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Being active as a guest blogger has proven to be very efficient for recruiting new visitors and converting them into RSS subscribers. In this article we will look at different strategies to maximize your conversion rate by making sure incoming visitors subscribe at first sight.

Prewash

Preparing a guest blogging gig requires extra efforts. If you are planning to submit your article to an A-list blog, you would want to make sure you are providing readers - and the host blogger - with your best work. Think about it, thousands of readers will be seeing your post, so spending a few extra hours on the writing process is the least you can do. Don’t forget that guest blogging is just a fancy word for blog marketing, so don’t screw up this opportunity. To maximize your return on investment, writing killer content is only half the battle. Once your guest post is online, readers who enjoyed your article will more than likely pay a visit to your blog… this is where the main topic of this article kicks in. Having a bright and shinny home page is the other half of the battle. I’ve put together a list of ideas to help you get the most out of your guest blogging experience.

1) Sanitize Your Front Page

Don’t tell me you’ve never published fillers. I think we all do. But now may not be the best time for showing one on your front page. Let’s see how we could fix that:

• In WordPress you could unpublish a post by changing its status back to draft;
• By changing the Post Timestamp value you can make an article travel back in time. This would remove it from the front page, while keeping it published;
• If you’re really not happy about one of your post, you could seriously consider a permanent removal. Go to the Manage tab and hit the delete button on the article you wish to remove. Be careful no to trash your last pillar or a work in progress…

2) Setup a Popular Articles Widget

Every bloggers should have a widget listing their most popular articles. Not only you need one, but it needs to be above the fold (i.e., in the area visible when opening up your blog.) This way, readers are facing your best work without the need to scroll down. I am using one on my blog and I can tell for a fact that it’s a must have.

3) Give Your RSS Subscription Button Prime Time Visibility

To optimize your conversion ratio, make sure readers can find your RSS button easily. See it this way, if they need to look for it, then it’s no good. Make sure it is displayed in their face. While on this subject, try also not to pollute the real estate area surrounding your feed’s button, it has to stand out from everything else displayed on your page.

4) Take It Easy On In-Post Ads

It is well known that many readers do not appreciate too much ads on sites, and especially, within content. While many new visitors can rhyme with increase in click through rate, it can also turn off their the desire to become subscriber. Let’s use this opportunity to concentrate on recruiting readers.

5) Publish a Welcome Note

Let’s imagine your have a guest blogging gig on Zen Habits. Your article discusses how to be a productive blogger without spending your entire life in front of your computer. Since ZH has more than 28K RSS subscribers and god knows how many daily readers, you can expect a great deal of visitors dropping by your site following their lecture. If you have published content in the past that can somehow be relevant to your guest article, why don’t you just simply write a welcome note inviting new visitors to read specific posts on your blog? Conclude by adding links to register to your RSS feed and email subscription. Those are two example of welcome notes: Darren welcoming readers from The Wall Street Journal, and myself welcoming readers from ProBlogger.

6) Provide a Sequel to Your Guest Post

If you have enough content to divide your article in 2 posts, use this strategy to publish a sequel for incoming visitors. Don’t forget that these readers - potential RSS subscribers - came to your site because they enjoyed reading your guest post. If they stumble on a sequel, they get 2 for the price of 1! Don’t forget your regular readers though, start your sequel by pointing to the original guest post.

7) Write a Few Pillar Articles

This is probably THE best option to consider, and it’s what Yaro would recommend. However, you must know that it requires much more work. But all pro bloggers are saying it constantly, there’s no better way to convert new visitors into RSS subscribers than publishing killer content.

Summary

Being featured as a guest blogger on A-list blogs is a great opportunity. If you have invested a considerable amount of time writing a guest post, complete your job by polishing your blog and making sure it smells Fantastik when visitors will knock at the door. Have you been active lately as a guest blogger? Do you have other tips you would like to share? Let’s take this conversation over to comments.

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