Guest Blogging Insights from A Content Marketing Ninja – An Interview!

Hi, it’s yet another time for our community timeout. However, instead of throwing a topic open for our general discussion as we normally do, today I’m bringing in a friend who I regard as a maestro when it comes to guest blogging. With the interest content marketing is generating amongst businesses online today, I think this is a topic that will be of interest to us all.

Of course, this is my first ever interview here on the Web Income Journal and I'm hoping that you will not only enjoy it but also gain some insights from it.

Our guest today is Michael Chibuzor, a web content writer who has written quite a number of guest posts and has been featured on most popular blogs. I’m very sure that most of you may have met him somewhere around the blogosphere.

WARNING: Every line from this interview has something you wouldn't want to miss. So, commit yourself to read through this very carefully. Skipping through it will only deprive you of the nuggets of wisdom hidden within!

And so, let’s get on with the show!

guest blogging interview image

Chadrack: Hi Michael, it’s really a pleasure to have you as my first guest on the Web Income Journal’s interview series. And so, let’s begin by meeting you. Who is Michael Chibuzor?

Michael: Firstly I must say, I’m excited to be here. I’m sure you know me too well but for the sake of those who don’t know much about me, my name is Michael Chibuzor. My blog is contentmarketingup.com. I started my writing journey online in 2007, during the Bum marketing era. You know about it, right? Ok, I later realized that using tricks on Google would only result in pain, over time and so, I made a decision in 2010 to make a change. I hope that is enough for an introduction. Lol!

Chadrack: Yea, that’s great to know. I was sometime into the bum marketing of a thing also. I only changed strategies when article directories like Ezinearticles.com changed their policies and stopped allowing direct links to affiliate websites. Also I discovered that having a website of your own where you can build your own list was better than linking direct to affiliate products. That was when I built my first website sometime in 2006. It's really interesting that you were also involved in bum marketing.

Ok, Michael, I’ve known you for some time now and I can say one thing about you and that is, you are very passionate about guest blogging. Can you let us in why you are so this passionate about it?

Michael: I love this question Chadrack. I discovered the power of guest blogging in 2011, and dived into it wholeheartedly.

As I write this, guest blogging is the only strategy I’ve used so far to grow a successful blog. I’m not very active on social media networks like many other bloggers. In my first 3 months of starting my blog (i.e. contentmarketingup.com), I was able to land my first client through guest blogging!

I was so excited, at the time, that I was yelling at the top of my voice. Lol!

And you know what? Guest blogging has improved my organic traffic and off-page links as well. In fact, I’ve benefited so much from guest blogging that all I can say is, if a system works for you, FOCUS your entire energy on it and become a cognitive expert. That’s the key!

Chadrack: Hmm, great to hear that. Now, let’s go back again to when you first got started with guest blogging. What was it that really motivated you?

Michael: Okay, let me see what really motivated me… All right I got it. I first came into contact with a content marketing blog – copyblogger.com. One faithful morning, I visited the blog and read a fabulous guest post that changed my perspective about article marketing.

I saw the number of comments that a single post got. And I did realize that the author (a guest blogger) was making a lot of money as well. You know one thing? I was broke man… I needed a saving grace. And so, the kind of money I could earn if I do it heartily was my first motivation. Second, I was also motivated by an excellent spirit (The Holy Spirit).

Chadrack: That’s really an honest way to put it. You know some people really believe you shouldn’t be motivated by the money! Lol!

Anyway, let’s try and be specific now. Can you remember how many guest posts you have written so far?

Michael: Wow…! This is serious. I’ve written a lot of guest posts for clients and for my own blogs. The total I’ve written so far is 531 quality guest posts. (75% published in A-list blog, 20% published in B-list blogs and 5% on fresh blogs). See where I shared my 531 published posts and lessons.

Guest Blogging Challenges and How to Overcome Them!

blogging success tipsChadrack: Wow! 531? Hmm, that’s really serious. Now, from my own experience and from what I’ve gleaned from other bloggers' experiences, time management is a major issue with bloggers.  How do you as a blogger, running a couple of your own blogs, find the time to write so many guest posts?

Michael: Trust me, time is precious. If you waste your time in the early hours of the day, you’ll desperately struggle to get it. So, what I do is simple. When I wake up in the morning, and set out to work, I don’t check my email or try to see who is on Skype. What I do is just write, write, write and write until I’ve written 3 guest posts (1000+ words count each). I practiced this for 4 months, nonstop.

