As defined by Neil Patel, “Guest posts (or guest postingWhat is Guest Posting?Guest posting, in the context of the cybersecurity industry, refers to the practice where an individual or organization contributes a blog post or article to another's website...) is publishing an article on someone else’s website.” Guest posting helps to reach a broader audience, build backlinks, and enhance brand visibility.
Is Guest Posting Still Effective?
In short, yes. There are many reasons why SEO agencies are doing their utmost to get guest blogs published on other sites, but the main reason is to try and get backlinks.
However, not all guest posts are created equally. When you have a site that ranks high in search engines and publishes content from an array of industry experts, you’re going to get targeted by spam. The higher the domain authority, the more people will want to submit guest blogs.
Cybersecurity expert Troy Hunt posted this hilarious article on his site titled, “No, I won’t link to your spammy site.” After you’ve read this article, I suggest you give it a quick read. Someone of Troy’s caliber will always be a target for backlinks, it’s pretty hilarious how he toys with the spammers.
However, all is not lost. Guest posting (or guest blogging) is still a very smart thing to be doing (only when it’s done correctly).
What Are the Benefits of Guest Posting?
There are many benefits of guest posting:
#1 Build up your reputation
If you’re new to the cybersecurity industry or perhaps looking to build up your online presence, guest posting can be a great tool to help complement the work you’re already doing. There are a ton of great cybersecurity sites out there, such as Dark Reading and CPO Magazine, that have their own independent following. So having your name on their site, tagged on by their social media team, and being featured in their regular newsletter carries a lot of weight.
#2 Reach a new audience
Writing for various sites can help you build up your reputation, and it can also help you reach a new audience. You might be a prolific writer for your company blog, but you’ll find it’s mainly customers and employees reading your work. Which is great and has its place, but when you start guest posting, you’ll be reaching new people in new places and making new connections.
#3 Make new connections
Once you start building your reputation and talking to a new audience, you’ll find more opportunities will come your way. The number of people I’ve known over the years that have had a rush of LinkedIn connections, Twitter followers, and even direct emails off the back of writing has been impressive. I’ve seen writers being approached to speak at industry events, join webinars on the same topic they have written about, be offered to write in other publications, and even have job offers! If done correctly, guest posting can have a huge impact on your professional career.
#4 Link building in an organic and natural way
When you guest post, publications will want you to create unique, thought-provoking content. This isn’t an exercise to talk about your company, your products, or solutions. Guest blogging is all about offering insights using your personal experiences, how you have overcome challenges, and sharing advice with peers in your industry to help them in their day-to-day lives. Guest blogging should be an educational process with a sprinkle of entertainment.
However, when it’s possible, you should always try to get a relevant link to something you’ve worked on before on your own site or even your company website. It could be a new blog you’re looking at getting more visibility or something else important to you that you want to drive a bit of awareness too.
If it’s promotional, a good publication will see through this straight away and decline your submission. It’s also important to create a well-thought-out author bio to accompany your writing, which will help build your profile.
How do I Find Guest Posting Opportunities in the Cybersecurity Niche?
If you’re new to guest posting, are building your credibility as a cybersecurity blogger, or just looking for tips on how to get your cybersecurity blogs posted on information security sites, here are some things to consider:
Do your research
If you’re writing about fashion tips, don’t email a cybersecurity site asking to place a blog on “10 reasons to attend Paris fashion show”. Stick to your niche, be relevant and add value to the site you’re approaching. If your niche is infosec, understand the cybersecurity topics that are trending at the moment.
These could include cyber risk and risk management, data breaches, cybersecurity threats, cyberattacks, cloud securityWhat is Cloud Security?Cloud security refers to the measures and strategies used to protect data, applications, and resources stored, accessed, and processed in cloud computing environments. It involves a combination..., malwareWhat is Malware?Malware, a portmanteau of "malicious software," constitutes a broad category of software specifically designed to infiltrate, damage, or disrupt computer systems, networks, and devices without the user's consent... and vulnerabilities. There’s also data protectionWhat is Data Protection?Data protection refers to the practice of safeguarding sensitive information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. It involves implementing policies, procedures, and technologies to ensure that..., network security, cloud computing, incident response, the role of the CISO, or even general cybersecurity newsAbout Cybersecurity News Cybersecurity news encompasses a broad range of information. It includes current events, as well as advice about protecting computers, networks, programs, and data from unauthorized access, attacks,... to consider.
Does the site have guidelines?
If so, then read them. It’s taken their team time to put guidelines together so the least you can do is read them to make sure your submission is relevant and of value to their audience. It’s important to know whether they are after in-depth thought leader articles, case studies, or shorter blogs.
Check the website’s spam score and domain authority
If you’ve found a site you want to post at but their domain authority is 15 and they have a high spam score, consider whether or not the site is a good vehicle for your cybersecurity blog and if the juice is really worth the squeeze. Also, consider whether the site is supported by the cybersecurity community, including decision-makers (such as CIOs and CISOs) and other cybersecurity professionals, as this is the audience you’re looking for.
Does this cost money?
Some sites will charge for posting on their site, this can be for a number of reasons but most of the best sites won’t charge. They will look at the quality of the content, and if you’re adding value to their readers, this is better than paying to get something placed. Also, if it’s easy for someone to pay $100 to post a blog, is that where you want your work to be showcased?
Don’t chase too hard
Good sites and the best editors are very busy people and they have a particular process to deal with regular requests. If you don’t get an initial response, don’t be passive-aggressive and follow up the next day. I’d consider creating a timeline to make sure your submission doesn’t get lost in their volume of submissions, or because someone is on vacation.
When working with experts in the cybersecurity industry, they can get extremely excited about the thoughts of guest posting and the benefits it can have on them and their organization. However, it’s not that simple for a lot of people to spend time coming up with new ideas, writing, editing, finding relevant publications, and then submitting the content to the relevant editors.
Talk to an expert
That’s where Bora comes in. We have a team of experts who can help you come up with the right ideas, interview you, record, and actually write the content for you and your organization to review. With just 30 minutes of your time, we can help create an article fit for almost any cybersecurity publication. Not only that, our team has built relationships with numerous publications in the industry, allowing us to easily get high-quality blog posts published in the best cybersecurity publications out there.
Being an expert at what you do is time-consuming, but sharing your work and ideas with the broader industry is really important for you and your business. And instead of adding to your already heavy workload, let Bora do the lifting for you.
