of guest authors, then contact them. Ask them if they would mind sharing the results of their guest post. How many visitors did they get? How many subscribers? Were the results worth their time? There’s no better way for you to make decisions than by asking those who have made those decisions before you.

Let’s Recap!

• Don’t just look at the basic stats to make your decision on who to write for
• Be a part of the community before writing. Get a feel for the loyalty and persona of the readers
• Don’t just go for the blog with the most subscribers. Your post may get lost in a sea of less than loyal readers
• Always ask the blog author to put your biography at the bottom of the post
• Ask the author if they would mind giving you a quick, one sentence, introduction at the top of the post
• Always link to a specific, relevant blog post within your author biography
• Try to get feedback from past guest authors before deciding who to write for. There’s no better indicator than experience!

Do you find it difficult choosing who to write for? Have you been a guest author on blogs and not seen much return? Are you looking to guest write but don’t know where to start? Let us know in the comments!

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3. 2,524 Words on Promoting Your Blog & Building Relationships (Without Killing Anybody!) ...