Guest blogging; Should we allow it on our blog?

Guest blogging has become more and more popular over the months/years since blogging has really taken off. Guest blogging is allowing/asking/accepting someone to write a blog entry on your blog. It allows the guest blogger to spread their name and usually link back to their own site/blog and also gives your blog some fresh content written from a new viewpoint.

Should we allow guest blogging on our blog?
Most times there is no harm in allowing a guest blogger to write an entry in your blog. You just want to be sure that you read the entry prior to posting it live and get a sense for what the topic will be prior to accepting the offer, or asking another writer to post.

Guest blogging can be a great way to draw a new audience. Many times the guest blogger will refer to their post on your blog at their own site. This of course starts drawing traffic to your blog and hopefully to the rest of your site as well.

Just because you have a guest blogger does not mean they should write about whatever they want. Their entry should be in line with the theme/concept of your blog. So if you're blog is about wine tasting and wineries an appropriate guest blogger might be another wine aficionado talking about their wine tours.

How do we get a guest blogger?
Sometimes they will hunt you out and ask you, but more then likely you'll have to do a little asking yourself. Find a blog you like, or a friend that you know and ask them if they would be interested. Remember you can offer them a link to their website/blog. Try not to pay someone to write on your blog. Why you may ask, because you want their entry to be as honest and genuine as possible. You want them to write an entry because they want too not because they are getting paid to do so.

You may also want to consider offering to guest blog for someone else. This is a great way of getting your name and site out there, as you will most likely get a link back as well.

Remember: Networking is more then just handing out business cards, it's a whole new game with the internet.

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Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

We started a blog, now what?

Many people are under the misconception that starting a blog will automatically increase the amount of traffic coming to your site. Wrong! A blog takes time, content and links in order to really start driving traffic. It could be weeks to months before your first reader comes along.

So what do I do to get more blog readers?
There are lots of things you can do to get more blog readers. The most important thing above all else though is to ensure that you are writing quality content. Content that means something to your target audience and isn't just a link to another post you've read, or a short one paragraph post. If you want to attract readers, you have to give them something to read!

Another good way to attract readers is to see if you can get a guest blog writer to write a post or two for you. This person should be someone who has something of value to bring to your readers (or potential readers). For example if you have a blog about surf boards and surfing you wouldn't want to get a guest writer on there talking about the newest computer software. However, you might very well want a guest writer who will write something about the ocean and the scientific aspect of the tides. This may not seem relevant to a surfing website at first, but surfers live by the tides and if they know a little more about how they react to certain things then they'll probably get some better surfing days.

How long should I wait for visitors to my blog before I give up?
That question is up to you. My feeling is that if you have something worth reading and you enjoy writing it, keep going. Even if you aren't getting tons and tons of visitors from your blog postings, you are creating new content and sharing your thoughts on your industry.

I often refer to a blog as an "online diary". It's a place that the blog author writes his/her thoughts, critiques, ideas, issues, etc on his/her industry or passion. Would you stop writing in your diary (or journal for you masculine guys), if you knew no one was ever going to read it? Then why stop writing your blog?

What if I run out of topics to blog about?
Then you aren't thinking creatively enough. There are a thousand different things you can talk about within any field. I promise you, if you asked a colleague or friend what they would want to know about your industry you would get some very interesting post ideas.

To use the surfing reference again, you don't just have to talk about surf boards and pro surfers. You can talk about the technology of the surfing industry, the locations of the surf events, etc. All you have to do is take a step back and think about your industry on a little bit broader view.

Remember: Write because you have something to say, not because you want to drive more traffic.

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Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Welcome to the Ignite Your Site Blog

Ignite Media wants to welcome you to our marketing blog, where you'll be able to read posts that deal with everything from website usability to best practices in search engine optimization and so much more!

The blog will be updated on a weekly basis, so be sure to stop back often and/or subscribe to our RSS feed by clicking the link on the right nav bar.

We welcome you to comment on any and all blog posts. Whether you agree, disagree or have additional information to add to the post, please take a minute to comment. We want this blog to be a place where everyone can come to learn and share.

Welcome and we look forward to hearing from you soon!

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Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
www.ignite-media.com
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization