How to Find Great Guest Blogging Opportunities

Janet Barclay

Janet Barclay

A former professional organizer, I now eliminate stress for my clients by hosting, monitoring, and maintaining their WordPress sites so they don’t have to worry about security, downtime or performance issues. When I’m away from my desk, I enjoy reading, photography, watching movies, and cooking.

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In last week’s post, I gave you 6 Reasons to be a Guest Blogger. Now that I’ve (hopefully) convinced you that it’s worth your while, this week I’ll keep my promise of letting you know where you can find potential hosts, and how to approach them.

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1. Your Organizing Colleagues

If you know other professional organizers who blog, ask them if they would be interested in having you as a guest – you can even offer them the same opportunity in exchange! If you’re concerned about sending potential clients to your competition, talk to someone in a different region or who offers different services than you.

To connect with other organizers who blog, see who has been participating in the Professional Organizers Blog Carnival or join the Blogging Organizers group on Facebook.

2. Just Google It!

You probably use Google to find information about everything from where to buy comfortable dress shoes to how to install shelving in a closet, and it can be equally useful when searching for blogs who welcome posts from guest bloggers. Simply enter “be a guest blogger” in the search box, and you’ll get millions of matches. To narrow it down, add another keyword to your search, e.g. “be a guest blogger” productivity or “be a guest blogger” organizing.

3. Sign up for My Blog Guest

It only takes a few minutes to sign up for this free service. Once you’re a member, you can search the database for blogs that might be a good fit for you, check out any blogs of interest, and get in touch with the owner through the private messaging system. There’s also a message board where you can let others know what you have to offer in terms of expertise.

This service is also useful if you’re looking for guest bloggers, but that’s a story for another day!

No matter where you find a potential host blog, take the time to check it out and make sure that:

  • the blog is good quality and one you will be pleased to be associated with
  • the audience is a good fit for you
  • there actually is an audience – look at Alexa for traffic statistics, and check the blog itself for comments and other signs of engagement

Once you’ve decided that you’d like to write a guest post for a particular blog, there is a right and wrong way to approach the owner.  In some cases, you can submit your post through an online form, but in others you must go through a screening process first. Always check the blog for any submission guidelines, and follow them to a tee.

When contacting a blog owner about writing a guest post, introduce yourself but instead of making it all about you, focus on how your post will benefit their audience. Provide a link to your blog so they can get a sense of your writing style.

It’s a good idea to have a few posts pre-written before you make contact, and suggest some topics for them to choose from. Keep in mind, however, that in most cases guest posts should be original content, and not just a reprint of something you’ve already published on your own blog or that is readily available on another website.

Feel free to check out my Guest Blogging Guidelines, then complete the form at the bottom of the page  if you’d like to be considered as well!

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8 Comments

  1. Avatar Amy on January 31, 2012 at 10:23 am

    Good advice. When searching on Google though be sure to mix up your searches; try ‘guest writer’, ‘guest poster’, ‘write for us’, ‘submit post’ and so on…

    • Avatar Janet Barclay on January 31, 2012 at 3:31 pm

      Great tip, Amy – thanks for sharing!

  2. Avatar Derek Morton on February 10, 2012 at 5:11 pm

    There are all great tips. I wish more people understood the power of guest posting. It not only helps drive more traffic to your site, but more importantly helps you gain greater credibility within your industry.

    • Avatar Janet Barclay on February 11, 2012 at 7:15 am

      Derek, thanks for stopping by! Feel free to share a link to one of your guest posts, if you like.

      • Avatar Janet Barclay on February 11, 2012 at 3:16 pm

        That’s a great post – because trying to sell ourselves to potential clients really is a lot like dating, isn’t it?

  3. Avatar Derek Morton on February 13, 2012 at 11:28 am

    It is very much like dating. But speaking of guest posting if you ever want to write a guest post for my site, feel free I don’t have anything on there about organizational helps.

    • Avatar Janet Barclay on February 15, 2012 at 1:26 pm

      Thanks Derek! I just may take you up on that!

  4. Avatar Derek Morton on February 15, 2012 at 3:10 pm

    Just let me know, and we’ll make it happen.

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