Update: Get in on our latest Guest Posting Contest – deadline: May 31, 2011!
As you may have read in the updates from the last contest, some of the posts did so well, they made it to the front page of SocialMediaToday and received thousand of views. Some were mentioned on other sites – it’s clear that these were very high quality posts.
When I decided to organize a guest post contest, my goal was to build the WeBlogBetter community and also give myself some time to work on my ebook and do some site planning. But I didn’t want to be the only beneficiary, that’s why I decided to award five people instead of just one and with some great prizes that I would enjoy myself – I didn’t want to offer something nobody would want.
In addition to those benefits, I wanted the guests to benefit from the added exposure and to have an opportunity to socialize and network with you, the awesome regular readers of this site.
Hosting a guest post contest can be a mutually beneficial opportunity, that when executed carefully, can have amazing benefits.
Here are some of the benefits I experienced:
It gave me a mental break
Sometimes posting every day can be stressful, I won’t lie. While I accept the challenge willingly and enthusiastically, some days I can’t help but feel drained. It allowed a chance to give my mind a rest.
Allowed me to plan for the upcoming month
I’ve openly expressed that I’m quirky and I like a bit of the unpredictable, but I still like to have at least a shell of an editorial plan for the upcoming month. I like to keep a few posts already written with tentative publish dates available. Even if I end up changing things or moving things around I still like to have at least a view of what I’m going to be posting for the weeks ahead. Having other writers fill in for me gave me a chance to get organized.
It created an opportunity to connect and network with new people
I had an opportunity meet some new bloggers who varied in blogging experience and niche. It was an interesting mix of people that I hope to continue to build relationships with. Jonathan Brill has reached Contributor status, and you’ve begun to see more of his thought provoking posts. If it wasn’t for the contest, perhaps that connection would never have been made.
The guest posters promotional efforts increased traffic
This benefit caught me by surprise. Since the goal of the contest was to get the most retweets, each guest went out of their way to spread the word about their guest posts. This brought in about a 20% increase in page views. Having an additional person tweeting and promoting along side with me each day was a pretty amazing benefit that I couldn’t have achieved alone.
As with anything, however, there were drawbacks. Running a contest or hosting guest posts in general is not a set-and-forget process, it still requires work. Tomorrow, we’ll discuss the drawbacks of hosting a guest post contest.
So have you thought about hosting a guest post contest, or would you simply like to encourage more bloggers to guest post on your blog? Either way, you’re going to have to make a very attractive offer that guest posters can’t refuse.
Join me tomorrow as I address the drawbacks and give you some tips for hosting a successful contest.
While you’re here, you might as well enter the guest posting contest of 2011!
Image Credit PCYFGTAVUBM7
About Kiesha Easley
I totally agree with you on blogging gives you a voice.
Yes, such a wonderful collaboration of bloggers and commenters to bring their art to life in a contest. Very interesting and great way to connect with new people.
Taylor Timms
Author of Best Breast Pictures book.
Hey Kiesha, this is a really cool opportunity. I hope you’re planning more of them in the future!
Tom Jamieson recently posted..October Is Pastor Appreciation Month
Helps in expanding your networks by connecting with more people which means more share of information.
It has become an unarguable fact that hosting a guest post contest is a good way to create an opportunity to connect and network with new people. However, I have no interest in guest posts because I need as many as sites with higher PR. You know, too many guest posts means too many outbound links, which will hurt the PR indeed.
.-= Health Tips Blog´s last blog ..Eyes Health Tips – 3 Tips to Keep Eyes Healthy =-.
I’m also thinking of holding a guest post contest as well, but that would be later down in the year.
.-= Kharim@WebMaster-Success´s last blog ..Blog Commenting: What It Has Done For Me =-.
this is really true.you save time and connect with people..
.-= mk akan´s last blog ..Blog Post ideas 6- 10 =-.
Great post! I agree, blogging definitely create an opportunity to connect and network with so many people with the same interests. It is also a good way to tell people about yourself and learn from other experiences.
Hi Kiesha,
Great share! Just a quick question though, what are your recommendation regarding prizes? Well, whatever the prizes are it’s still a win-win situation for both participants as well as the host, since all of their sites are getting exposed. And that means a lot of traffic for everyone. Plus new people to meet at the side. Definitely a great idea to push a blog to a much wider audience.
I’m pretty excited for your next post about the drawbacks of hosting a guest post contest, but I can’t seem to think of any. Will be back tomorrow, Thanks! :)
Regards,
Jason Acidre
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Jason,
Well, prizes would certainly have to be based on what you think your readers would benefit from the most. You’ll want products that could help them solve their common issues. And of course cash is always a great prize no matter what the niche.
I would love it when the time would come that I would also be able to host guest posts in my blog when it gets decent PR. Maybe a contest can help spark things up :) Cool contest by the way! I’ll try to join if I have the time which I don’t have much of a luxury of sadly :(
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Michelle,
I totally understand your time crunch – but the benefits of joining the contest might make it worth your while. I used to spend a lot of time on activities that really weren’t bringing the traffic or results I wanted, then one day I put together a guest post and that one guest post brought in more traffic in one day than all of my article marketing on ezines and commenting on other sites did in a week. It also opened doors for me that I would’ve missed out on otherwise. I’m writing for this site, all because of a guest post. I was asked to join the T.I.P Team all because of a guest post and a contest I joined.
Needless to say, I’m hooked.
It creates an opportunity to connect and network with new people. Yes, thats the whole point, if we connect to others, they will connect to us.
BTW, knowledge is power !!
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Penny,
Yes, knowledge is definitely empowering.