Since we are on the subject of blogs and I just gave you a link to an extensive list of awesome mom blogs to check out I thought I would tie today’s lesson into the subject of marketing by “guest blogging”.  We have discussed this marketing tactic a few months ago but since this is such an effective way of getting your name and message out to your target market I wanted to follow up on this marketing tool again.  Guest Blogging is a great marketing tool for several reasons.  One reason is that when you do a blog post on someone else’s blog you are expanding your reach to other’s that you might not normally be in contact with — and the second reason is you are also building effective and relevant back links to your website by providing a link back to your website within the guest post.

There are a few strategies to follow when implementing guest blogging as a marketing tool for your business that you will want to follow.  The first thing is to find other blogs that are relevant to your market, there is no use guest blogging on a motorcycle blog if you sell children’s clothes.  Make sure the blogs that you seek out are relevant to your niche market.  The next thing is to start to build a relationship with the blog’s owner in some form before you request to post on their blog.  It’s just like any other relationship you build–you need to form a relationship of some kind–whether through twitter -retweeting their tweets, through posting helpful comments on their blog, or by emailing them and telling them how much of a fan you are of their work.  Don’t just expect every blog you are interested in to offer you a chance to post something on their site–remember their website is sacred to them, an important part of their business and livelyhood and you will most likely have to earn their trust before they allow you to be a part of their sacred space.  So start to build a relationship with them first and then work on the guest blogging opportunity.  One helpful tip is to find other related bloggers in some of the communities/forums you are already involved with–if you are involved in these communities you most likely already have relationships built that will be beneficial for this strategy. (if you are looking for a great forum to join I suggest this one)

Add guest blogging to your marketing strategy as soon as possible and believe me you will start to see results.  For more helpful information on guest blogging check out the Blog Tour Guide offered by Nicole Dean.  She has some awesome tips and ideas in this guide and this is how I got started with my guest blogging.

If you have a blog that is related to the internet marketing niche or a mom blog that may compliment The Marketing Momma Blog or my Barefoot Bella blog and you are interested in exchanging guest blogging with me please contact me to discuss it further.  I am always interested in having guest bloggers to contribute to my site and vice versa.

To Your Success!

Kate Wilber

PS Disclaimer:  The link in this blog post is an affiliate link and if you decide to purchase from it I will make a small commission.  Thanks!  Just remember I only recommend products that I use myself and feel would be beneficial to you and your business!

1. Evernote:  This great tool has an ap on your Iphone available.  I use it more as an organization tool.  It basically can remember everything you want it to by voice recordings, screenshots, etc.. and the great thing about it is that it can work for all of your computers–so it will keep you updated on your laptop and your main computer so you can stay updated on your schedule wherever you are.
2. Survey Monkey:  This is a free service that also has a paid version.  You can create surveys to send to your existing customers to see how they feel about your service or you can create surveys to use on prospective clients to see what they are looking for.  This is a great tool to really get into the mind of your customer to make sure you are providing what they need and want.
3. Google Alerts:  This a great tool to keep up with what is going on in your industry.  You can watch and track topics online to keep up with what is important to your customers and your competitors.  You can also select your name or business name to track so you can keep an eye out for what others are saying about you.
4. Jing Project:  This is a free service developed by the same company as Camtasia.  You can use it to capture screenshots, audio, video, add captions to your work, etc… It can be turned into a little 5 minute movie and walah you have your first online video as easy as that and for free.

These are just a few of the online tools that I use in my everyday business.  There are tons more to choose from to help you be more efficient and save money by using their free services.  Just think of the issues in your everyday business that might be holding you back and look for tools to help you streamline your process–there are so many options out there you are sure to find one to help.