Despite the time constraint, I still discipline myself to write for other blogs. Now listen to this: there can never be any ideal time to write. You’ve got to plunge yourself into it. Seriously, I write like a maniac. I don’t waste time on Twitter or Facebook, I just write and that’s why my success has been tangible. Please, don’t get me wrong, social media marketing can work for you, when you learn the tenets. Without a thorough grasp of the pros and cons, it’s a time waster.

Chadrack: Yea, I do agree with you on that. Social media without a strategy can be a real time waster! But let's move on.

Hmm, let's see, apart from this time management issue which from all indication you have disciplined yourself to overcome, do you have any other challenges as a guest blogger? And if so, can you tell us which is the biggest and how you have been able to handle that also?

Michael: No, not at all. If you’re truly passionate about what you’re doing, everything come to you like brushing your teeth! Most times, you’d feel like taking a nap, but you must brush your teeth. Writing is my hobby, my passion and the thoughts I think. Sorry, but I want to stress that writer’s block doesn’t exist, except in our imagination. You can kill writer’s block forever, by reading and writing – that’s the only permanent cure to it. NO OTHER CHALLENGES WHATSOEVER!

Guest Blogging and Content Marketing – the Connection!

Chadrack:  Hmm, another interesting one there; “Writer’s block doesn’t exist, except in our imagination!” I wonder how many of our readers will agree with you there. Lol!

But frankly, I think I also want to agree with you there. As a writer myself, I want to agree that we are really the ones who create what we regard as writer’s block because when you allow the weakness of the body to overrule your mind, then you would have set up blocks that will cut off the inspiration. I can attest to this from experience.

Alright, let’s look at this guest blogging thing in a wider perspective. At the moment there is a buzz amongst online businesses about content marketing. What advantages do you think guest blogging has as a content marketing tactic?

Michael: Hmm, the truth is, content marketing is already taking the web by storm.

And guest blogging goes beyond getting traffic and backlinks. It’s the perfect brand builder. In fact, I no longer write guest posts for traffic or backlinks, but I do it to push my brand to the top. I use guest blogging to build a formidable portfolio. Sure, in the process of building my brand, the traffic and backlinks, happen automatically.

You would recall that my earlier domain name (blast4trafficnow.net) was all about content marketing. But when I realized how much profit I was missing, I quickly registered a new domain name and did a 301 redirect to the new one – contentmarketingup.com.

And something extraordinary began to happen. Prospects began to contact me for content marketing advice. Overnight, I became a consultant. So, guest blogging is a great tactic for pulling down your content marketing walls and moving on to success!

Chadrack: Wow! You know I’ve also analyzed the potentials in guest blogging and have come to the same conclusion that it is the perfect brand builder. You remember I did a blog series on guest blogging sometime ago? It was because I truly believe that guest blogging can be done better than what many are doing today.

Right now, for my web content writing service blog, I’m putting finishing touches to a special guide on how e-commerce sites can use guest blogging to push their online visibility and improve their brand awareness. So, your describing guest blogging as the perfect brand builder is truly confirmation for me that I’m not progressing in error!

Alright, Michael just want to ask this, seeing how passionate you’ve spoken about content marketing, do you encourage businesses to be more involved with it?

Michael: Read my lips. Every marketer who wants to make her website a go-to resource for her  target audience should be involved with content marketing from the word go. To be more specific, I recommend that they start with guest posting first, and then diversify to video marketing, Infographic, podcasting and so on.

How to Choose Blogs to Guest Post on!

Chadrack: Ok, now Michael, I’m sure most of our readers would love to have you briefly tell us how you decide on the blogs to guest blog on?  Are there some certain criteria?

Michael: It depends on your blogging objective. Now when I started guest blogging, every blog was my target; I like to call them the A-list (PR 4 – PR 8 Active blogs), the B-list (PR 2 – PR3) and the C-list (PR 0 – PR1).

If you want targeted traffic and quality backlinks, focus on A-list. If you want to diversify your links and make it natural, combine A-list blogs and B-list.

But I’ve made a decision to stick with only the top blogs. My advice to marketers who are getting into guest blogging is to have the confidence. Believe me, the same creativity and hard work that it takes to get an article accepted on B-list blogs is the same thing for authority blogs.

Don’t believe most of the lies online. Guest blogging isn’t difficult once you know the audience you’re writing for.

The Guest Blogger's Mindset!

Chadrack: Ok, Michael, there is one area I believe our esteemed readers will want to have you talk about also, and that is the issue of mindset as a guest blogger. What should be the mindset of a guest blogger? Do you think this is really important for succeeding as a guest blogger?

Michael: Haven't I touched on mindset in this interview? Yes, I said something about confidence. Now listen, every step we take online isn’t accidental. It’s well orchestrated in the mind. Whether we accept it or not, our mindset can make or mar us.

