Guest Posting? What’s in it for you?
Wow. Such nice links. And that means such nice ranks. Haha! 🙂
Well, Guest Posting is the method by which your article gets published on some other blog and the blog owner offers a link (or two) back to your site, in return.
Let me explain the difference between a regular blog post and a guest post with the help of an infographic:
Guest Posting is one of THE best link building methods. It is also the most effective way to boost your online reach and build readership.
If you target to land your guest posts on top blogs in your niche, you can quickly build a profitable blog.
In this guide, I will show you the exact steps you need to follow in order to build links using Guest Posting.
Let’s jump in.
How to find blogs for Guest Posting?
Remember one thing – You should ONLY guest post on those blogs which are related to your niche.
But the question is – how to find blogs, which accept guest posts, in your niche?
Use the following methods to find blogs for Guest Posting:
Use Google Search
The easiest way to find blogs for guest posting is to use Google. How?
Use any of the following phrases (replace keyword with your target keyword and DO NOT remove the quotation marks) and search:
“guest post by” + keyword
“guest post” + keyword
“guest blogger wanted” + keyword
“guest writers wanted” + keyword
“contributor guidelines” + keyword
“guest post guidelines” + keyword
“write for us” + keyword
Let me take “weight loss” as an example and search – “write for us” + weight loss.
Take a look at the screenshot:
Other Methods:
1. Use twitter search and search the same phrases mentioned above.
2. Use guest blogging networks like My Blog Guest, Guest Blog It, etc.
3. Use Google blog search and search the same phrases mentioned above.
Using the above methods, you will find the blogs available for guest posting in your niche.
However, you may come across thousands of crappy sites and getting a link from these sites will not help your cause. So, make sure the blog is good.
How?
Whenever you find a site available for guest posting in your niche, check whether the site is good or not using the following parameters:
- Page Rank >= 3
- Domain Authority > 35
- Page Authority > 35
- Semrush Rank < 10,000,000
If the blog satisfies the above criteria, copy the URL of that blog and paste it in an excel sheet.
In this way, you will have an excel file, containing the best blogs for guest posting in your niche.
Read the targeted blog(s) first
Most bloggers attempt to write guest posts for blogs without actually reading their stuff.
How can you write for anyone without knowing their readers?
So always make it a habit of reading your targeted blogs first.
Why should you read before guest posting?
- To know the interests and frustrations of their audience
- To write high quality guest posts (that bring results)
- To get more online reach (and to build specific audience)
So, read their blog comments, top blog posts and posts from other guest bloggers to come up with the BEST guest post ideas.
Spend quality time in writing epic posts
Create epic posts that readers would love to share. This is a no brainer.
Do this wrong and no one will publish your guest posts.
So, stop writing generic posts. No one will be interested in reading or sharing them.
How to write epic content that gets shared?
- Take a unique angle
- Focus on ONE topic per article (focusing on too many topics in one article is focusing on nothing!)
- Provide actionable tips (readers should take immediate action after reading your post)
- Make it easy to skim through your post (learn to craft your posts for the skimmers using sub heads, bullets, short paragraphs etc.)
Add your Author Bio at the end of the article
The blog owner will allow you to add your author bio at the end of your guest post. Author Bio is the place where you will add the link(s) of your own site.
So, write a short and sweet author bio, containing the link of your website. 2 to 3 sentence is enough.
An example of a good author bio is as follows:
Interact with the blog owners (Optional)
The best way to get your guest post featured on any top blog is this: get to know them.
Interact with the blog owners using social media sites like twitter, Facebook, etc. Do it regularly.
You can also frequently leave insightful comments on their blog posts. Most popular bloggers may not respond to your comments though, but they do read each and every comment they get!
Steps to follow before Approaching the Blog Owner
Even if you follow the above tips, it would be a waste if you don’t know how to approach the blog owner properly.
First of all, you must read their Guidelines for accepting a guest post. Make sure you follow all the guidelines before contacting the blog owner.
- It is recommended to have a personalized email address like [email protected]. Use it to contact the blog owner.
- The subject of the email should clearly state that you are contacting him/her for a guest post.
- Email should be short and to the point.
- Use signature in your email. It must contain your name, your blog address, and if possible, some social media profiles, say Facebook, Twitter, etc.
How to Send the “perfect” email pitch
Now it’s time to send your guest post pitch to the targeted blog owner.
Here’s the simple tip if you want to get a reply – don’t write a looooong email.
Keep your email pitch sweet and simple. Brevity is the key to get response from busy bloggers.
Here’s a sample of what an email pitch looks like:
Hi [blogger name],
I’m [your name], I blog at xyz.com. I’ve been reading your articles from few weeks now and I’m really impressed!
I’ve a guest post idea and I definitely hope your readers will love it. The title of the guest post is [Guest Post title].
I have attached the guest post along with this mail.
Let me know what you think.
Regards,
Your name
[your blog URL]
[attach your guest post]
See! how simple it is.
P.S: Wait for 5 to 7 days for their reply. If they don’t respond, send a gentle remainder again and wait for another week. If they don’t respond, you should focus on the next blog.
What if they reject?
What if the top bloggers reject your guest posts?
First off, ask them why they rejected. They’ll tell you (often).
Try NOT to repeat the same mistakes when you pitch them again.
If they reject it again, you can ask another blog owner to publish your guest post.
If no one likes your stuff, you can still post it on your blog. So there’s no wastage of your time in writing guest posts.
What next?
If the blog owner likes your post, he/she will respond to your email and will tell you the date on which the guest post will be published.
Once the guest post is published, promote the guest post on social media sites like Facebook, Google+, Twitter, etc.
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