Do you guest blog for your pet business?
As well as working as a journalist and content creator, I have a pet blog www.thepawpost.co.uk and sometimes I’m asked to contribute to other websites.
It’s usually a short interview or some comments on various subjects.
I’ve written about blogging, caring for a senior dog, bereavement, travelling with pets and my most recent request is about the benefits of having a pet for the elderly.
It might sound a bit random – why does writing this benefit me?
So I’m going to go through ten reasons why guest blogging and blog exchanges can help you as a pet entrepreneur, or any kind of business owner.
I’m not going to blind you with science or jargon. It’s simply a no-nonsense guide based on what I’ve learned as a blogger and my understanding of digital marketing.
- It raises awareness of what you do
The more places you can get your name and face and business out there, the better, because while your friends, family, and clients know you, you want to reach as many people as possible.
Particularly when you’re starting out, you want to be showing up in as many places as possible, both offline and online.
2. It gives you access to their audience
Appearing as a guest blogger on another person’s website puts you in front of their followers and fans, so you get a whole new set of eyes on your business.
Say you’re a dog walker in Warrington, and a dog groomer asks you to do a guest blog on tips on walking your dog in the summer.
If their readers are looking for a walker, you’re already way ahead of the competition. Likewise if the groomer does a guest post on your site about grooming tips, the same applies for them.
3. That audience is most likely already interested in what you have to offer
You’re being asked to be a guest blogger for a reason, and that is because the person who is asking you knows that you can give something of value their audience.
They are already interested in what you do, and while they might not become a customer or client straight away, you’re in their mind for when they need you.
4. It helps you build that know, like and trust
Research shows we need to have seven touch points with a business or brand before we buy. That might be an e mail, a social media post, or a blog.
Once we’ve seen someone or something seven times, the trust is there for us to make a buying decision. (Personally, I only need to see something once!)
5. You can do it from your sofa in your PJs
I’m not for one minute suggesting you slob around all day, but unlike networking meetings where you have to get up at an unearthly hour and talk to people, you can guest blog in your own time.
You also have time to consider your responses to the questions, carry out research and personalise it as much as possible for the reader.
6. It positions you as an expert
As in point 1, the more places you show up online the better. Let’s say you’re a dog trainer in Warrington and you have guest blogged on five websites in your area.
A potential client is looking for a trainer and gets a few names suggested by their friends on Facebook. They Google each one because that’s what we do isn’t it?
Your name pops up over and over again, giving expert advice on all manner of dog training scenarios. If you were the client, which one would you choose?
7. You make contacts and contacts = referrals
It’s easy to be isolated as a business owner but collaborating with other people helps you build contacts that can grow into rewarding relationships.
The more pet businesses you know in the area, the more people there are for you to refer your clients to if they need help, and they will return the favour to you.
8. Clients see you as the ‘go to’ person
If you have contacts in every area of pet life, you become a vital source of knowledge to your clients and the person they turn to regardless of whether it’s something you can help with personally.
I’ve learned as a journalist to be the ‘go to,’ person for a lot of things over the years, and more recently it’s become pet stories and the pet industry and you can do the same.
9. You get a link to your website
Each website has a Domain Authority or DA score which predicts how well it will rank on search engines and how many other websites link to it is one of the factors.
When you guest post, ask if you can have a link back to your site at the end or the beginning of the post so the reader can click through and find out more.
If you’re blog exchanging, then you will do the same for the person who is guest posting on your site.
The more links you have, the better your website will perform in search results, and the higher the DA score of the website linking to you, the better.
So a link from The Guardian or the Daily Mail with a DA of 95 would be the Holy Grail, but a link from a small business or a blog is still great too. They all add up.
You can read about this in more detail on the Moz website in this article on SEO and Domain Authority.
Another book I’d highly recommend if you want to understand more about this is Natasha Courtenay-Smith’s Stand Out Online available here on Amazon.*
10. You can ask the reader to sign up to your e mail list
If you guest post, strive to make the post as good, if not better than the content you have on your own site, as you have one chance to win them over.
Give value, so really think about how you can help the reader. If you’re a trainer writing about travelling with pets, create a checklist they can download.
Maybe you’re a groomer sharing summer tips, you could offer a video demonstrating some of the suggestions you’ve made.
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I hope you’ve found this helpful and I’ve demonstrated the value of guest blogging.
If you’ve decided it’s something you’d like to try, here’s a quick guide to pitching.
How to write a pitch as a guest blogger
If you’ve met the person already, brilliant, you might be able to suggest a collaboration in person, or on the phone, or social media.
If you don’t already know them, sending a polite and friendly e mail is the best approach.
Study the website and find the name of the person you need to reach and their e mail rather than info@ or Hello@
Start by saying who you are and why you’re getting in touch.
Explain that you feel there is a synergy between your businesses and the reason why, and ask if they accept guest blogs.
Outline what you propose your guest blog will be and how it can help their readers.
Thank them for taking the time to read your message and leave your contact details.
It should read something like this:
Hello Jane
I hope you don’t mind me messaging. I’m a dog trainer in Warrington and I came across your website and noticed your grooming salon is very close to where I live.
It’s great that Warrington is such a dog friendly town with so many businesses dedicated to helping pets and I wondered if you might be interested in working together to help each other.
My website is www.yourwebsitename.co.uk and I share training tips with my readers and I was wondering if you might be interested in doing a blog exchange?
As a groomer, I feel you could offer helpful advice on preparing your dog for the summer, and as a trainer, I was thinking it might be useful for your audience to learn the best ways to prepare your pet for their holidays.
I’d love to know if this might be of interest. If you’d like to chat to discuss this I’m on NUMBER.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Rachel
So there you have it, what’s the worst that can happen? They say no, or don’t reply? Simply find someone else to approach.
And to get started with blogging, you can get lots of help in my membership, check out Is my Pets Get Visible membership right for you?
If you’ve found this post helpful, you might like Why creating content is important for your pet business or How to reach your customers if they’re not on social media.
- Disclosure: This link is an affiliate link meaning if you click through and buy, I will earn a small commission. This is at no cost to you.
