Guest posting has become an increasingly popular content marketing strategy in recent years. For finance and investing websites, accepting high-quality guest posts can provide multiple benefits that make it worth considering as part of your overall content strategy. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the advantages of guest posting for finance sites, best practices for accepting and working with guest contributors, and tips for generating more value from guest posts.
The Benefits of Guest Posting for Finance Websites
Here are some of the key reasons finance websites should consider allowing guest contributors on their platforms:
1. Gain Credibility and Authority
Publishing posts by financial experts, professional investors, industry analysts, and finance thought leaders can significantly boost your site’s credibility and establish you as an authority in your niche. A byline from an influential name provides a stamp of approval that shows you publish quality, vetted content. This, in turn, builds trust with your readers.
2. Attract New Readers
Guest contributors will share and promote their posts with their own audiences, driving new visitors from different networks to your site. This expands your reach and helps you connect with readers you may not have attracted on your own. More traffic also has SEO benefits, as Google favors regularly updated sites with new quality content.
3. Diversify Perspectives
Guest writers offer angles, insights, and expertise that your in-house team may not possess. This gives your content more depth and variety to better appeal to readers interested in different finance topics. A wider range of perspectives also adds credibility, showing you welcome diverse views rather than just pushing one viewpoint.
4. Save Time and Resources
Accepting contributions from freelance finance writers or industry professionals allows you to expand your content without overtaxing your team. Rather than dedicating extra time to ideation and writing, you can focus on your site’s strengths while contributors supplement your content.
5. Gain Topics and Ideas
Guest posters often come armed with their own unique topic ideas you can potentially develop further into new lead magnets, products, or campaigns. Pay attention to which guest posts perform well to uncover new opportunities.
In summary, leveraging guest posts from the right experts provides finance websites more value than just extra blog content. The credibility, exposure, perspective diversity, time savings, and idea generation offer both short and long-term benefits that make guest posting worth integrating into your strategy.
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Choosing Guest Post Topics That Complement Your Brand
While guest posting offers many upsides, you still need to maintain control over the topics and angles that appear on your site. Avoid publishing posts that seem out of place or don’t fit your brand. Here are some tips for choosing complementary guest post topics:
- Align with your niche. Guest posts should tie in closely with your finance site’s core focuses and not veer too far into unrelated areas. This might mean limiting topics to certain industries, asset classes, ideologies, or dimensions of finance.
- Consider variety and gaps. Look for guest post ideas that add something new and different from your usual in-house content, filling in gaps rather than just echoing existing topics. Variety adds value for readers.
- Review credentials and experience. Regardless of the specific topic, the guest contributor should have suitable credentials and experience related to finance and investing to write authoritatively on the subject.
- Avoid self-promotion. Guest posts that are overly self-promotional or just a ploy to tout the author’s own products/services will turn off your readers. The post should stand on its own value.
- Focus on utility. The best guest posts provide advice, education, insights, or analysis readers can apply in their own lives. Utility for your audience should be the emphasis.
- Check for relevance. No matter how well-written, a guest post that seems out of touch with your audience’s interests or niche won’t resonate. Make sure the topic is a good fit.
Vetting ideas from potential guest contributors according to these criteria will allow you to maximize benefits while ensuring a cohesive site and satisfied readership. Know when to say no to pitches that don’t meet your standards.
Finding and Vetting Guest Contributors
Where do you find qualified, reputable finance experts who can deliver valuable guest posts that align with your site? Here are some proven strategies:
- Leverage your network. Ask respected colleagues you already know if they’d be interested in contributing. Whether former co-workers, professional contacts, or people you’ve networked with at events, tapping into your existing network is an easy starting point for finding guest writers.
- Check competitors’ sites. Many finance sites publish guest posts. Look at competitor and industry leading sites in your niche to find recurring contributors who produce quality content. Reach out to them about also writing for you.
- Ask engaged readers. If you have readers who regularly comment on your content with insightful feedback, they may be ideal candidates to approach about submitting guest posts based on their knowledge and interest.
- Participate in forums. Finance industry forums and groups like Investopedia and BiggerPockets include many experts. Participate in the forums and get to know members who stand out as high-caliber writers/thinkers.
- Use freelancer platforms. Sites like Contently, Scripted, and ClearVoice specialize in freelance finance writers. You can post guest posting opportunities and review different writer profiles/portfolios.
However you source contributors, perform due diligence, including:
- Vetting their qualifications and experience
- Conducting a Google background check
- Confirming they can deliver original, unpublished content
- Requesting an author bio and headshot
- Asking for links to published writing samples
Also provide clear writer guidelines detailing your editorial standards, ideal tone/format, deadlines, etc. Setting expectations upfront attracts talented contributors who meet your needs.
Optimizing the Guest Posting Process
Here are some tips for streamlining your processes around collaborating with guest contributors:
Provide Clear Guidelines
Supply prospective writers with contributor guidelines detailing:
- Editorial standards and content guidelines
- Ideal article length, structure, and tone
- Deadlines for first drafts and final edits
- Requirements for images/visuals
- How credits and links will be handled
- Compensation terms (if any)
Thorough guidelines set clear expectations for the relationship.
Use Content Calendars
Maintain an editorial calendar showing scheduled publication dates for guest posts and in-house content. Assign due dates for first drafts accordingly so you build in proper lead time for edits. Share the calendar with contributors so they can see timing for assignments.
