5 Website Characteristics That Will Help Draw Authoritative Authors to Your Site

When it comes to getting authoritative writers to endorse you or take part in guest-blogging on your site, there are definitely characteristics that will make your website stand out among the rest. In other words, while you may be reaching out to authoritative figures now, if you have a standout site that draws authoritative authors to you, they may even end up doing the asking.

Having authoritative figures in your industry connect with you will not only help you increase followers and allow your site to be more dynamic, it will also help increase your SEO and a variety of aspects of your social media presence. Why? Because having authoritative guest writers typical increases your clicks, social engagement, and will ultimately help to improve the overall popularity of your blog. The big question is how you can make this happen, and fortunately the answer is pretty easy once you know what you’re looking for.

5 Website Characteristics Authoritative Authors Look For in a Website

As a social media marketing agency, we cannot emphasize the importance of networking on any and all social and virtual platforms, but of course this is much easier to do when you have a website that’s ready to go (and there are things you can do to draw in authors specifically). Consider some of the tips below:

1. Make sure your blog is in tip-top shape.

As I mentioned, this post is all about characteristics that are going to draw authoritative authors to your site. In order to make that achievable, you need to make sure that your site is in the best condition possible. The first thing any successful figure (in any industry) is going to do is stop by your website/blog and look at the content that you have. You want to make sure that you have recent posts that are relevant, and you also want to be sure that you are positing consistently and that it looks like you are making updates where they are needed.

It is always a good idea to have a good variety of content types, which means straying from the traditional text-block content. A good way to make this happen is to actually repurpose content from other successful blog posts that you have had, which you can learn more about here. This shows authors that you’re not just an updated blog; you’re a blog that’s going places.

2. Look and examine what the author has written and use links when appropriate.

Before you can make an impression strong enough to have someone want to write on your site, you need to know who they really are as a writer. Correction: Not only do you need to know who they are, but you also need to make the argument that their work and knowledge is relevant and useful to your own followers.

One of the ways you can do this is by reviewing their writing and linking it to content that you are developing. If the relevance and your interest in their work makes sense, than it is going to be a far more successful endeavor when you ask them to write for your brand. Additionally, if they see you are linking to their page, they may even reach out to you. In other words, it’s all about the long game when trying to grab these writers.

A good way to find influencers in the first place and understand where they may be writing is actually to look at your competition and see where they are linking. You can use many different SEO tools to make this happen. Below shows what one of the most popular, Open Site Explorer, looks like. Don’t forget to sort by “only internal” for these purposes:

3. Share your accomplishments (now is not the time to be modest).

If your blog has had some success, you definitely need to be vocal about it. When you ask an authoritative voice to guess blog, you want them to know that their piece is going to be read, appreciated, shared, and liked, otherwise they might not make the connection that it is worth their time. One way to do this is by sending a few metrics along with your introductory email to authors you are targeting. If you are doing well, these metrics speak for themselves.

Another idea is to use social media to share any accomplishments, and ultimately connect your blog platform and audience to any success stories. Thigns like testimonials, privacy badges, and company videos are also great options. This is definitely the less direct approach, but this is the way you can attract A-list authors that maybe weren’t on your radar. Check out more credibility marker ideas from an article we wrote for SEMRush here. Below is an example from the article that shows how testimonials can make your website more appealing (in this case, on the Econsultancy website):

4. Be social with potential authoritative authors.

Going along with #2, one thing that often sets you apart from the rest is networking and making connections where they really count. Make sure you are following and actively engaging with authoritative voices in your industry. By engaging through comments, likes, and other interactions, you begin to establish a relationship and build rapport. These social networking connections are in many cases all that you need to be able to broach asking about a guest blog.

If all else fails, you can always reach out via email, but make sure to mention the activity that you have had with them on social media, for example “I really enjoyed your post on Twitter on Tuesday” or “Thanks for sharing our blog post a few weeks back, it was an honor to have that reach your audience.” This way you are pointing out the present relationship you have with them before you ask for their support in furthering your professional connection.

5. Support other bloggers you have hosted in the past.

If you have already had a guest blogger on your site, you definitely want to promote their posts and make it clear that this was a successful endeavor for them. One of the things the authoritative writers do when they are looking at the possibility of guest blogging is look to see how past guest bloggers were treated and what kind of outcome their piece had. Make sure you really take the time to thank and appreciate anyone who volunteers his/her time and writes for you. This includes posting the article on all of your social media platforms and mentioning them as a tag so it appears on their feed as well. Guest blogging should always be treated as something that is mutually beneficial.

The Takeaway

Getting someone with an authoritative voice in your industry to write on your blog is definitely something that can help you to increase website and blog clicks, social engagement, and will aid in improving the overall popularity of your blog. This relationship should be mutually beneficial to the author that chooses to write for you, so before you make this your latest goal, you will want to make sure that your blog is in great condition and has the most relevant content possible as recent posts. You will want to connect with them through social platforms, but also be familiar with their work before you begin. Lastly, do not hold back your accomplishments when you are trying to reach out and gain support from authoritative voices in your industry—give them a reason to dedicate their time and energy to you.

Do you have any experience with gaining access to authoritative guest bloggers? Have you been a guest blogger yourself? Is there anything you would like to add to this list? Let us know in the comments section below.

About The Author

Jason Hawkins / http://www.themiamiseocompany.com

Jason Hawkins is the CEO & Co-Founder of The Miami SEO Company. He has over ten years of experience in search engine optimization, conversion rate optimization and lead generation. His core responsibilities include identifying ways to increase value of services rendered, training staff on advanced SEO topics, and A/B testing internal processes to consistently improve client return on investment.