Guest blogging, also called “guest posting,” is writing content for another company’s website. Guest blogging on contractor trade media websites is an excellent way for building product manufacturers to:
- Attract traffic back to their websites
- Boost domain authority using external links to high-authority domains
- Increase brand credibility and product awareness among targeted trades
- Build relationships with peers in the industry.
If you want to be perceived as an expert within the industry, guest blogging gives you a chance to showcase that expertise. You provide valuable information that builds trust with your audience and potential customers when you share insight and tips. Once you become their trusted source for news, you gain another avenue to market to them. As a result, potential customers are more likely to remember your brand and do business with you when the time comes.
Recently we learned that our client, Oatey Co., landed not just one but three spots in Plumber Magazine’s Top 10 Most Popular Articles of 2022! In addition, the brand’s article on shower waterproofing was the most-read article in 2022 on tile-magazine.com.
In all modesty, we count these outcomes as a huge win for our client and our content team. So, how did we do it?
In this article we detail five ways your brand could have a guest blog in the top 10 most-read articles on trade websites like Plumber Magazine, Tile Magazine, Plumbing & Mechanical, and more.
1. Invest in trade media relations with a PR agency
Media relations involves targeting, pitching, and building relationships with relevant editors, writers, and influencers in a given industry. Part of our media relations work for our clients is pitching guest blog/editorial topics to appropriate trade media. It takes time, effort and collaboration to identify valuable, educational content ideas that media outlets would be interested in publishing.
GreenHouse has long-standing relationships with the editors and writers of the top trade and consumer publications in the design and construction industry. These relationships have spurred hundreds of guest blogs and editorial coverage for our clients through the years.
2. Recognize the value of long-form content generation
Before you can even begin to aim to have the most-read guest blog on a website, you have to recognize the value of long-form content and be willing to invest time and budget into developing educational, targeted, and research-based articles.
Once you believe in the power of content, you can work to develop a robust content strategy, including blogs, guides, ebooks, guest blogs, guest editorials, and much more.
3. Listen to your audience
To get your audience to want to read your guest blog, you have to identify a topic they care about. The best content solves the reader’s problem or helps them overcome daily challenges.
How can you listen to your audience and identify the best topics for long-form content?
- Include feedback forms on your site.
- Check the FAQ section of your website.
- Conduct SEO research to discover what questions people are asking about your product solution.
- Reach out to your email newsletter subscribers.
- Encourage your social media followers to speak up and monitor your comment section and dm’s for customer feedback, pain points and questions.
- Review customer-support conversations.
4. Partner with your subject matter experts
The best way to develop truly valuable content is to take a collaborative approach by relying on technical product managers and subject matter experts to provide input and approve content for accuracy. Interview the appropriate company associate for guest blogs to develop helpful educational trends, best practices, and how-to articles. This practice ensures that your subject matter experts are the voice of your guest blogs and bylined pieces.
Another way to identify the best content topics is to ask your sales team to share ideas based on their conversations with customers, then interview that same team as a source for the article you develop.
5. Work with a team of content specialists
To have the most-read article on a website, the article has to be well-written. It’s that simple. So if you know writing is not your strongest skill or you don’t have the capacity to interview a subject matter expert and write a thousand-word article in a timely manner, consider working with an agency with a team of skilled writers and content specialists to support your guest blogging efforts.
With over 20 years of experience, our team has successfully provided our customers with media relations support. If you want to harness the power of media relations to elevate your brand, Contact us to book a discovery call.