If you are reading this, chances are someone is asking you to write some comments on their blog or website. Or perhaps you yourself want to contribute your expert knowledge to an existing website or blog. In either case, I promise, you won’t leave this article disappointed. We’ll go over 9 powerful reasons why you should JUMP at the opportunity to contribute some of your expert knowledge to existing websites and blogs. But we’ll also tell you things to watch out for.
Just to be clear: The idea here is that you (as a professional, expert, or adept individual) will read a topically relevant article on a website, think hard about it, and come up with just a few words (100 to 200 words) of meaningful insight that you as an expert on that subject matter can contribute. You’ll then submit that content to the website (or blog) owner for free, so long as they publish the content right inside the body of the article itself. In this article we are going over all the reasons why you might want to do just that.
If you are wondering why the website owner would want to publish your expert commentary, read the sister article, here. They are benefiting tremendously as well. We believe in win-win-win scenarios (the contributor, website owner and readers all win with this strategy when executed properly).
This isn't simply guest posting (which has it's benefits). This is Featured Expert Commentary. It has almost all the benefits of vanilla guest posting, with a small fraction of the commitment required for both the author and the editor. Even better, the readers don't have to deal with a bland, full-length article. Rather, they get just the very best of what the contributing author has to offer.
So, without further ado, here are 9 fantastic reasons for experts or professionals to contribute their own expert featured comments to existing websites or blogs. Click on each to jump down to a more detailed breakdown of that topic.
- Genuine Connections
- Builds Awareness and Authority for You
- Providing a Genuine Value Add & Paying It Forward
- Learning as You Read & Contribute
- Demonstrate Writing Abilities
- Shareable Content on Social Media
- Proof of Subject Expertise
- Engage with a New Audience
- Evidence of Professionalism and Networking Ability
- Likely to Generate Back Links
- Providing a Genuine Value Add & Paying It Forward
Builds Genuine Professional Business Connections
There are many professional websites and blogs that are well run. Their owners are often established professionals. Or at the very least, they are passionate enough about the subject matter at hand to keep their site up and running. If you’ve never had to host and maintain a website before: Try it some time. It takes commitment, knowledge, or at the very least enough money to hire someone who has those skills.
These are the kind of people you want to know. Now, obviously every website is different and not all websites will resonate with each of us. But if you take the time to find a website that’s related to your particular niche, you can take a small amount of your valuable time to build connections that could have far reaching impacts.
Be selective with the websites you offer your commentary to. Make sure it’s clean, easy to read, not overrun by ads our outdated content.
Increases Awareness and Authority for You
There’s something called Citation Building in the world of marketing. This is very much like that process. You are putting your name out there, in many different places. If done consistently over time in the right places and communities, you will become known as a widely regarded, generous subject matter expert. This is a good persona to have in any professional industry.
Giving Real, Positive Value to Readers
Almost everyone is an expert in some specialty. Video games. Women’s fashion. Health. Fitness. Law. Automotive. Scuba diving. Horseback riding. Rock climbing. Digital marketing. Cancer research. Teen issues. Etc. If you try, I’m sure you can find some topic which you have lots of unique experience. Well your experience and your expertise are valuable, you just need to find the right audience who wants to hear what you have to say. They are out there. And by searching for, and working with the right website and blog owners, you can find people who will truly gain from your insights.
Expanding Your Own Knowledge on Related Topics
In the process contribution comments, you’ll be reading more about subject matters closely related to your chosen field(s). This is a fantastic way to open up your horizons and learn more about the most important things you need to know. Experts are almost always rubbing shoulders with several different industries or sectors of professionals. The more you understand about their work, the better you’ll be able to empathize with their needs and meet those needs through your profession.
Show off your Writing Ability
This is all about writing! It might be hard to write about any random topic, but experts are often eager to share their ideas about the work they engage in on a daily basis. If you have a hard time writing, then just talk. You can record your ideas as you speak and transcribe them later. This is can work for many situations, but it works particularly well as you are reading a topical article that you would like to leave feedback on.
When you contribute, you are proving to the world that yes, you can put your thoughts together in a coherent manner and communicate those thoughts to a larger audience. This is a valuable skill set to have and to demonstrate.
Creating Shareable Content For Social Sites
Have you ever tried to come up with one insightful post for your followers every day for a full month? If you are a professional, it can be difficult to find ideas that your audience would find valuable. By adding your insight to an existing article, you’ll have something unique and helpful and relevant to share with your social media followers.
Proof of Subject Matter Expertise
Now this benefit depends on your own ability to really read and understand the article at hand and innovate on the topic. Frankly, for most professionals (who have found the right articles) this process is second nature. But make no mistake your expertise will be on display, particularly called out and highlighted for all those who read the article.
Engaging with a New Audience
Once you do leave your comment, if the article has comments enabled, you have the option to return to the page and engage with the readers. This is again a fantastic opportunity to embrace your target audience and establish yourself as a thought leader in the community.
Evidence of Networking Competency and Professionalism
Website owners can be very particular. If they have been running their site for a long time they may have high standards for who can contribute. If you succeed in convincing them that you are worthy of inclusion in their article, you’ll have demonstrated that you have a certain level of professionalism and networking prowess. Depending on the website, of course.
Likely to Generate Links to Your Site
Now this is really the meat of the matter. Not every website owner will be willing to give you a do-follow backlink to the website of your choosing – but they should. You could (and should) ask, but I wouldn’t make the link a requirement of your contribution. It’s just not polite.
(A do-follow link is the opposite of a no-follow link. There is a big difference, so be sure they aren’t just giving you a no-follow link. Those are worthless to the search engines, but they do have some small value otherwise.)
The more of these links you have pointing to your own website or blog, the more the search engines are going to value your own pages. That means more readers will find your own hosted content when Googling. There are many great ways to attract more links for even more growth.
And of course, we here at Doakio welcome this kind of contribution to our own content (including this article). Head on over to our Write For Us page if you think you have a meaningful insight that we should publish.
What this article is really all about is a killer, white hat method of sustainable link building for the very best content creators and content hosts where everyone wins.
So there you have it! Nine reasons why you should definitely contribute expert comments to a website when you have the opportunity. Did we deliver on our promise to convince you? Have you used a strategy like this to increase your own brand awareness and presence as an authority? How did it go? Let us know in the comments below!