Many advisors and other professionals are often so focused on assisting clients and building their business that they miss out on a great opportunity to reach new audiences.

By submitting a guest column to an industry publication or website, you can establish yourself and your brand as a thought leader. Consumers are savvy and do their homework before making important decisions, such as choosing an advisor. Many people use thought leadership to vet an organization they may hire.

There are many publications where you can submit a column to create more awareness for your brand, and editors are always looking for diverse opinions and fresh content.

In fact, based on 153 editors surveyed by Influence & Co., 92% prefer articles from industry experts as opposed to journalists or other sources, and 86% plan on increasing their number of guest contributors in the future.

Your goal with the guest column is to establish your brand with a new audience through a different avenue—a reputable publication or source that has credibility and a readership made up of people you are trying to reach. Much like how you might be featured on a morning TV show, writing guest columns gives you prime time in the spotlight to offer your own advice and expertise to your target audience, which ultimately establishes you as a trusted thought leader. The difference is when you write a column, you have control of your message whereas during an interview, a reporter leads the conversation.

So, once you source a credible publication or blog that would be a good fit for your brand, how do you create a compelling guest column? Here are some tips:

• Keep content informative. Put yourself in the reader’s shoes and think of valuable market insights or perhaps a forecast that would lend itself to a more in-depth explanation. Then ask yourself, “Why should they care?” Your focus is to offer useful industry advice that educates readers. You’re not promoting your services; save that for traditional advertising.

• Include backlinks. Don’t forget to include links back to your website so readers can find more of your content, which will also boost your SEO. Most of the time you can do this in the author’s bio. Publications understand the trade-off when you offer them free content, so include at least one or two links back to specific pages of your website, unless the publication’s guidelines say otherwise. You can use Google Analytics Campaign URL Builder or another tool to create unique links to track click-through results as well. Remember, don’t get too link-happy!

• Timeliness. Readership wants to learn something new while staying up with the times. Is there a trending issue in the news you want to address? Is there a law change that people should know about? Will your insights drive conversation on social media (and hopefully to your website)? Stay relevant.

  Something else to keep in mind is when you pitch your guest column. “The State of Digital Media 2018” reports that editors need more guest content in December, followed by the summer months (June-August). You may be able to increase your chances of publication if you offer up a column to run in one of these months.

• Research. Find credible sources to back up your claims, and link those as well. Statistics help resonate with the audience (and are also great for your article introduction). If you want to offer even more, use studies to create a visual representation of data, such as an infographic. As with any statistic, make sure to give credit.

• Adhere to guidelines. Each publication will have a set of rules you need to follow for them to consider your writing, some more formal than others. Word count always varies but usually ranges anywhere from 500-800 words, like on the Business Insider. This popular news source looks for financial posts corroborated by facts and prefers points to be bulleted and easy to read. Examples of what they won’t include are stories with overly technical language that only industry insiders would know, or how-to articles with general information.

  As a general rule, do not submit work that has been previously published. However, once it’s been published by the media outlet, make sure to share a link to it on your personal and firm social media accounts, and in your firm’s blog.

• Don’t skimp on quality. You’re making a first impression on a new audience. Familiarize yourself with other guest articles and make sure you’re aligned with their quality. Writing for guest columns should be of higher quality than your own. Always have someone review and edit your column to ensure it’s free of errors and tightly written. If you knock it out of the park, it could open doors for contributing to a column on a recurring basis.

Perhaps you’re thinking, “But what if I’m not a strong writer? How do I approach publications? Do I have a something of added value I can offer readership?” That’s where we come in. KSGilmore Consulting has the resources on hand to assist with writing, media relations and sourcing the best guest column opportunities for your business.

“If you don’t have a seat at the table, make one.” – Jesse Itzler

As Jesse says, don’t wait for these opportunities to find you. Go after them. Writing guest columns truly is a win-win—the publication gets valuable content for its readers and you get your brand in front of a new audience.

If you need help developing and writing guest columns or want to learn more about the marketing solutions KSGilmore Consulting provides for RIAs, law firms, and other professional services firms, contact us today.