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If you are new to this blog and are running or thinking of running a crowdfunding campaign, check out our other websites, KickstarterForum and CrowdfundingPr for free resources and support.
What is Guest Posting?
Guest posting is when you contact a blog owner and pitch an article idea for their website. For example, if you are a musician, you might contact a music blog and say, “I’ve got this great idea for an article. I’ve learned a lot since starting out as a musician a few years ago, and I’d like to pass on some social media tips to your audience.” You would then include an outline of the article and links to other articles you have written.
For bloggers, this is a great way to obtain free content and it also raises the blogger’s credibility in the eyes of their audience. If people are willing to guest post on your blog, it improves rapport with new readers because it provides social proof that your website is “important”. The main concern that bloggers have is that the content be high quality and relevant.
For the person writing the guest article, this is a great way to access the blogger’s audience. Normally, there is a short link or bio at the top of the post that links to your website or product. In addition, every blogger will usually promote each article, driving traffic to your content. It’s reasonable to expect anywhere from 0.5-5% of the traffic will check out your linked website (the percentage will depend on the content, promotional efforts, and the blog).
Here are some examples of guest posting on CrowdCrux:
5 Social Media Tips for your Nonprofit Crowdfunding Campaign
How to Successfully Relaunch Your Failed Kickstarter Campaign
So why should you consider guest posting to raise awareness for your Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign?
1. Access a Larger Audience
As mentioned above, guest posting is a great way to gain access to the blogger’s audience. Rather than waiting to be “featured” on a blog or industry publication, guest posting is an activity that you can control. As long as your article idea is relevant, grounded in experience or research, and you have a strong writing portfolio, most bloggers will be willing to consider your post.
In addition to accessing the direct traffic on the blog, you will also have contact with the blogger’s social media outlets when they post your article to their feeds. If you have not already, this means that having a LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter account are a must! For more information on social media marketing, see 5 LinkedIn Tips for Promoting your Kickstarter Campaign or Marketing Your Kickstarter Campaign Using Twitter.
We accept guest posting on CrowdCrux for campaign owners that have run a successful campaign or have seen great early success and would like to pass on some tips.
2. Develop Rapport and Credibility
It’s extremely difficult for any marketer to establish rapport and credibility with consumers. Many internet marketers embrace the Rule of Seven, which, as the name implies, indicates that consumers must see your message at least seven times before buying.
Many times, readers already have a relationship with the niche blog for which you are writing a guest post. This helps you bypass the common “noise” and “distrust” that most people have when they see any kind of promotions. Rather than ignoring you or being skeptical, the readers of the blog are more likely to engage with your message and check out your campaign.
3. Improve Search Engine Results
Be sure to ask the blog whether your link as a guest poster will be a “follow” or “nofollow” link. “Nofollow” links tell search engines to ignore the webpage address that the link points to, meaning that your webpage will not see improved search result rankings as a result of being linked to the high quality blog.
This may not matter if you are submitting your Kickstarter project as a link, but after the campaign is over, if you decide to switch out that link with your company link, having a “follow” link will improve your company’s position in search engine results, meaning that guest posting isn’t just good for crowdfunding, it’s good for generating leads for your business post-crowdfunding.
For more information on nofollow links, check out How does google handle nofollow links?
Guest Posting Is Traditionally Used For Emerging Bloggers, but It Works Great for Businesses and Campaign Owners as Well as a Content Marketing Strategy! Check out the infographic below:
4. Analyze User Reaction
I’ll tell you a bit of a secret! The best blogs aren’t just great publications, they are communities of readers that interact with each other around a common topic. By posting comments, responding to comments on your article, and encouraging people to comment, you have the chance to engage the readers in a dialogue, which could result in leads or pledges. You can also get feedback on your product and your campaign so that you can quickly correct errors or improve your marketing messages.
In fact, we encourage you to comment on our articles as well! There are many other campaign owners that are going through a similar 30-60 day experience and are having to do a lot of fast learning. Mutually beneficial relationships or cross promotion strategies can go a long way.
5. Develop a Relationship With The Blogger
The last reasons as to why you should consider doing a guest post on an industry-related niche blog to promote your crowdfunding campaign is that it’s a great way to develop a relationship with the blogger. Bloggers are influencers and writing a high quality free article gives you the chance to exchange emails and possibly do a phone call. The more value that you add to their publication, the more willing they will be to tweet out your campaign in the final days or support in other ways. This is also a great relationship to have when you are launching other new products!
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