Image by Gaetan Lee via FlickrEveryone who wants a higher search engine ranking knows that article marketing is an easy and free way to build exposure for your site.But that’s not the only thin you can do to attract more customers to your site.   Another often-overlooked source of highly targeted visitors and potential buyers is this…

Writing “guest articles” on a related blog in your industry.It’s as simple as writing to the owner with a possible offer they can’t refuse.  You agree to write one (or more) blog posts for them in exchange for the typical by-line at the bottom – and they get to take the day off from writing in their blog.  It’s a win-win situation for both parties – and it’s free!

To get the most benefit out of being a guest author, you’ll want to be prepared beforehand.  Here’s what you do:

1. Brainstorm possible articles you could write for the blog you’re interested in.Write up a few quick outlines for possible writing topics before you email the site owner. Who knows, perhaps one or two postings will lead to a spot as a regular contributor?
2. Craft your resource box carefully.  This is the 3-5 line bio that appears at the end of your post.  You want to drum up interest in your products with your bio, as well as showcase your expertise in the field.  Not to mention sprinkling a few keyword phrases in for good measure. So for example, let’s say Jane is a guest author for a blog about dog grooming, and she wants to promote her own dog grooming business in the bio box.  Rather than writing something like:Jane Doe works as a professional dog groomer at 123 Dog Groomers.  Visit her site at www.123DogGroomers.com for more dog grooming tips.As you can see, there’s no real incentive there to click.  Instead, consider writing a more interest-generating resource box, such as:

   Dog grooming professional Jane Doe runs www.123DogGroomers.com selling top-quality dog grooming supplies and products to pamper your pet and keep them looking great!  Visit our website for 10% off your order!

   By using the power of targeted keywords as well as a coupon code for visitors, Jane will get more relevant traffic and orders to her site from this single article!

3. Have some samples ready. If the blog owner is interested in your site, chances are, they’ll ask you to provide some samples of your writing. Even if you’ve never guest authored a blog before, have some sample articles ready to show them your experience and writing skills.It will go a long way in helping you build credibility, writing skills and communication with your target audience.

In the end, even if the blog owner says “no thanks”, there are literally millions of blogs for you to consider.  To find them, simply search Google for “yourkeyword blog” – and replace “yourkeyword” with your type of industry, such as “dog grooming blog”.

Here’s to your success as a newly published guest author!

P.S. If you enjoyed reading this article, you can find even more web design tips at http://www.iElectrify.com

iElectrify specializes in creating professional, affordable and creative websites that get results.  With a strong background in internet marketing and niche marketing, iElectrify.com works with small to medium-sized businesses to help them easily create and manage their own websites.

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