Guest Blogging Versus Other Methods For Getting Traffic To Your Resume Writing Business Website

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After writing last week's series about guest blogging, I got even MORE emails from resume writers wanting to know more about guest blogging. In today's blog post, I'll answer one common theme:

"How does guest blogging stack up against other methods to get visitors (traffic) to my resume writing business website?"

Guest Blogging versus Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Many resume writers are familiar with "paying" for traffic (visitors) to their website, using pay-per-click (PPC) advertising -- like using Google's AdWords or Facebook ads or similar services.

Guest blogging usually precedes PPC. They aren't mutually exclusive. Most resume writers use blogging to drive "free" traffic to their resume writing business website, while PPC ads are "paid" traffic.

In order to succeed in paid advertising, you need to have a very streamlined conversion funnel. (It needs to be clear how prospects can become resume clients; otherwise, you're driving visitors to your site, but not turning them into clients.) In other words, you need to know that for every $1 you spend on PPC, you're earning $1.20 or more back from the lifetime value of that customer -- even if you lose money for the first few weeks or months. Otherwise, paid advertising can quickly consume a lot of your money.

Most guest blog posts won't get you as much traffic as PPC. It won't be as consistent either. (You'll likely get an initial surge of traffic, and then it will fall off.) However, the traffic you'll get will be targeted and -- most important, it's free.

One great strategy is to use guest blog posting to fine-tune your funnel and make sure you can convert before you move onto paid traffic methods.

Guest Blogging versus Article Marketing
This is one of those rare cases where there's a clear winner. There's just no question about it: guest blogging beats article marketing, hands down.

Guest blogging can get you on some of the top blogs in the industry. It'll help build your reputation and send real people to your site. As I mentioned in my "Using Content to Capture New Career Clients," the advantage of guest blogging is "Go where the people are." If you guest post on a popular blog, you're going where the people are (and you know what kind of people they are!). Article directory sites can draw a lot of traffic, but it's not targeted traffic. (And even when your articles are reposted, they're not always on related sites. I've found my careers-oriented articles posted on all kinds of irrelevant blogs.)

Article marketing will get you into article directories and perhaps a few small, low-authority fringe sites.

Guest blogging will help you build massive PageRank, while article marketing won't do much for your PageRank at all.

If you're going to go through the trouble of writing articles, you might as well do it right and go the guest blogging route.

Guest Blogging versus SEO
Should you focus your attention on SEO or on guest blogging? The best answer is to make guest blogging part of your SEO strategy.

It's true that guest blogging may not be the fastest way to build backlinks. However, the guest blog post you write will bring in real traffic, while the links you generate purely for SEO probably won't bring you much traffic at all.

This real traffic could result in both sales and additional backlinks. Furthermore, people often underestimate Google's ability to figure out what a real backlink is.

In short, you don't have to make guest blog posting your exclusive tactic. Use it as part of your SEO strategy to bring in real visitors to your resume writing business website.

Guest Blogging How-To: Landing a High Profile Guest Blogging Gig

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In Wednesday's blog post, I talked about "How to Find Guest Blogging Opportunities" -- but the resource I mentioned, MyBlogGuest, focuses on middle Pagerank sites. What if you're looking for the big time? Today's blog post is about how to get a post published on a high profile blog.

High profile guest blog posts are the holy grail of guest blogging. Sure, you can blog for small blogs all day long, but that won't have nearly the impact of landing just one high profile guest blog post.

So how do you land these high profile guest blog posts?

Make Your Own Site Top-Notch
When someone lets you guest blog for their site, they're implicitly endorsing you. They're not going to do that unless your own website is truly top notch.

In other words, make sure the content on your resume writing business website provides immense value. Make sure your design looks highly professional.

Make sure someone who sees your blog will think of you as an authority and would want to partner with you.

Look for Sites That Have Accepted Guest Posts In the Past
If a site has never accepted a guest post in its history, you might have a hard time convincing them to accept yours. On the other hand, if they've been consistently publishing one or two posts by other authors every month, you might have a very good chance.

One simple way to figure out whether or not a site accepts guest posts is to type in [site:urlname.com "guest post"] in Google. This will bring up all entries that have the words "guest post" on a specific site. If there are no results, try a few more queries like "guest author."

If you can't find any guest blog posts, it's best to focus on a different site.

Start Building a Connection
While you can just approach a blog site owner out of the blue, it's often better to try to build a connection first.

Start commenting on their blog for at least a month before you want to request a guest blog post. Answer their questions and aim to become an active member of their community. Contribute.

Do the same with Twitter. Retweet things that they tweeted. @reply to them when they ask a question.

Get yourself on their radar.

Landing the Guest Blog Invitation
Finally, send them a short email outlining your proposal.

Try to come up with three topics that you think their audience will love. Tailor each request to the blog specifically. Come up with topics you think their specific audience would benefit from.

Let them know that it's easy to publish your article and that it won't be republished anywhere else. All you ask for is a link back to your website.

Remember that blog authors need content as much as you want to get content published. By giving them a high quality blog post, you're saving them as much as a day by not having to write their own content.

What you're proposing is a win/win, as long as you have enough trust and quality.

