Tips To Make Guest Posting Work For You

When I first started freelance writing online the preferred method of marketing was guest blogging. This was early 2000's so the idea of social media marketing had not taken hold. MySpace still had about 250 million users and Facebook was just getting started.

Today there are people who will say that guest posting as a marketing technique is dead but I strongly disagree. There are millions of websites online across every industry and market. Many of them have devoted audiences for their specific website. Getting your business in front of this entirely new audience is a great way to grow.

Guest blogging involves building a deeper relationship than a social media post. During your interaction with the web host you will get to know them and there may even be an opportunity for multiple posts. When I was writing in the autism industry there was a particular website where I ended up posting several times over the course of a couple of years. I still go back and look at that site occasionally.

Guest posting or guest blogging is one of those processes where the most important part is the prep work, that is the stuff you do before you ever write an article for someone else to post.

Choose Wisely

Not all websites are created equal. Choosing who to approach about collaborating is the first step. Here are some questions to answer as you look at specific businesses:

• Are they a direct competitor or does their business compliment yours?

If you are a dentist you don't want to post on other dentist's websites, but orthodontists might be a good fit. Similar audience, different specific services.

• Do they even accept guest posts?

Not every website accepts guest posts. Look for phrases like, 'write for us', 'guest blogging guidelines' and 'guidelines for contributors' in the header and footer of the website. They are not always obvious. Check the existing blog posts to see if they are all done by the web owner - if not they may be open to collaborating.

• Do they have an audience you want to reach?

If you are a dentist who specializes in children then the orthodontist would be a good fit, but if your specialty is repairing/replacing lost and damaged teeth then collaborating with a sports medicine website might be a better fit.

• How active is their website

Look at the dates of the most recent posts. Do they post weekly? Monthly? Quarterly? When was the last post? You are looking for websites that post on a regular basis. It doens't have to be often, but if they haven't put out any new content in 6 months you may not want to collaborate as they have not been regularly engaging their audience. You can also check SEO metrics with one of the many online tools.

Micro-Influencer

I first ran across the term Micro-Influencer when I was doing research on Instagram, but I think the same idea works for websites too. A micro-influencer is someone who has a small, but very dedicated following. Quality over quantity is the key.

When you start looking around for websites in your niche you may find there are several websites that reference each other. These sites link to each other and share information. If you are successful in posting on one, you can reference that post when approaching the others, and increase the likelihood of collaborating.

Many years ago when I was writing a lot in the autism industry I actually got invited to write a column for the Autism Daily Newscast as a result of my guest post on several blogs.

Identifying these related websites can be a bit time consuming but well worth the extra effort. Look for a 'related blog' or 'recommended resources' section on the website to see who they connect to. Make a note of those websites and check them out. See who they reference. You may discover a small set of websites that all target your ideal audience.

Pitching

Don't write anything yet!

This was one of the first things I learned as a freelance writer. Don't write the article until someone agrees to post it (or pay you for it.) Create a compelling title you think will resonate with the specific blog, but don't write the entire article. You may have to pitch the same idea to several websites before someone likes. (You may never find anyone interested in posting that specific article.)

The more specific you can be with the title and idea of your article as it relates to that website the more likely they are to want to collaborate. But make sure it isn't a topic that has already been covered or that your angle is brings something new. A successful pitch is about them and how you will help their audience.

Read any submission guidelines they may have thoroughly and follow those directions to the letter.

Don't create a boilerplate email to send to lots of different websites. Taylor each pitch to that website. Here are a few tips to help craft a better pitch:

• Greet them by name
• Reference something you read on their website so they know you have done your research
• Identify a reason they may know you that is related to the industry
• Share your post title idea
• Thank them

Here is a sample for you:

Good Afternoon Dawn,

I just finished reading your article on guest posting and found the 3 questions to ask very helpful. I had never considered checking into a website SEO metrics before.

You may have seen some of my posts on LinkedIn as I use the hashtag #introvert when I post and I know you are very active in that space. I am reaching out today because I have an idea for a post that I think your audience would find very helpful:

5 Ways Introverts Can Make Their LI Profile Better

I would be happy to provide you with a draft to review by next Friday.

I look forward to hearing from you soon,

Sincerely

Dawn

Of course this is just one example.

I love guest blogging because it allows me so much more space to talk about a particular topic than I get on social media. I can really show my expertise to people who are already interested in the topic.

It also feeds my introvert soul. While I interact with the person who owns the website and of course reply to any comments left on my article, I do it on my own terms. There isn't that pressure to be available 24/7 and constantly checking to see if anyone has commented.

Create a System

The final piece to the puzzle is to create a system that allows you to track what blogs you have pitched to, who has accepted, who has declined and the topics you have pitched. This tracking will allow you to go back to those who have accepted with new topics and ideas and not pitch to someone who has already turned you down.

There are many software programs available to use (personally I use ClickUp) that are free or low cost. When I first started I just used Excel.

As a freelance writer guest blogging is something I truly enjoy doing. If you are not a writer there are other ways to do much the same thing on podcasts. I will talk more about that next week.