Writing on third-party platforms like Quora or on your own blog?
I am once again pondering.
Should you publish more posts on your own blog or do you like to publish on third party platforms?
For example, I also often write on Quora.com(Go to my profile on Quora here).
There I have written 261 answers. Almost every one of the responses is 1000 words or more in length, making it the equivalent of a standard blog post.
If I had published these answers on my own blog, I would most likely have been able to generate similar traffic. Per post certainly so 10 visitors per month. I.e. that would have been then 261 x 10 = 2610 visitors in the month, which one could have generated over search machines.
When I look at my own statistics on Quora, it also shows that my answers are displayed more than 25,000 times a month! Nevertheless: One must not forget that scrolling down is certainly already recorded as a “view” as well. Your own name and your own answer can easily get lost, especially if many answers are given to the question.
At the same time, the answers are also always “collapsed”, so only a part is displayed.
2610 visitors to their own website would certainly have been better! You can then certainly include your own pop up or even show a request to contact you.
If you write yourself, you’d rather do it on your own blog.
If you have an employee who writes full time, then certainly Quora can be a good option.
I definitely won’t be writing as much there anymore.
What I am currently doing is answering the questions though there. I prefer to publish the answer itself on one of my own blogs.
Advantages and disadvantages of third-party platforms
Here are a few more advantages and disadvantages compared:
Advantages:
- An existing readership: if you manage to get into Quora’s algorithm, for example, your answer will be sent to thousands and in some cases hundreds of thousands of readers. Thus, one benefits from the already existing users of the platform.
- Possibility of building an expert profile: My Quora page has 261 replies and more than 600,000 (six hundred thousand) views! This already has a positive impact on someone who visits the profile.
Disadvantages:
- Many answers: If many answers are given for the same question, then your own question can quickly get lost. Especially because Quora has another algorithm, which ensures that, for example, new answers or climbers are displayed high up. I.e. not necessarily the most detailed answer is displayed at the top.
- Limited options to change the profile: You do have a few options to beautify the profile, but it’s already pretty limited. That is different with your own blog.
To guest posts on other blogs and magazines
Again, I find that exciting. That’s where you can make your mark with a new audience and can refer to yourself, among other things. However, I find it important that one is then mentioned in the author box, otherwise the connect is just missing that for example – I – have written and not someone from the specific blog or magazine.
What is your opinion?
Sascha Thattil ist Blogger und Geschäftsführer bei YUHIRO. Wir bauen Entwicklerteams in Indien für Agenturen, IT Dienstleister und Softwareunternehmen auf.