If you want to succeed as a guest blogger, you’ve got to feed your mind. You’ve got to plant seeds of value, seeds that are evergreen wherever you go. Don’t allow inferiority complex to take over.

On the 23rd of February, 2012, I realized that fear was killing my business gradually. I was afraid to pitch guest post ideas to popular blogs. The mere thoughts of writing for authority blogs made me want to puke. I thought I wasn’t qualified. But I was WRONG.

Let nothing stop you. It’s your choice. If you want to get featured at problogger, freelanceswitch or copyblogger, just do it. The worst answer you could get is, “No!”

If that happens, cheer up and start again. If you fail, stand up tall and do it again, and again, and again. In the real sense of it, “NO” doesn’t discourage, it challenges you to become better. That’s your mindset pushing you beyond limits. Go for it.

Chadrack: Oh, Michael it’s been a wonderful time. I’m very sure that our readers have gleaned some nuggets of wisdom and useful information from you. Thanks so much for your time. We look forward to having you some other time. Stay blessed!

Over to you: And so, dear friends I’m sure you’ve heard Michael Chibuzor very well there. Did you learn anything from this interview? Is there any idea expressed that you did not agree with? Is there something expressed in the interview that you want to comment on? Whatever is your take, share with us in your comments below.

And please, I’m sure you will want to help promote this post by sharing it with your friends and online connections. May the law of karma work for you as do so!

31 Comments
  1. I’m honored to be interviewed by You Chadrack. I hope your readers enjoy this.

  2. Hi guys, I really enjoyed the interview with Michael. I’m very impressed with your ability to write so much quality content that others would seek you out as a guest blogger, Michael. I have to go back to the confidence issue. I know enough to make me dangerous..lol…but I cannot see me offering any real nuggets of value that someone would ask me to write for them.
    It was a pleasure to get to know you.
    Also, great way to handle the interview, Chadrack!…:)

    • @Dan Reed,

      Thanks for the comment. It’s really great that you find the interview interesting. Frankly, I picked on Michael for my first interview because I’m sure there’s a lot many of my blog readers can learn from him. I know many are bloggers who need some other ways of making money with their blogging experience. Michael is an example for us all that you don’t have slave it every day trying to update your blog. turn that into a business which will be a great thing.

  3. I think guest blogging decreases the Page Rank because guest bloggers put their website link in Bio field of Author and due to lot of outbound links our page rank reduces. Previously my PR was 4/10 but not its only 2/10.

    • @Rahul,

      Hmm, this is really another angle to this. Yes, I’ve heard of the issue of page rank linking amongst SEOs but using that to refuse guest blogging is actually taking it too far. This is blog is dofollow which means I’ll be losing a whole lot of page rank. But I don’t think so.

      Beside, I don’t think your blog page rank reduced from 4/10 to 2/10 because of guest blogging. You just need to find other ways to increase the page rank. Produce more quality content that others will be eager to link to and you will again booster the page rank.

      Any way, if you do have proof that it is guest blogging that cause the page rank reducing, you can always let me know. We are always ready to learn more. Thanks for the comment.

  4. guest blogging very effective way to growing your online business. your article was really amazing to describe about it.

  5. What a wonderful interview and introduction here Chadrack. I appreciate you putting this together for us and Michael sharing what he’s been doing as far as guest blogging is concerned.

    531 guest posts, wow!!! I haven’t even written that many blog posts and I’ve been blogging for three years now on a consistent weekly basis. I just know that some people were born to write and it sounds like Michael definitely has that in him. I’m so impressed with what he’s accomplished so bravo to him.

    I’m written a few but I enjoy blog commenting much more for the interaction and building new relationships. For me I enjoy that much more then guest posting.

    Wonderful interview so thank you both.

    Have a wonderful week.

    ~Adrienne

    • @Adrienne, Thank you for leaving a comment. I’m glad you enjoyed reading it.

    • @Adrienne,

      Yea, I also went WOW! when I heard Michael has done 531 guest posts. Like you said, I have also been blogging for about yrs now and have never done that on my blog! 🙂

      I actually think it is the business model kind of a thing. For Michael his model is really working for him and I can also say your commenting strategy is also working for you because right now you are making a great success of your business. So, one has to really consider what he/she wants to accomplish and then seek out a route that help with that.

      Thanks for finding the time to comment even when I know it is your celebration time! 🙂

  6. Michael, You are really placing yourself everywhere! Well done! I agree with you that social media and email can be a huge distraction. They are my greatest time killer and I constantly struggle to rein my time in.