Require Pre-Approval of Topics
Ask contributors to pitch topic ideas and outlines for pre-approval before drafting full posts. This allows you to guide the direction at an early stage rather than spend cycles on content that misses the mark.
Collaborate Through All Stages
Don’t just hand assignments off and wait for finished posts. Maintain an open dialogue throughout ideation, drafting, editing, etc. to provide feedback and direction focused on your audience’s needs.
Secure Exclusivity
Require contributors to sign agreements that their guest posts are original, unpublished content not shared elsewhere. This protects your exclusivity.
Plan Promotions
Develop a promotion plan with the contributor for how you’ll both drive readership when the post goes live, such as sharing on social media, linking from newsletters, pitching to other media, etc.
Smooth collaboration, clear expectations, and grounded agreements with guest contributors will make the process more efficient while building productive relationships.
Optimizing Guest Posts for Maximum Impact
To generate maximum value from guest posts, you need to optimize both their content and publication strategy. Here are some proven optimization tips:
Focus on Quality Over Quantity
Publishing for quality over quantity means setting a high standard for guest contributions rather than trying to maximize your post count. Readers notice the difference.
Align with SEO Strategies
Work with contributors to optimize posts for SEO by including relevant metadescriptions, target keyword placement, useful internal links, images/graphics, etc. designed to boost search visibility.
Prominently Promote Authors
Feature author names prominently, including headshots and bios, as readers want context on who wrote the piece. Strong author branding also encourages sharing.
Syndicate Content
With permission, repurpose top-performing guest posts on other channels by sharing snippets on social media, turning posts into enewsletter articles, converting into videos, podcast interviews, etc. to extend reach.
Monitor Performance
Analyze traffic and engagement metrics for each guest post. Note trends to identify your most valuable contributors as well as underperforming topics to avoid.
Solicit Reader Feedback
Ask readers to comment on guest posts so you can gather direct input on what resonated or fell flat. This helps shape your contributor vetting and editorial strategy over time.
Compensate Contributors
If not paying for posts, provide other incentives like promoting the author’s website/social profiles, sharing their books with your audience, or providing professional headshots.
By optimizing both the production and promotion of guest posts, you’ll see greater benefits from increased website traffic, lead generation, and authority building.
Guest Posting Mistakes Finance Sites Should Avoid
While guest posting presents many advantages, you also need to beware of some common mistakes that can diminish the value:
Poorly Vetting Guest Authors
Not thoroughly vetting contributors can lead to low-quality posts from inexperienced authors that reflect poorly on your site. Always confirm credentials, portfolio samples, and expertise before approving guest writers.
Accepting Off-Topic Posts
Contributors may pitch ideas that veer too far outside your core niche. Stick to accepting posts closely aligned with your finance site focus to avoid content that seems out of place.
Letting Authors Ignore Brand Guidelines
Failing to provide clear style guidelines and letting authors ignore length/formatting requests can result in messy, disjointed guest posts that don’t fit your brand. Insist on adherence.
Being Too Promotional
Excessively promotional guest posts that read like an ad for the author undercut the value for your audience. Decline contributions that are self-serving.
Failing to Collaborate Throughout
When you just assign a topic and don’t interface until receiving the finished post, you often end up with content that misses the mark for your audience. Close collaboration drives better results.
Abandoning SEO Best Practices
By not optimizing guest posts for SEO, you lose out on the search traffic benefits. Follow on-page SEO best practices.
Neglecting Promotion
You miss out on added exposure if you only passively publish a guest post without actively promoting it across your platforms and the author’s networks. Joint promotion expands reach.
Avoid these missteps, and you’ll maximize the upside of guest posting while neutralizing potential downsides.
Key Takeaways
- Guest posting by financial experts and industry professionals can significantly boost the credibility and reach of finance websites.
- when vetted properly, guest posts provide added value through fresh perspectives, search optimization, and promotional reach.
- Finance sites should maintain strict standards for contributor qualifications, topics, and content quality.
- Smooth collaboration, clear guidelines, and content syndication optimize impact.
- Avoid common mistakes like off-topic posts, excessive self-promotion, and neglecting SEO.
Guest Posting FAQs
Should I pay guest contributors?
This is optional. Many will write for free in exchange for byline credits and exposure. But paying experienced finance writers $200-500+ per high-value post often attracts better contributors.
How much control should I give guest writers?
You need final say over topics and content to ensure posts align with your brand and audience needs. But also remain open to contributor ideas and provide constructive feedback.
When should I begin soliciting guest posts?
After your site gains some traction and audience, usually 6-12 months in, so you have realistic contributor guidelines and post-performance data to inform your strategy.
How often should I publish guest posts?
No more than 20-30% of your total posts should come from guest contributors, according to most content experts. Any more dilutes your core brand identity.
What’s the ideal guest post length?
For the finance niche, aim for 1,000-1,500 words as a recommended length that provides enough depth without getting overly granular.
Can I republish guest posts on other sites?
Get permission to republish full posts or snippets on other channels for promotion. Most guest writers will readily grant permission for content syndication as it also benefits them.
Conclusion
Guest posting, when approached strategically, offers a range of benefits for finance and investing sites seeking to expand their reach, credibility, and search visibility in a scalable way. By developing clear processes for vetting contributors, collaborating smoothly, optimizing content, and avoiding common mistakes, finance websites can leverage guest posts to augment their value for readers without compromising quality or brand identity.