This is the last in our blogging for business series. In our last post we were talking about your blog as a platform for conversations; catch up here. Alternatively, head right back to the beginning of our series here.

In this post, in our blogging for business series, we’ll be talking about guest blogging: asking a guest to write a post that’s published on your blog.

There are two advantages of guest blogging. Firstly, it can offer a fresh and impartial perspective on issues you’ve been discussing on your blog. Secondly, if the guest blogger maintains their own blog, they’ll be likely to promote their guest post to their own audience and network, increasing your reach.

Who should I ask – and how?

There are plenty of places to look for guest bloggers:

• Partner organisations
• Satisfied customers
• Subject matter experts

Asking a customer for a guest blog post is a little like asking for a case study; both are based on mutual goodwill, and can benefit both parties, but have to be done carefully, since you’re asking the guest blogger to give up their time to write your content. That said, a guest post is a great chance for them to showcase their company (and themselves), so if you know that your customer is a keen blogger in their own right, the opportunity to gain exposure through your blog could be a powerful draw for them – especially if your blog has a strong readership.

The same is true for industry experts. When you’re asking someone to write a guest blog for you, mentioning your blog’s readership stats when approaching them could help persuade them of the benefits to them of writing for your blog. It’s also a good idea to offer to link back to their own blog, increasing their blog’s reach.

To ensure that guest blogs are in keeping with your blog’s subject matter, it can be a good idea to give your guest bloggers a high-level summary of the scope of topics that your readers expect from your blog, or even your style and tone guidelines if you deem it appropriate. After that, it’s a simple case of letting them know when you’re going to publish the post.

Any questions?
This is the end of our series about blogging for business. We hope you’ve found it useful, and we’d love to know if you’ve got any questions or comments on what we’ve discussed. If you’re thinking of getting your own blog off the ground but aren’t sure where to start, then we’re just a tweet, comment or phone call away – our details are at the bottom of the page.