When I talk with bloggers, some of them tell me that they don’t know how to find blogs that are a good fit with theirs. They don’t think it is possible for them to guest post on other blogs or recruit guest bloggers for their sites because their topic is too specialized or unique.
When I dig a little deeper, what I usually find is that the blogger is very narrowly focused, and not willing to look beyond that narrow focus for opportunities.
For example, I have a blog on mystery shopping. When I guest post to promote that blog, I typically write about — you guessed it, mystery shopping. However, I do not look for other mystery shopping blogs. There aren’t very many of those. Instead, I seek out blogs for work at home moms, frugal living blogs and others that have readers who might be interested in mystery shopping.
When I host guest posts on my mystery shopper blog, I don’t necessarily expect to find posts about mystery shopping, but I seek related posts I think my readers would like. I have run guest posts about online surveys, green shopping, buying inexpensive ink and toner (mystery shoppers print a lot of stuff) and even a post from an author who writes mystery novels where the main character is a mystery shopper.
Your readers come to you because they are interested in your topic. You do not want to run a bunch of posts that are not relevant to them, as they will quickly lose interest. However, the guest posts you publish do not all have to be on exactly the same topics as your usual posts. Look for posts on related topics that will complement your writing. The same advice applies when you are looking for blogs that will publish your guests posts.
Ask yourself what your readers have in common. For my mystery shopper blog, the answer is not just mystery shopping. They mystery shop because they want to make money from home. They want to know how to make more money and how to keep more of what they make. If someone has a post that speaks to them, it could be a good fit. Likewise, blogs that cater to other people like my current readers may want to help their readers learn about mystery shopping.
Whether you are guest posting or looking for guest writers, go beyond looking for people who blog on exactly the same topic as you and look for people who speak to the same audience you do.
Is this something you struggle with? Post your topic in the comments below and I’ll try to come up with some suggestions on finding good blogs to work with.