Guest blogging: a powerful way to reach tightly focused market

“Find a narrow niche and own it” is some of the best business advice for today’s realities. If you get to know the needs and issues facing a small but lucrative market, so you understand its needs and how to meet them, you can write your own future.

But how do you show your expertise to people who have the need for your services?

Blogging is one way -- it’s low-cost, and thanks to Google, if someone wants to find content on your topic, there’s a good chance they’ll come across your content.

While having your own influential and widely-read blog would be great, not all of us want to invest the time it takes. So, your best route may be guest blogging -- getting your ideas in front of the readers of already-established blogs. I like to divide these online publications into three categories, and your approach to guest blogging is different for all three.

To see how this works, let’s imagine that you’re a consultant focusing on public transit -- specifically, light rail. This is quite apart from busses, subways, trolleys and streetcars, a narrow sub-set of transit that I just happen to think is one of the brightest lights in making the world more sustainable. But anyway -- what blogs can help you get word of your expertise in front of people who plan and design light rail systems?

Edited commercial blogs: “Build our brand, and we’ll help you build yours”

Some of the biggest, splashiest blogs are part of what 1960s radicals would have called “The Establishment” -- published by:

• Trade magazines such as those focusing on public transit
• Professional and business associations
• Large professional firms in fields like engineering, law and consulting
• Vendors of equipment focused on this niche -- from track and signaling systems to rail cars

These blogs are published largely in order to build the brand of the sponsor -- but you can ride along. They often have large readerships, and are well publicized. They have editorial staff who are responsible for generating some of the posts -- either through fresh content, through rewriting or chunking-down existing content, or through working with guest bloggers.

The blog editors often multi-task, with many different roles in their organization, and often feel the burden of having to come up with content that meets their publishing schedule. Accordingly, they often welcome contributed blog posts, because it takes a task off their desks.

They offer you a chance to get your ideas in front of a bigger audience than you probably could on your own. They work well provided you can demonstrate that you’re a recognized authority in your field -- which can be hard if you don’t already have a profile. And, they’ll want to be sure that what you say won’t cause offense to their readers, or get in the way of the branding position of the publisher of the blog.

Approach them with a query letter: indicate what you want to write about, why their readers should be interested, some of the points you want to cover, and your qualifications to discuss this topic. It helps to include some links to content you’ve already published online.

Star blogs: “Do you agree, or don’t you understand?”

Every constellation has its stars, and some of those stars burn brighter than others. It’s the same with blogging. Just about any field of human endeavor has bloggers, and generally a handful of those are “stars” in that they’re the people that others listen to. They may not agree, but they still read the blog even if it’s just to write furious ad hominem attacks in the comments section. And believe me, even a topic as innocuous as light rail transit can result in some furious debates.

Many of these bloggers are individuals, sometimes independent professionals with a specific niche. They tend to be more opinionated than the “commercial” bloggers, and this means that if they’re going to publish anything from you, you’d better agree with them.

But like the commercial bloggers, filling what newspapers call “the news hole” gets tiring, and so they often welcome contributed articles. Just remember that these bloggers worked hard to gain their star status, and like entertainment or sports stars, may be just a touch high-maintenance. Here’s how to build a relationship that can result in your being able to take a ride on their coat-tails:

• Approach them by first reading as many back posts as you can; note the topics they are interested in, and above all - note their opinions
• Retweet their posts, and be sure to add their Twitter handle so that they know you did the retweet.
• Put their posts out in your LinkedIn groups
• If they allow comments, add yours, and make it clear that you actually read the post you’re commenting on

If the “star” has noticed your efforts, she or he will be more interested in a post that you contribute. Also, the up-front work has made you more aware of the interests and viewpoints of the star, so your post is more likely to get accepted. Then, the door is open to future guest posts.

Labor-of-love blogs: “Get to know me first”

The third kind of blog is a blog that is often written by someone with knowledge, and who just wants to share it. Maybe they have ambitions of being a star, but they’re not there yet.

These blogs can be good vehicles for you in that they may be more accepting of guest content, and so are a good place to start. As well, although they don’t boast the same volume of unique views as the two groups above, you may be able to find blogs that exactly suit your needs.

Like the “star” bloggers, it won’t work if you just approach them cold with an idea. Get to know them first. Read the blog, and follow the same let’s-get-acquainted steps as with the stars. The difference is that labor-of-love bloggers will likely be more welcoming of information you might send them: “I saw your article on signaling systems; here’s a link to an article on an application on a system in Helsinki.”

These bloggers may also want to contribute to your blog, so it becomes a two-way street.

As with all content marketing, it’s important to understand the vehicles available, and how to ride them. This pertains to guest blogging as well.