Are you ready to start guest-blogging your way to more subscribers? That’s today’s topic.

If you’ve been on the internet for any length of time, you know that a blog is an ongoing online journal on a certain topic, which usually invites interaction with readers in the form of comments on the blog posts. Many blogs allow or even encourage guest posts from other writers in their industry.

By becoming a guest blogger on a popular blog, you can get additional subscribers in two main ways:

1. It increases your trust factor. In order for people to give you their name and email, they need to trust you. As a guest blogger on the blog of someone they already know, like and trust, you have the opportunity to have a little bit of that trust rub off on you. This vote of confidence goes a long way in gaining the trust of potential new subscribers to your email list.

2. It extends your reach. By guest blogging you significantly increase your center of influence, beyond those you normally reach.

If you want to have success with guest blogging you need to understand the target market of the blog you’re visiting. Your posts should connect with the audience and offer them value. Do this by studying the blog  – what have readers responded to in the past? What topics are typically covered? How long are the posts? Do they include multiple images or none at all? You want to look like you belong, while still offering something uniquely yours.

When trying to find blogs to guest appear at, start with who you know and who knows you. Then start looking for leaders in your field and approach them. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to secure guest-blogging spots. All bloggers need content, and it takes a lot of time and energy to create so you are providing them a service. It’s one day they don’t have to think of what to write!

Once you’ve secured a blog to post on and you understand what the readers want, it’s time to sit down and write. Here are some tips:

–        Begin with the end in mind. Choose a goal for each blog post. In this course, we’re working on building your subscriber base, so your goal will be to send the readers to sign up to your email list. Think about your ‘irresistible offer’ and work your way backwards from there.

–        Write useful information, but don’t give it all away. Remember that your goal is to bring them back to your own website to sign up for your list. Craft your post so that the reader is impressed with the information, but left wanting to learn more. Then create your offer to send them exactly where they’re dying to go.

–        Respect and thank the blogger. Do everything you can to make your visit is a pleasant one for the host and the readers. That means offering to add the post yourself, thanking them publicly for accepting your post, promoting your post via Twitter & Facebook, and anything else you can think of to be a very welcome guest. That way you’ll be welcomed back again, anytime!

Guest blogging is one of the best ways to reach a targeted market. Try it out and you’ll see that building an email list doesn’t have to be complicated or confusing – you simply need to take action! So right now, make a list of five sites you could approach to guest-blog. Then go do it. Yes, right now!

Tomorrow we will discuss using article marketing to get email subscribers.