There is only so much growing your site can do as long as you are solely responsible for creating its content. There are simply only so many hours in a day and only so many articles you can write.
As such, many bloggers begin to look for other writers to help them with their site. Sometimes it starts out as looking for the occasional guest blogger but often grows into seeking something more permanent.
It’s easy to see why that happens too. The advantages of additional, long-term bloggers on your site are many, including additional personalities to attract new readers, more content for your site and less pressure on you to produce constantly.
So, if you’re looking for a new blogger to share the spotlight with you, paid or unpaid, here’s a few tips to help you out with your hunt.
1. Search Your Friends First
Letting someone co-author on your blog requires a great deal of trust. They have to produce high-quality content on schedule consistently. With that in mind, it makes sense to look at your friends first, the people you already trust. Search your Facebook friends and your real-life connections for anyone who might be a good candidate.
2. Use LinkedIn
If you don’t know anyone, maybe your friends do. Put a call out on LinkedIn or even Facebook and let your friends suggest their friends to you. LinkedIn is better because it makes it easy for your friends to introduce you to people within their network that you don’t already know. That makes it a great place to start looking for your co-author.
3. Look at Related Blogs
Search your RSS reader or Google Blog Search to find blogs related to yours that are well-written and might benefit from a merger. Smaller, but knowledgeable and well-written blogs usually have people people behind them who make great co-authors. Best of all, it’s a great way to preview the work and reliability of someone before asking them if they are interested.
4. Look to Your Comments
Do you have a commenter who is knowledgeable and routinely writes astute, well-written comments? In many ways they are already working as a regular co-author so offering them a more formal partnership might make sense. Be careful to do thorough research though before making any overtures.
5. Use Forums and Communities
Look through your industry’s forums and communities for individuals who post great content but don’t have a site of their own. They are clearly eager to express their opinions regularly but have no home of their own and, in turn, may be very interested in sharing yours.
6. Try Guest Bloggers
As mentioned above, many times guest blogging turns into something more long-term. If you currently accept guest blogging, see if there are any who have done a particularly great job and cosnsider offering them a bigger role. If you don’t accept guest bloggers, consider starting up a drive to get some and see who applies and who does the job the best.
7. Accept Resumes
If you intend to pay your co-author or co-authors, consider putting out a call on sites such as Freelance Writing Jobs and Demand Studios to see who applies to work for you. Also, if your blog is very well-established, you may be able to put the call out on your own site and get a good number of replies.
All in all though, there isn’t much magic into finding a co-author for your site, it’s all about finding someone who can put out content you need with the consistency and quality that you demand.
Just like any other employment or volunteer position, it’s something you have to look for very hard, but fortunately you should now know where to begin.
This blog post was written by Lior who works for an online task management start-up from new-york and also advises an MBA abroad school.
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This was a very detailed and specific blog post John. I was just thinking of how I could get more bloggers to write on my blog. I read your post just in time as well. But, what I wanted to know was is it better to pay for someone to blog for you and if so what is a good price to offer per post? Or should you offer a contract sort of deal?
Mostly blogger charge according to their status. One can charge you 5$ per pst or some could even charge you 100$.
Getting freelancers is very cheap and if you buy in bulk you can get like 50-70 articles for 100$.
Bear in mind that you get what you pay for. There’s a reason why one blogger only charges you $2 a post and another charges $100. It comes down to the quality of the writing, the professionalism and expertise of the writer, and other related factors.
Asking how much a blog post costs is like asking how much a car costs. You can buy an econobox for $10,000 or you can spend over a million dollars on a Bugatti. The key is finding the price point and value that is right for your particular needs.
Being a freelance writer myself, I run into these kinds of questions all the time. If you’re going to ask for a rate quote, be as specific as you can about what it is that you want.
Michael,
VERY true advice. I typically pay my freelancers ~$25/hour to write articles. They can typically do about 2 articles per hour (in the 500 word range). The quality is unparalleled and at the end of the day quality is everything.
All the best,
Ian
I just wanted to echo the comment about getting what you pay for. If you’re paying $2/article it’s probably not worth it unless you’re posting content for the search engines instead of readers in which case why not buy some article spinning software and just post the same crap over and over. As a freelance writer and someone who holds a B.A. in English it’s offensive when people offer such low prices. That’s just my opinion though.
I agree to Michael Kwan,
If you spend more then definitely you will get more because the writer will pay more attention and do more research and you will get a impressive article.
Seems like John Chow guest bloggers get a lot of attention to their products, blogs, and services
.
You get what you pay for.. The quality of the $100 article will not be same as $10 article.
Same thing I am also telling Just in a long sentence.
You can find many writers on freelancer.com if you want to pay. The cost can be something from $1.5 to $10 per post and above. However you should consider this fact that if you are going to spend $$$ on the content of your blog, you are actually treating it as a business and it means you should make money out of each post and then you should consider your ROI and your income per thousand visitors and the revenue that each post makes for you.
On the other hand guest blogging is a great opportunity to grow your network and build your business which with outsourcing it, you are actually missing on this opportunity.
Well said Iman one should only invest if he is sure that he can get return.
It’s best to try and seek out friends first. But I don’t really know anyone who blogs. I find it kind of difficult to network with other bloggers because they caught up with their own blog.
I just wrote an article on how guest blogging helps increase traffic.
It will become easier if you join some blogger’s communities like Blogged,MyBlogLog and Bloggers
This post was not written by John but instead a guest blogger.
Its written by Lior .
This blog post was written by Lior who works for an online task management start-up from new-york and also advises an MBA abroad school
This is a guest post written by Lior.