    I had headway when I uninstalled chat applications from my system since they started up automatically and affected my productivity with their pings, and email alerts. I only get on Twitter and Facebook when on schedule, not randomly throughout the day.

    Having said that, a balance is needed. If you are to ‘be everywhere’, you must realize that it pays to connect with your audience wherever they may be found. As people share your content on social media, you may need to connect with them on the different platforms and let them know their consistency is noticed -and appreciated.

    • @Yeremi Akpan, That’s so true Yeremi. We need to balance social media, blogging and our daily living. But it all boils down to what you’re good at. I happen to cherish writing and maybe that’s why I spend more time at it.

      Your comment is cute. So inspiring and I’ve picked up some guest post ideas from it. Lol!

    • @Yeremi Akpan,

      Hmm, can’t agree more! It’s interesting to know that you have had experience in what social media distraction can be. But like you said, there is really need to have a balance. I can say I’ve not been too involved with twitter and facebook. Though recently I’ve been on LinkedIn and discovered that it is more useful for my business. What I’m really planning of doing is have well laid out plans for all of the platforms to be better and gainfully involved.

      Thanks for the comment.

  7. Hi Chadrack,

    Brilliant interview there. Guest posting is an important part of any bloggers arsenal these days and this advice was very useful.

    Just out of interest how long have you been doing interviews for? I am just about to start a podcast interviewing special guests.

    • @Scott Dudley,

      Thanks for the comment and I’m really glad that the post resonate with you.

      Actually, this is my first time of doing an interview. Though I’ve attempted a couple of times before now, but they didn’t really work out. I’m looking forward to doing more in the new future.

      I think a podcast that is focused on interviewing guest is really a great idea. But I don’t really have any experience in that! 🙂

  8. This is a great interview with great knowledge regarding guest blogging. There’s no word for this interview. Most bloggers are wasting their time on Facebook and other social media sites which adds nothing to their blog. I like Michael’s point of view on this.

    I’ve written just 4 guest posts till now, but I will start focusing more on guest blogging now.

    Thanks for the interview Chadrack.

    • @Ehsan Ullah,

      It’s really a pleasure! Michael’s feat has been a challenge to me and that was why I decided to do this interview with him. I truly believe that many of us can learn from his story.

      I’m glad that this is challenging to take guest blogging more seriously.

      Thanks for joining the conversation.

    • @Ehsan Ullah, Yes I’m with you Ehsan. You’ve to focus more on guest blogging, and minimize social presence. It’s the hard truth, but if you could do that, your blog will grow.

  9. First of all i am angry with Mike because he dint send me this link….
    Second How are you Chadrack? I am not too much active now a days so after a long time i am on WIJ. . . . Hope you are doing well and your blog too.
    BTW For mike he is really awesome writer as well as Friend 🙂
    I got some superb post from Mike on iTechCode too. Which is still getting awesome comments and Traffic.
    Thanks for this Super Interview Mike and Thanks Chadrack from hosted it.
    Cheers.

    • @Amit Shaw,

      Oh what a joy to see you around again mate! Yea, I can understand that as the days goes by we just sort of get more busier because of more commitments.

      I’ve read Michael’s posts on your blog and I can say his on this blog are still doing great also. Frankly, among the guest bloggers I have featured on this blog, his posts are only the few that I rarely edit because they simply agree with the standards on this blog!

      Thanks for joining the conversation.

    • @Amit Shaw, Hey, please don’t be angry with me Amit. I’m truly sorry, I’d have sent the post, maybe I was busy back in the day when I wrote it.

      I’m glad you enjoyed the interview. Stay cool and see you around!

  10. Guest blogging is now a good technique and it can be handy if it is done in a proper way. This is really good to hear and quite astonishing too, that Michael has done 531 guest posts.
    Good to see such interviews, one can surely learn some tips.

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  12. guest blogging very impressive way to growing your online business. your article piece piece piece was really nice to describe about it.

  13. Guest blogging is now a good technique and it can be handy if it is done in a proper way. This is really good to hear and quite great too, that Michael has done 531 guest posts.
    Good to see such interviews, one can surely learn some tips.

  14. Greetings! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could get a captcha plugin for my comment form?
    I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having problems finding one?
    Thanks a lot!

  15. Excellent blog! Do you have any hints for aspiring writers?
    I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost on everything.

    Would you recommend starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option?
    There are so many options out there that I’m completely confused .. Any suggestions? Cheers!

  16. guest blogging very efficient way to growing your online business. your writing piece was really nice to describe about it.

    Leave a Reply to Chadrack Cancel reply

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