A solid way of elevating the quality, visibility and reputability for your blog is by bringing in guest bloggers with their own audience. But trusting an outsider with messaging for your website can be difficult. The key is finding someone who already understands your brand and your goals.

Here are some methods to find the right blogger to represent your brand.

Consider your brand’s goals.

Does your brand hope to create a stronger local community? Keep your bloggers close to home, and look for a passion for your city in them. Are you trying to launch a new product or service? Look for a blogger with expertise in that area.

Keeping your business goals in mind can help narrow down the multitude of bloggers available to you. Use the information you already have and understand about yourself to find ways to extend beyond your company’s talent.

Make announcements.

Broadcasting on social media and your website will bring inquiries from writers who are already lovers of your brand. They will be familiar with your content and style and may already have some ideas for blogs you’re not writing.

Another way of finding good writers for your brand is by asking your staff for referrals. They will reach out to family and friends, and you can coach them on how to warm them up to the offer.

In either case, you will have bloggers trying out for you, which can streamline the process of choosing the best fit.

Create barriers to entry.

Whenever possible, try to meet with your prospective writers for coffee. Professionals will carve out the time to get to know you and what you are looking for better. Anyone who is too busy for coffee is probably too busy to give guest blogging his or her necessary attention. A simple face-to-face barrier can separate the thinkers from the doers, and it will give you some face time to better communicate what you’re looking for in a guest blog.

Another common barrier to entry is asking for writing samples. If they are already a blogger, this shouldn’t be an issue. If someone is just looking for experience where they have none, a request of writing samples will startle the incapable and excite the motivated. Their samples will not only inform you of their writing experience and style but also of their professionalism in how an inexperienced writer handles a challenge.

Choosing to use a guest blogger for your brand can be a great way to establish your business as an expert in its field. Be sure to select bloggers with a similar voice and interest to your own and you can build your readership quickly and inexpensively.