What I think is accepting guest post is also a good way to find more co-authors.
If you take Lior’s first advice and start with your friends, you might not need to pay cash especially if the favor is reciprocal. If you do not have a lot of money to play around with, you might want to explore that option first.
When you have a personal blog it’s not a good idea to have too many guest posts and paid writers.
Using them on occasion is good but you should still write the majority of your posts.
I’ve seen people complaining even on this blog when John has a couple of guest posts in a row.
It depends on what kind of blog you have.
So true. Even if I was offered some awesome article for my blog. I might of turn it down just because I’d not feel like it displays my blog so to say.
My blog is written by me, and it shares my feelings and views. Having a lot of guest bloggers will mess that up and break the balance.
Quiet agree with you. I guess we need to decide when is the time when we need to outsource or have guest bloggers for our blog.
It can be frustrating trying to find someone who fits the bill for what you want in a co-author. I haven’t had any success looking for people on Demand Studios only because you have to be a writer approved into their system to get into the forum. Therefore, if you’re not looking to write for Demand, there’s really no point.
However, you’re totally right. Taking someone who typically writes guest blog posts and then bringing them on part time and then full time can be a great way to get high quality writers. They learn exactly what you want on your site and are able to help you expand your business.
Having co-bloggers really puts a lot of burden off your shoulders. Plus it also provide your readers to have a variety. You can use blog directories like Technorati and Bloglines to find good potential blog writers for you.
Good tips Lior. Appreciate it
Especially if you run mulitple blogs. Having other writers helps.
I think should start inviting other writers to my blog.
I am running two blogs and facing too many problems.
With that none of them is doing well !
I think these are great tips and a very well thought out guest post. My only worry in my own situation is losing the “personality” of my blog. With too many writers/guest posts, a blog can lose its character if one is not careful. However, doing this in moderation can definitely help with scale.
It really depends on the nature of the blog too. I can’t imagine a place like Gizmodo or Slashphone operating without a staff of writers. One man can only do so much.
That’s right.
When you have a popular blog, there will be plenty of guest post offers. You need to choose from them wisely.
That’s a nice post Lior..
Yes. Good simple advice provided in a clear and concise manner that we can all understand. No fluff. Excellent.
Yes, i agree with you. This is a very good guest post, learned something from it. Thanks Lior.
You can also get lot of followers for ur blog from social networking sites like facebook,twitter,etc.So try to read many blogs like this one which will guide you to good extent
Finding Additional Bloggers is not difficult to find when you have a network of connections and money to pay for freelancers. I’m thinking of finding additional writers for my site when it start making traction of traffic.
Well but which 1 gives u the best quality?
I think forums and communities are the best place. You can also look search similar blogs at Tecnorati and find few potential bloggers. Why don’t you ask John Chow to do a post for you?
Well, he is probably a bit to busy for that thou’. But as you say, there is probably a lot of great ones out there.
To find which one gives the best quality though. I think that is rather a choice of taste. Because what suits my blog best might not suit the next, even if the same niche.
Hey guys I haven’t given any projects on Freelancer.com but there is one of my friend who had. He was really upset with the services as the bidders do not complete their task after getting paid and there is no provision made them to get back the money.
Have anyone tried Freelancer?
Another suggestion: Craigslist. I direct them to where the job applications are & let them choose what they want to do & submit resumes. It has worked for me every time.
There are many other alternatives.. You just have to know where to look.
Good list Mr John. I think I’ll stick to writing my content for now. Later on I have plans to bring a few friends and my brother online.
Yeah, I’m thinking of the same same approach. Brining people someone that I feel that I can connect with, if I get one.
Great article, John
I liked the 4 point that is “Look to Your Comments” because I never thought about this and this is new for me.
I know this post is written by Lior but I thank john for accepting it.
I love posts like this, really allows you to open up your blog and have many different writers. Thank you
hi john! thanks for this post! it’s really helpful.
There is a lot of work and time involved on finding additional bloggers as you suggest, but you are showing us the right way.
I just downloaded and read your free ebook about blogging. I came to your blog in order to learn more because you are really an excellent teacher. Thank you!
Nice article, John.
Friends should always come first when you’re looking for any kind of support.
It’s a great advantage to work with your friends because they may even agree to do blog posts for free or at a low price.
That’s what friends are for, right?
Hi John,
I’m not so sure about all the other writers chiming in on your Blog. I think a hard and fast rule for the Bloggers of the day, is to guest post on the weekends. You need to be there at least five days out of the week to do business.
When I come to John Chow.com I want to read what you have to say about the state of the Blogosphere. Not some other personally that usually has his/her own Blog that I read anyway.
So stating, I understand that this post itself is written by a guest writer. Where are you at John?
Thanks once again! I’ll try LinkedIn
Some great idea there Lior. Thanks a lot. I often have guest bloggers do posts on my blog but never really taught about having them post ‘full time’. Definitely something to think about.
Nice read. I have to agree on starting with your friend. I have a friend who is a moderator in a forum and he has helped a lot when it comes to bringing traffic to my blog.
I’m actually one of those cheap guys out there and as much as possible I’d like to keep costs at a minimum. I’d love to have guest bloggers on my blog but it seems my tactics are not good enough to actually convince someone to post. Any tip would really help
You should start revenue sharing to get guest post I got around 45 registration the same week I started revenue sharing.
For those who want bloggers for their blogs, you can go over to forums like dp and ask for content in exchange of a link in the blogroll Win-win situation.
From last week I am getting a lot of user registration to write at my educational blog but they are not submitting any article yet. Feels good atleast they are registering.
weel my blog is very small, but i have a friend that can help me