8 ways to find guest bloggers for your financial blog
Sometimes it’s good to invite a guest to share the spotlight on your blog. Guest bloggers help you
- Meet new readers when your guests’ followers visit your blog
- Deepen your relationships with your guests who’ll feel grateful for the exposure, especially if you promote their guest posts on social media and elsewhere (I include my guests’ posts in my monthly e-newsletter)
- Learn something new
- Enjoy a break from your writing duties as you save time—loading a guest post takes less time than writing one
Where can you find guest bloggers? Start with experts whom you know and read.
1. Colleagues and referral sources can become guest bloggers
If you’re a financial planner or money manager, you probably have colleagues to whom you refer clients for tax preparation, estate planning, and other needs. When these folks appear on your blog, you’re introducing them to your clients and burnishing their credibility. Your clients will feel as if they know these professionals by the time you introduce them in a meeting.
A guest post is also a nice way to attract and thank a source of good referrals. You can offer a slot on your blog even if you’re not yet able to reciprocate with referrals. This shows that you value the relationship.
2. Bloggers whom you read
Have a favorite blogger who writes about a topic that interests your readers? You can propose a guest post on your blog. If the bloggers are complete strangers, introduce yourself briefly. They’ll probably want to know about your blog’s readership so they can assess the usefulness of a guest appearance. Speaking of readership, guest bloggers with strong followings can help attract new readers to your blog.
3. Non-competing experts in your field
Let’s say you’re a wealth manager who works exclusively with orthopedic surgeons in New England. If you like the expertise and blogging style of a wealth manager who focuses on Californian orthopedic surgeons, you’ve got nothing to lose by trading posts with that manager. In fact, you could gain a lot by taking advantage of that manager’s expertise for your clients.
4. Authors with new books
A blog like mine typically can’t snare a guest post by a renowned academic such as Meir Statman. However, my blog became one of the first stops on his virtual book tour for What Investors Really Want. “Guest post: ‘Client fears and financial advisor services’ “was the result. Check with publishers if you learn of a new book coming from a relevant author.
5. Forums and other discussions
I’ve found some of my guest bloggers through online forums. For example, “Do longer articles really get shared more often?” by Angelique Geehan originated with a comment she left on one of my posts on the Investment Writing Facebook page. Mridu Khullar Relph’s “Don’t make it hard for people to comment on your blog” started with a discussion on a private forum for writers. I found Ted Jenkin, who wrote “Peter Lynch Went Grocery Shopping With Me At Whole Foods The Other Day,” at a cocktail party during a conference held by the Financial Planning Association. I found other guest bloggers through their comments on my blog or social media.
6. Look for answers to your questions—or your readers’ questions
Do your readers have a nagging question? Ask an expert to answer it on your blog. That’s how I landed designer David Williams’ post about making your white papers visually appealing.
7. Ask around
Let people know that you’re seeking guest bloggers. You can ask online via social media, private forums, and other places. You can also ask offline, mentioning your needs in your presentations or face-to-face meetings.
8. Keep your eyes open!
If you’re always looking for guest bloggers, I bet you’ll find them in unexpected places. Perhaps you’ve already done so.
Don’t rely on guest post submission guidelines
In my experience, guest post submission guidelines don’t keep away low-quality guest post requests. Spammers ignore them when they’re looking solely for an SEO (search engine optimization) boost from the links embedded in their guest posts on your blog.
I share my guest post submission guidelines as a courtesy to my guests offering high-quality posts. Guidelines make it easy for them to understand what I expect of them.
Please share YOUR tips for finding guest bloggers. I always enjoy hearing from you.
Note: This post originally appeared on the Wealth Management Marketing blog, which no longer exists.
