Today I want to share a really quick idea that I’ve used over the past couple of weeks to:
- Get free, unique, original, high quality content from some of the top experts in my market.
- Build relationships with these experts.
- Significantly increase my traffic WITHOUT any extra effort.
Essentially I’ve set up a high quality blog that works on 95% auto-pilot to publish unique, original content and generate traffic.
Here’s what I’ve done…
1. I’ve set up a “Write For Us” page on my health blog at http://www.RevitaliseYourHealth.com/write-for-us
2. I allow readers to register as “Contributors” to the blog.
3. Once registered they can log-in to my WordPress admin panel and post a new blog post for review.
4. I log-in, read through the blog post, check that it is unique and meets my high standards, check formatting, perhaps insert an Amazon affiliate link or two and a few links to related posts and then press “Publish”.
5. Now I have a brand new, unique, high quality piece of content that will get indexed and start generating Google traffic.
Plus, after publishing the guest post I send an email to my subscribers notifying them of the new post and get 300+ readers within 24 hours.
And on top of that, I email the contributor letting them know that their post is published and that I would appreciate them Tweeting, Facebook Liking and sharing on other social networks – and that it would benefit both of us if they were to link to the blog post from their own websites in the future. That gets me traffic and boosts my search engine ranking.
Essentially I’m getting other people to come up with content ideas, provide content for me and promote that content for me… completely free!
Here’s how you can do the same…
1. Go to your WordPress admin panel and click Settings > General. Under the Membership field, select “Anyone can register”. And under that in the “New user default role” select “Contributor”.
This means that anyone can register but they can only submit blog posts for review. They can’t post directly to the site and they can’t edit any other blog settings.
2. Now you need to create a “Write For Us” page like mine. On this page you need to state the rules and guidelines for guest posts and instructions for submitting one.
You will need to link to the Registration page where users can create their Contributors account. The registration page will be:
Yourdomain.com/wp-login.php
3. Now it’s simply a case of finding people to guest blog. I’ve used only two methods so far and have had over 20 submissions in just under 10 days. (I have rejected about half of these posts due to poor quality)
Method 1
Optimize your page with keywords like “write for us” and “guest post” followed by your niche – for example: “write for us health”.
This means wannabe guest bloggers can find you when they search in Google. This is probably my main guest blogger source so far.
Method 2
Register for free at http://www.myblogguest.com and post in the forum that you are looking for guest contributors.
This has also resulted in a number of contributions.
If the number of guest submissions dries up in the future then I may actively search out writers. For example, I’ll head to some related blogs in my market and invite those bloggers to contribute.
Another idea I have is to somehow get guest authors onto my email list when they register. That way if I’m ever short of content, I can blast an email to my guest contributors email list and see if they’d like to have another article published.
I’m kind of thinking out loud here but there are a number of different directions you could take this idea.
I know it’s not a new idea. It’s been used by a lot of people, but it’s a great way to build a big content site without spending an awful lot of time and money.
I hope this quick article has given you a few ideas and perhaps planted a “seed” of an idea that you can take and turn into money.
Any questions, just ask by leaving a comment below.
And by the way, if you want to see an example of a guest post I’m hosting then take a look at this:
How To Look Younger For Less
After emailing the author of that article, she has Tweeted, Facebook Liked, Stumbled, Dugg and added the post to Pinterest which has given me a nice little traffic boost.
Free content, free traffic and rock solid relationships. The perfect scenario.
Thanks for reading,
James
Leave a Reply
01/16/2012
Hey James
Great post!
I have slighty different approach. I request an available article my guest contributors may have and just syndicate it to my blog, since news aggregators lIke google news does the same (publishes the same content from different news outlets) but this goes out to my newsletter subscribers also so this is a win win situation for everyone just as your idea.
Great post! Thanks
James Hi. Incredibly I’m in the middle right now of getting my first article writers via one of the sites that promotes these guys. I alas haven’t checked the work done for you yet but I’m actually needing 600 word posts. Most interesting obviously.The thought occurs: “what’s in it for these guys doing it?”
Hi Ed
Sorry I didn’t clarify. They are permitted to include a link back to their blog/website within the blog and in the author resource box.
Therefore they get traffic and improve their search engine ranking.
James
James, great article. I had read about this before, but never really gave it much thought. I am glad you sent an email, as being a subscriber, to let me know about this article.
This is an awesome idea and you just re-opened my eyes to the concept. I can’t wait to implement this strategy, and perhaps create a community using buddypress so that guest writers can learn and share ideas from each other.
That’s one hell of an idea. A great way for authors to get backlinks and traffic to their site and a great way for you to keep a blog updated and making money on auto-pilot.
Best idea I’ve heard all week… maybe I should email my list about this post : )
“maybe I should email my list about this post
”
Now THAT’S the best idea I’ve heard all week
Just kidding, but it would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
James
Hey James,
Really good idea I’m going to add to my Systemize Your Life biz…great easy source and with all my other plans for recruiting bloggers (I’m using modified versions of your Affiliate Recruitment guide for the ideas/scripts for recruiting guest bloggers) my blog is going to explode.
Really appreciate reading your blog. I think I’ve read every post
Brad
Hey James,
You just saved my day! Gave you a G+.
This is a great strategy for going from writer to editor.
Thank you!
James, thanks a lot for mentioning our MyBlogGuest! I have a few blogs that are run exclusively through the guest articles from our Articles Gallery and get massive search traffic!
I’d love to hear your opinion on the concept:
http://myblogguest.com/forum/features.php#articles
Thank you for sharing this successful initiative with your readers James!
I’ve been toying with the idea of adding a “Write for Us” category on my health site and your detailed post is definitely going to help me implement it.
Fran
thankyou james just found out where you were yesterday. I will be back for more great stuff from you thanks again.
Tim fallon