"When" and "Where"...

They are the two most plaguing questions hounding a author looking to pitch-in guest posts. And it's not a time-bound concern as it appears; rather the need for a flexible and right launchpad to start off.

Yes, starting off is the most difficult part of the whole guest posting excercise.One can be a regular worker in the MNC, its CEO too or a freelancer looking to cash-in a few bucks. Whatever your station in life is, you need to constantly hone your writing skills for personal  business development. In a similar vein, a popular blogger opines that "As a job-seeker, guest posting can increase awareness of your own work and lead a hiring manager to you. It will also show a potential employer that you keep yourself plugged into the aftermarket industry."

Once you get into the groove, get your works published on a few forums, you easily get a hang of matching up to schedules and how things work elsewhere.In short, to answer the "When" question is- there is nothing like a 'Right' time to begin. All you need to do is pen down your thoughts and send it across to the right people.

Now coming to who these "right people" are, will answer the "Where" question.

Gone are the days when writers used to pen down dozens of pieces and loiter from one publishing house to another requesting the works to be printed. Naah, its the digital age!

The easiest way to create an audience is to start your own blog first and get used to writing. Start sharing on popular social media groups and sites to garner a fan following. The second option is to approach other blogs as a guest author.

Now why did we suggest the previous point if the answer we are looking for is guest posting? Backlinks.

As a guest author one needs to give something in return for the valuable chance a host blog gives you. That is where your own blog, with the circle of carefully constructed networks, proves valuable to the business blog you have approached.

The next logical question is which blogs should you approach?

As a person who's been around in this content writing business for sometime now, I personally feel starting out with smaller blogs with respectable audience is a good-to-go move. Popular and big names like Mashable, Tech Crunch, VentureBeat, Kikolani, Gizmodo, TechnologyBlog etc may be famous but it takes a lot of practise before you can be part of their circle. So first consolidate your periperal territory and then approach the core ones.

Moreover, whom one approaches also depends largely on what kind of niche blogs one reads. This not only helps structure one's thought-process, gather awareness about the industry and shapes writing styles. But reading and following blogs is important.

You can add-on to our views by sharing your experiences and tips. Has quality guest posting brought you any special compliments or landed you a new job? Leave us a reply in the comments section below.

For more useful tidbits in the guest posting series, stay tuned with us.