How to land guest blogging opportunities
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Has someone invited you to be a guest blogger? Go for it! Guest blogging is a great way to get your name in front of potential clients, joint venture partners, and media representatives who may not yet know about you and your organizing business. But you don’t have to wait for an invitation – sometimes you have to make the first move!
Here are a few things to keep in mind when you’re searching for guest blogging opportunities.
1. Do your homework.
Don’t expect to land guest blogging opportunities by random cold-calling (or cold-emailing). You’ve got to know who you are contacting and how you will be an asset to them. It’s best to start by approaching bloggers you know and whose blogs you read and comment on regularly. They’ll be much more open to your offer if you’ve taken the time to engage with them than if they see you as a total stranger who’s only looking for free exposure.
Take the time to look for Guest Blogger Guidelines on the site, and follow them to the letter. The blog owner has taken the time to write and publish those guidelines for a reason. If none are posted, consider the following tips as your guidelines.
2. Make it original.
Don’t submit content you’ve already published elsewhere. Write something original for the blog you are sending it to, and relate it to their audience as much as possible. Again, this is where knowing the blogger becomes a big help. For example, for Cena Block’s blog for mompreneurs, I wrote a guest post about Time-Saving Tips for Bloggers.
Similarly, you shouldn’t write a post and then submit it to several bloggers for consideration. Instead, draft a list of suggested topics they can choose from. If more than one person selects the same topic, you then have the option of writing two unique posts, or letting the second one know that article is no longer available.
3. Edit, Edit, Edit.
Sometimes you’re in a hurry and miss a typo or two, but you sure don’t want to do that when you’re asking someone else to publish your work on their blog. Don’t let this scare you off – a reasonable blogger will tell you of any edits they’d like to see – but you need to edit your work thoroughly before you send it out. Of course, you never want to do sloppy work, but this is definitely not the time to cut corners.
4. Flatter or promote the blogger.
It may help to tastefully compliment the blogger you’re contacting about something you’re impressed by. This should be sincere and well thought out, as a generic comment like “I have been following your blog for a while. I can say without hesitation that you have done some remarkable work and put a great and informative content on it” will likely be viewed as spam. You might also consider mentioning or promoting their blog or product in one of your blog posts.
5. Be confident.
Don’t be nervous about approaching bloggers with an idea about a guest blog post. If your proposed topic is a good fit for the other blog, you have a very good chance of getting accepted.
I welcome guest bloggers here on Your Organizing Business, because they allow me to share valuable information with you without having to spend time researching and writing every subject myself. You have expertise that I don’t, so if you’re able to provide educational value to my audience of productivity consultants and professional organizers, it’s unlikely that I will turn down your application.
6. Don’t be a pest.
Popular blogs receive a large number of offers to guest post, so if you don’t receive a response and you sincerely believe that your proposed post is a good fit, send a polite follow-up message, then leave it at that. Don’t beg and plead or get nasty. (I know YOU would never do that, but I’ve received messages like that myself…)
Photo by Krakenimages.com/ DepositPhotos
Nice post Janet. You have set out some great tips for successful guest blogging. I am glad that you put research first because choosing the right blogs to target is the most important aspect.
Thanks, Kostas.
I like these suggestions, Janet. Usually I am on the receiving end of requests to write a blog for my site. I feel that most of these approaches feel very spammy and sales-y. Often they will offer to write a post that isn’t even related to my content, or that I’ve already written and is on my blog now. For this reason, I greatly support your idea of contacting people you already know. I would respond differently if I knew the person and could clearly see the mutual benefit!
I receive those too, and it’s so annoying! I can’t see that approach as being effective at all. Even if you reach someone who doesn’t care all that much and accepts anything offered, how will it benefit you to have an article on a site that has nothing to do with your topic?
Like you and Seana, I receive numerous requests from individuals who want to write a blog for my site. They often use some of the tactics you suggest, like complimenting my website or specific posts. But not all people do that. I don’t accept guest posts, so it’s not an issue. Depending on the depth of those inquiries, I respond to some of them. The spammy ones I don’t.
Sometimes the individual is promoting a product or article that is well-aligned with my audience. In those cases, I occasionally offer to link to their product, service, or info in an upcoming post. Again, that’s only if I’ve checked them out and feel there will be value to my readers.
I’ve been asked to write guest posts. I chose those carefully. I’ve written a few for you. The first time was in 2011. It was about the process of writing my book. More recently, I wrote about the benefits of participating in your monthly blog carnivals.
I like your approach – why deprive your readers of something of value just because you don’t publish guest posts!
I truly appreciate the many ways you support this site: through guest posts, participating in the Blog Carnival, and sharing and commenting on my posts. It goes a long way!
Thanks for sharing your tips on reaching out to others about guest blogging. It’s much more achievable if we have clear steps to follow when connecting with other bloggers. I have also found that following up a week later is very helpful. Sometimes people just haven’t checked their blog email.
Following up is an excellent idea! I think the most important thing, both at time of initial contact and later, is to be genuine. I don’t care how nice someone treats me if they start their email with “Hello Organizedassistant.”
There’s rarely a week that goes by when I don’t get requests to guest blog for me, and they always flatter and yet it’s patently obvious that almost none of them have ever read more than one post title. Usually, I just point them toward looking for organizing bloggers who focus on residential topics, as that’s what the aspiring guests want to write. But I also firmly explain that I don’t accept guest posts, because my blog is my portfolio for prospective clients.
That said, all of your advice is so apt. I don’t go looking for guest post opportunities, though I have written several guest posts for people outside of our profession. I agree (from both sides of the guest blogging situation) that your advice would be key to a mutually beneficial experience.
I think it’s those spammy bloggers that ruin it for everyone else, because so many of us receive so many of those random requests that there’s a tendency to delete all of them, even if they might be a good fit.
I think everyone who requests to guest blog for me has read this article. They use all these techniques, most of the time. I do get a few requests that don’t suit the topic of my blog.
My common problem now when they send me a guest blog is I can tell AI wrote it. I used to edit it and make it sound better. Now I request they do not use AI. Whether they are or are not the quality is better again.
That’s a good idea, Julie! I may add that to my Guest Blogging Guidelines.