Flex Your Writing Muscles through Guest Blogging

This is post 20 in Connie Ragens 30 Days Blog Challenge.

And my 5th post on Guest Blogging

Writing is one of those activities that really can get better with practice. Maybe you are a fair enough writer for your online content or blog, but you can always improve. Writing about a variety of topics for others is a kind of working out for those creative muscles. For me personally being from Denmark, I learn a so much from blogging, on my own blog as well as being a guest blogger for others.

Many writers have written on a number of topics and in a number of different medias before they decided on the one or ones they liked. If your business is writing, then in the interest of expanding your skills, guest blogging is a great way to do that.

What is Guest Blogging?

Guest blogging is when you write blog posts for others. Or if others write a post for your blog. It’s like being a guest on a late night talk show but with less name-calling and bad jokes. Blog owners won’t just choose anyone for their guest spots, so you must have done something right if they are asking you. Be proud, but still just say yes if the blog lives up to your “standards”.

If you agree to be a guest blogger, now it’s time for you to impress by writing what they need and want with your voice. If you are writing on a topic that you don’t have much experience with, you’ll need to start from scratch.

1. Do your homework. If you are running a general gardening website and another business owner asks you to blog for them on daffodils, you may have some work to do to become thoroughly familiar with that flower.

2. Follow any instructions to the letter. The blog owner may give you the blog post titles. Within their word count and the context of the title, deliver a product that will meet and, even better, exceed their expectations. If you have questions, ask them before you get started.

3. Read past blog posts on their blog for hints on style. Maybe you are a fan of the blog for which you are writing. You like the posts, but now you will reread them to see how they layout their information and get to the point in such a short piece. Do the same if you don’t know the blog well.

4. You can write a rough draft as a start. Perhaps you have written about the subject a while ago for your own website. Writing for someone else, you might want to add a different angle to the subject, and/or add some general definitions to words or concepts. Keep writing and editing until it is the way you want it to be.

If you are used to writing longer pieces of content or reports, a blog post is a nice change of pace. The tone is usually more conversational and fun but with an emphasis on the facts. It is a new style but one you may want to adopt to create your own blog for your business.

Enjoy!

Also read:
Damage Control – The Naughty Blogging Guest

Ressources:
Blog Ebooks