That's how to land high profile guest blog posts!

Bonus: Read this great blog post about what a blog owner is looking for in guest posts (and some great additional tips)

Guest Blogging How-To: What to Write In Your Guest Post

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This is an issue that can stump you while you're blogging -- whether for your own blog or when guest blogging. When you're stuck in the "I don't know what to write" trap, here are some ideas to get you started.

Tips Articles
Guest posts with a specific number of tips often do very well. For example:

• 7 Tips for Improving Your LinkedIn Profile
• 12 Things NOT to Include On Your Resume
• 5 Ways to Get Your Resume In Front of Hiring Decision-Makers

Make sure you pick a specific number of tips and place it in the title. Odd numbers seem to work better than even numbers.

How-To
How-to titles are another popular blog post topic. For example:

• "How to Make Sure Your Finance Resume Gets Read"
• "How to Write an Effective LinkedIn Headline"
• "How to Get a $10,000 Raise When You Interview For Your Next Job"

Ask yourself, "What does my target market want to know?" Then write a "how to" for them.

Pitfalls and Mistakes
Talk about the common pitfalls and mistakes people make when jobseekeing. For example:

"The Seven Deadly Mistakes Career Changers Make"
"The #1 Mistake New Graduates Make in Their Job Search"
"3 Common Pitfalls of Networking for a New Job Online"

Tell a Story
Telling a story is a great way to attract an audience and communicate a message. (As a resume writer, you already knew that!)

One of the most famous direct response ads in history had this headline:
"They Laughed When I Sat Down At the Piano, But When I Started to Play..."

The piece then went on to tell the story of how nobody thought the main character could play -- and were then shocked when he did.

Use stories to invoke emotions, convey a point, and connect with your audience.

Share a Success
If you helped a jobseeker negotiate a $10,000 pay increase with his new job, share how you did it. If you helped a client write a LinkedIn profile that drew dozens of calls from hiring managers and recruiters, tell what was in the profile. If your clients get interviews within a week of sending out their resume, tell their story.

People love to read success stories, especially if they're filled with nuggets they can use in their own lives.

Image Tutorials
One great way to bring real value to someone else's blog is to create an image tutorial for them. Creating image tutorials, which involves step-by-step pictures, takes quite a bit of effort. Most bloggers won't go through the trouble.

That's why if you're willing to do it, they'll be very grateful.

For example, if you're writing a tutorial about how a jobseeker can research a company using LinkedIn, use screen shots of the process.

Controversial Opinion
Finally, you can share a controversial opinion. Most people won't expect to read a blog post from a resume writer titled, "This Resume Writer Says You Don't Need a Resume." (Now, your strategies may end up showing that a resume isn't needed for some situations -- but is for others.)

If you're ever at a loss on what kind of guest blog post to write, try using one of these ideas.

Tomorrow: "Landing a High Profile Guest Blogging Gig"

Guest Blogging How-To: How to Make Your Post "Most Read"

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This is the third entry in this week's series, "Guest Blogging How-To" and it focuses on how to write a killer blog post that will get people to visit your site, generate social media traffic (shares, tweets, likes), and that will generate repeat invitations from the blog owner.

So how do you make a guest blog post the "most read"?

Get to Know The Blog and Audience
Start by reading the blog you want to guest post on -- get a sense for who their audience is and what kind of style the blog owner has. Also, check for other guest posts. An owner who has allowed other authors to guest post in the past will be more likely to allow future guest posters.

Who tends to read their blog? What kind of attitude do writers on this site have? What kinds of topics do they address? Is there a common train of thought prevalent on the site?

Read through the comments of past posts. Get a sense for what kind of questions people have and what kinds of posts they tend to respond to.

Try to get a handle on what kind of material people like. Is it step-by-step guides? Do they like success stories? Perhaps they have one specific problem that they want to resolve?

Figure Out the "WIIFM"
Before writing your blog post, figure out the "what's in it for me" (WIIFM) that users should walk away from your post with.

Should they understand a certain concept better? Should they know how to do something that they didn't know before? In what direct way will your content impact their lives?

Then begin your article by telling them this "WIIFM" statement. Make it hard-hitting and compelling and really get them excited about your content before you deliver it.

Add Personality, Share Your Experience
The best blog posts are those where the writer really shares his or her experience. Don't try to come off as a stand-offish "professional voice." Instead, really add your personality to the mix. (Want to see examples of this? Check out blog posts by Julie Walraven or Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter.)

In addition to making your content land better, this also does one other thing. The more personality you have in your writing, the more curious people will be about you. At the end of the article, that makes it more likely for them to click on your link.

Sit On It
After writing your blog post, let it sit or a few hours or preferably a few days before sending it in for publication. (Make sure you know the deadline given to you by the blog owner, though!)

By going over it a second time, you'll often catch spelling mistakes or be able to reword your sentences in a more powerful way.

In other words, give it your all and try to make it perfect before sending it off.

Writing a top-notch guest blog post takes a lot of effort. You'll have to refine and refine the post, as well as pour your heart and soul into it if you want it to make an impact. Your reward will be an increase in targeted traffic to your own blog or resume writing business website.

Tomorrow: "What To Write In Your Guest Post"