Your Guest Post is Published. Now What?

I’m active in a lot of Facebook business groups, and often hear grumbling about guest posting opportunities that didn’t quite go as expected. Sure, maybe you didn’t get 100 new subscribers or an immediate booking, but this is a marathon not a sprint.

Each guest post, on its own, isn’t going to amount to a lot. The real power comes in the momentum of guest posting and the body of work you’ll build over time.

But enough with managing expectations. Your sweet words are out in the universe, so now what?

Remember all that hard work and hustle it took to get the opportunity in the first place? Time to summon it up and get ready to promote the ever lovin’ out of that guest post.

This is all on you. You can’t wait for people to find it. And definitely do not wait for the blog it’s running on to promote it. It’s your content, so own it and create a plan for promoting it.

Let’s break out the “how” promoting your awesomesauce content on publishing day and for months after that!

Your Guest Post is LIVE – Sharing is the Name of the Game 
Today’s the day and your little slice of genius has been shared with the world. Don’t drop the ball now and let your guest post go unnoticed. It’s time to share, loud and proud what you’ve been up to:

• Share Guest Posts with Your List. In your next regular communication with your list share your latest guest posts. This builds you up as an expert with a little bit of old fashioned third party credibility. If appropriate, you could also ask them to share the content to their networks.
• Share on Your Social Networks. Share it widely – vary your intro to it, pull out different things as most appropriate for the platform. Be sure to cover off all of the ones you are active on.
• Share an Excerpt on your Blog. Just an excerpt with a link back to the original content. Do not post the entire article, because Google has a hate on for duplicate content.
• Ask Friends and Supporters to Share the Content. Ask for people to share it when appropriate. It’s amazing what can happen when you simply ask. Write the tweet or post for them to make it dead easy for them to share it.
• Post in Groups. If you are active in Facebook, Google+ or LinkedIn groups, you can share the content there as a resource for the other members. If you are going to go this route, make sure you don’t only show up to shamelessly plug yourself.

A few other things you want to make sure you have on the radar for when the post goes live:

• Monitor and Respond to Comments. Responding to comments and being active with those engaging with your post is one of the key areas that many guest bloggers miss. This is just good follow-through and helps add to your credibility. Plus, the blog owner will notice if you do or don’t do this.
• Track Results. In the days following the post, you want to track sign ups to your list, referral traffic and other key metrics. Don’t get too stuck on the numbers, this is more to give you a snapshot, numbers don’t always tell the whole story.

Ongoing Promotion – Recycling Guest Post Content for Months to Come 
The true value of any guest post (or media coverage) is what you do with it in the long-term. The majority of the content shared in guest posts is evergreen meaning it has a long shelf-life.

Here’s some ways to keep your guest post content front and centre for months to come:

• Use it to Answer Questions. Seek out opportunities to answer questions on your areas of expertise in Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn Groups. Find industry forums or communities to participate in. Your guest post becomes a quick way to answer questions as they arise.
• Keep on Sharing. As you plan your social media content, add tweets and posts about older guest posts. Think “from the archives” or “you may have missed”. Add something new when you share it to dress it up, or highlight something you think is timely.

Are you ready to get out there and promote your guest posts? If you have one coming up, create a checklist so you can make the most of it.