Today Andy Beal from MarketingPilgrim.com answers my question about the thing he did in 2007 that improved his blog the most.
Without doubt, the best decision I made for MarketingPilgrim.com during 2007 was the addition of new contributors. We took on two paid staff writers and added almost a dozen other contributors.
Theses additions helped Marketing Pilgrim in a number of ways including:
- A deeper range of opinion. Our readers are now treated to broader insight and views–which I could not have provided on my own.
- More content for Google. With more writers, you produce more content for Google’s hungry spiders to digest.
- Expanded syndication. The addition of new writers helped position Marketing Pilgrim as a leading source of marketing news–which lead to our inclusion in Google News.
- More time for other projects. With the extra writing help, I was able to spend more time on research, development, and promotion for the site.
- Keeping me on my toes. There’s nothing like having fresh ideas and writing styles to help you evaluate and improve your own writing. I learned a lot from our new writers.
While having an audience of 8,000-10,000 daily readers helped us to attract great writers, that shouldn’t stop even the smallest blog from seeking contributions. A writing contest or a simply request for reader submissions is often all you need to bring additional content to your blog. You don’t even have to pay for new content either. Often an author byline and link back to their site, is enough of a reward for most contributors–just take this post as proof! :-)
Andy Beal is the editor of MarketingPilgrim.com and co-author of the upcoming book ” Radically Transparent.”
PS from Darren: If you want to know more about HOW to do some of what Andy talks about above – check out this more recent post from Collis on how to add new authors to your blog.
Good post. Like the saying goes ‘Where there is Will, there is a way!.’
Great post.
I’ve recently opened up blogging slots for some key spaceship crew members and have noticed significant upticks in traffic.
The different personalities and areas of expertise have added a whole new dimension to the blog, increasing variety for the existing audience and attracting new readers (particularly female-based) we likely would never have entertained otherwise.
One must always watch one’s core, of course. But nothing’s nice without a bit of spice.
I am adding a few guest bloggers next week for when I go away. I think this is a great time to bring some outside writers in.
When you add guest bloggers I can imagine that there is a need for editing. Selecting and keeping guest posts withing your own blog’s context is logically very important.
I added four additional reviewers to my site near the end of 2007 and it was the best thing I ever did. I now have daily content on my site and it is also great to have different opinions of the same cigars.
@Lex – I typically put new guest writers through a structured process.
Stage 1. Articles are submitted by email – I edit and publish.
Stage 2. Writer has own WordPress login – they can save draft, but I publish after reviewing and editing
Stage 3. When I am happy with writer’s competence, they are given permissions to publish themselves – any editing (if needed) is done after publication.
I have few guest blogger as well in my blog. These do add up the value of my blog as well as the visitors in my blog too and hence increases the comments and reviews of my blog as well.
I will definitely add other blogger as well as guest blog posts in the future as well.
Cheers.
Thanks for this. I have thought about trying to get a few guest bloggers to write posts for a while. Your confirmation that it works well has encouraged me to try it out.
@Andy – That’s very similar to what I’ve done in the past. I think some people get a little anxious when someone else is writing – or about to write – for their blog, but if there is a process in place then there’s no need to worry.
Excellent advice. In 2007 I employed one regular blogger to help out, plus we have a couple of guest bloggers drop by every week.
Not only does it give other bloggers a chance to reach a new audience, but it gives your own readers a chance to read a new voice and perspective.
Great Post Darren thanks for sharing with us
Its a nice success story.
But, I think this is a tough decision in terms of expenses. It mostly works only if task management and quality control is being achieved.
any ways, thx for sharing it and happy new year -:)
-abs (www.snackaday.com)
Awesome post! I have a parenting advice blog and I asked two of my friends who have a variety of parenting experience to be regular authors on my site. They already had their own personal blogs, so I knew their writing style. They are just as excited as I am to share their personal experiences and advice. Any profits I get I split three ways, because they are my friends. My goal is to make spending money from my blog and I enjoy sharing the “wealth” with my friends.
I am really interested in this it can make your blog grow fast I wish I had some contributor so in one out there know something about investing please send me an e-mail at [email protected]
I wish I had enough money to hire 2 writers. If a blog was popular enough, one might be able to get regular guest posters who will do it to boost their freelancing career.
I have several bloggers in my blog. It’s a win win situation as I help to promote their blogs while improving my blog at the same time.
Hiring new writers for your blog certainly helps. The most important benefit is that you can market your blog all you want without caring about the content. Also, if you have a much more important project then you can focus your attention on that particular project and let your blog go on autopilot….
I hired two new bloggers this past week, and one of the immediate benefits I have noticed is an increase in traffic. This is probably due to two reasons:
1) each writer is connected to his or her own community, and this extra traffic makes a big difference for a small site
2) we can maintain a much higher posting frequency with more people, making our site that much better.