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The Secrets to Successful Guest Blogging

Guest blogging can be a valuable asset in your tool kit, whether you're a blogger, writer, podcaster, or small business owner. Being published on the right blogs can help you gain new followers, hone in on your niche or build your thought leadership. I've written posts for Bit Rebels, Marketing Profs, and The Huffington Post to name a few. There are a few tips to doing it right as as an editor of 12 Most for the past few years and a fairly frequent guest writer, I'm happy to share some of the secrets that have worked for me.

  1. Research blogs that fit in your niche.
  2. Check to make sure that the websites that you want to write for accept guest posts.
  3. Contact the editor via email to ask if they accept guest posts, make sure that you use their name. It can be found on their website somewhere, most sites have a page with all the info you need.
  4. Spend some time coming up with a title and a few sentences about what your post will be.  The title is essential and should pique the interest of the reviewer. This is the story of your post boiled down to the essence. It should be tweetable and easy to share.

Every post title should be:

  • unique
  • interesting
  • informative

If you are a looking to write posts with paid links, don't waste the time of blogs who don't post them. Many websites are no longer accepting guest posts due to problems with unethical links.

A tip from seasoned guest blogger Rebekah Radice “The biggest mistake bloggers can make is making a guest post request prior to building a solid base of quality content. It is essential that you have at least a few articles on your own blog before you try pushing people towards it.” Bloggers take a long time building their website, content base and readership, you'll be a guest with their audience and you should remember that their blog focus is the key. Get some practice on your own blog before seeking guest posts.

Top tips for submission:

Send an email that is fairly short, five or six sentences in length. Editors receive a lot of email and being concise, polite and interesting can get you a yes.

  1. Be polite — please and thank you still go a long way
  2. Spell check and re-read your submission prior to sending. If you can’t write a proper email, don’t waste their time submitting a post. Carelessness and lack of attention to detail are evident in many of the emails I receive for 12 Most submissions. These get a rejection letter.
  3. Provide them with all the information that they request. Be thorough!
  4. Don’t pitch the same idea to multiple blogs. Be considerate.
  5. Make sure that your guest post will be an asset to the website, not a self-promotional piece for you.

Be prepared to write the guest post that you pitch. You'd be surprised how many people pitch, get approved and then drop the ball. Once you are posted on their guest website, make sure that you check your post for comments and share it on social media. The owner of the blog will notice if you ignore the post when it's live.

I hope I've given you a few tips for getting started on writing guest posts. Let me know if you have any questions or tips that work for you in the comments below.

This article was a special request post for my friend Jared Easley who has an amazing podcast called Starve the Doubts. Is there anything that you'd like me to write about? Let me know!

A few websites that accept guest posts:

Steamfeed

Generation Fabulous – guest post page

Additional resources:

How to Submit a Guest Post that Will Be Accepted

7 Popular Blogs about Writing that want your Guest Posts

5 Ways to Create a Deliciously Irresistable Blog Post Title

Google Are Driving Guest Bloggers Underground 

Photo credit: BigStock

24 Comments

  1. I heart this post 🙂 Thank you Peg! I am a little intimidated to do guest posts because my platform of choice is podcasting (not writing). However, I need to overcome this self doubt & take things to the next level. Thank you for the encouragement & great advice from this post. I am pinning it, saving it in Evernote & will create a gameplan for my first guest post. Woo hoo! #exclamation 🙂

      1. PegFitzpatrick jaredeasley Intimidation should never stop us from doing something awesome! It will be good for me. Thanks again for this extremely helpful post 🙂

        2. PegFitzpatrick jaredeasley I’ve got the Heat is On stuck in my head now! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-mU-YSk32I

        6. PegFitzpatrick jaredeasley You can remove it. You get my joke. I don’t want people leaving your awesome website 😉

  2. Thank you for the link to Generation Fabulous – so appreciate your support!

  3. PegFitzpatrick If anyone knows guest posting Peg, it’s you! These are excellent tips every newbie blogger or guest blogger should read and memorize. 
    Guest posts are an incredibly marketing opportunity and at the core of my online marketing strategy. I think the power behind guest posts is overlooked by many. As you said, choose the right site to guest for and it’s more than worth the extra time and energy. 
    12 Most was a game changer for me and an amazing family to boot — not to mention the awesome editor! 😉

    1. Rebekah Radice I think that the challenge of finding the time to do it really does balance the benefits. Everything worthwhile takes some effort, right?
      I appreciate you sharing a tip for the post, it’s always great to have others weigh in on the topic.

      I love having you on 12 Most! One of the best parts of having a blog that accepts guest posts is watching people evolve and grow as bloggers. It’s wonderful to be able to help others and share the fun and sometimes frustrations of blogging.

  5. dbvickery You certainly did! There is definitely a difference between the occasional guest post and a long term commitment like you had, Brian. I would guess that it helped you with your overall blogging and I know that lots of 12 Most writers built their social media platforms and blogging following by the great exposure. Plus there’s the additional benefit of being able to rerun the posts on your own blog later. As well as posts did on 12 Most, sometimes my own readers connected more with the content. It’s a win/win, I think.

  7. Great tips and i like the call to action… just get started.  An easy way to find blogs that guest post is do a google search with your keyword + “guest posting”  There are more than you can handle in almost any niche. Plus it is a great way to connect with other like minded people.

  8. I would also suggest contacting the blogger to add content to the original post, most bloggers just love it if you keep expanding on your original work. I also always stay in tough and subscribe to the comments to ensure I actually contribute to their communities!

    Adam Prattler
    http://post-me.org

  9. Thanks for putting this together – I am doing guest posting for a month, and have fairly good results so far, so your post confirmed the thing I do. 😉

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