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If you’re looking for a complete guide to guest posting, this is the article for you. I’ve taken the time to break down the basics of writing valuable guest posts and how this can make a massive impact on your blog, as well as how to find relevant opportunities in your niche.
While it might seem counterintuitive to write blog posts for other people’s websites, the honest truth is that guest posting is a great way to propel your blog forward and improve your SEO rankings.
Guest posting can also help build relationships with other bloggers in your niche and potentially reach a different audience demographic as well.
I get it – you want to save articles for your own blog. But if you can share the wealth a little bit through guest posting, you’ll be setting yourself up for strategic success.
When we first started our travel blog, Adventure in You, we wrote so many guest posts. Seriously, we’d guest post any chance we got and it really helped to build our authority in the travel sphere.
Even when we started this blog, we’ve reached out to dozens of bloggers, hoping to write guest posts about blogging.
In this article, I cover everything you need to know about guest posting. You’ll learn what guest posting is exactly, as well as where to find guest posting opportunities and the 5 steps needed to start writing awesome guest posts.
What is Guest Posting?
Before we dive into things, let’s cover some basics… like what guest posting is!
Guest posting is when you write and publish an article on someone else’s blog.
But wait, why would you want to publish your valuable content on someone else’s website instead of your own?
Well, guest posting is key to building up your credibility as a blogger and driving people to your own website. I’ve done so many guest posts over the years and it’s really gone such a long way in helping us connect with new and different readers as well as building up clout for our own blog.
The main benefits of guest posting are backlinks, referral traffic, and building authority in your niche.
Let’s break this down a little bit.
Backlinks
Backlinks are one of the best ways to boost your blog’s SEO, or search engine optimization.
If you guest post for someone with a high domain authority and they link back to your blog, this serves as a vote of confidence – as if they were vouching for the authority of your blog’s content.
This link is a hint to Google, signaling that you have a knowledgeable blog that it can trust and rank on search engine results.
Referral Traffic
When you write a guest post, you have the opportunity to send people back to your blog. They may like your guest post so much that they want to check out all the other awesome content that you have on your own blog.
Using guest posts for referral traffic is a great strategy because it gets your content in front of new eyes, naturally!
This is one of the main reasons why it’s so important to write guest posts for related blogs in your niche. Links from blogs outside your niche don’t appear natural and won’t do much to help your referral traffic. Since they aren’t natural, this may even cause Google to flag your website.
For example, if you have a fitness blog, you wouldn’t want a link from a blog about cruises because chances are, the people on the blog about cruises won’t really care what you have to say about fitness. This also looks fishy to Google because there’s no clear connection between fitness and cruises.
If you flip this around and write a guest post about fitness on another fitness blog, you’re way more likely to have an audience who’s interested in your article because it’s the type of content they were looking for in the first place.
When you write a guest post on a relevant blog, the point is to “wow” readers to the point that they’re compelled to check out your blog. If they’re on a blog in your niche, it’s safe to say that they’re seeking the kind of information you’re dishing out.
Building Authority
When you write guest posts on a certain topic, you’re beginning to build up authority in your niche.
By writing for other people (especially for multiple people, on similar topics), you start to build up credibility in the sense that you’re displaying that you know what you’re talking about. When you write several guest posts for your niche, you’re showing readers that you’re an expert on the topic, and showing search engines this as well.
Writing guest posts is one of the most effective ways to strategically build up your blog’s authority and garner new readers. As a beginner blogger, this is an awesome way to get your name out there and set your blog up for success!
How to Start Guest Posting in 5 Easy Steps
Wondering how to get started writing guest blog posts? Here are 5 easy steps to get the ball rolling.
1. Find Blogs in Your Niche That Are Accepting Guest Posts
First, you’ll need to find blogs that will actually accept guest posts. While it may seem like a great deal (getting a free blog post), not all blogs accept them.
It’s also important to remember to look in your niche for people to guest post for. Guest posting is most effective when you can write for people who have similar topics that you want to guest post on.
This helps to build up relevant authority and get the readers you want over to your blog.
Use Google Search
On the most basic level, you can head to Google to find guest post opportunities. Start with some basic search terms that include your keyword (what you want to write a guest post on) and blogging terms.
For example, you want to write a guest post about campervans, you can try search terms like:
- “Campervan guest post”
- “Campervan guest post opportunity”
- “Campervan guest column”
- “Campervan submit content”
- “Campervan article contributor”
Try out different combinations of your keyword and words related to guest posting and you may be able to find a blog’s specific guest post guidelines and how to submit one.
Search Social Media for Mentions of Guest Posting
After trolling Google for guest post opportunities, try searching through social media to see what you can find.
Twitter is an amazing resource when it comes to finding anything, guest post opportunities included. You can start to look for options by using the search function and plugging in some of the phrases you used on Google.
Start simple and just try out “campervan guest post” to see if there’s immediate, relevant interest. You can then continue with the search process like you did on Google.
You’ll find tons of results doing this… you just have to find the ones with bloggers actually looking to receive guest posts.
When I completed this search on Twitter, I found lots of people who had written guest posts about campervans. They shared their published article in a Tweet, which is a great lead as to what blogs are actively accepting guest posts about campervans.
From there, you can navigate to the actual blog the guest post was published on and pitch a post yourself… but more on pitching guest posts later.
Besides actively searching on Twitter, there are lots of Facebook groups that are actually dedicated to guest posting.
Head to Facebook and use the search bar to look for “your niche” + “guest post”. You’ll be able to find different options for groups to join where you can either put out a post yourself saying that you’d like to write guest posts, or look for people who have posted saying they’re looking for guest posts for their blog.
If you put out a post yourself, it helps to have a little message ready that says something along the lines of:
“Hey! I’m [Name] from [Blog Name].
I’m looking to write a few high quality guest posts for blogs in the [Subject] niche. I can write on topics like: [List Topics] and ensure that they follow any specific guidelines you may have.
If you already have a topic in mind that you’re looking for a post on, I’m happy to write it, but I can also pitch my own ideas within the topics listed above.”
If you can’t find any groups central to your niche, there are plenty of Facebook groups for general guest posts. While it’s still important to find relevant guest post opportunities, you’ll have a wider range in these general groups to see what options are out there.
Reverse Engineer Backlinks
If you have a keyword research tool like Keysearch, checking out competitor’s backlinks is one of the best ways to find people to guest post for.
On Keysearch, you can do this by clicking “Competitive Analysis” and then “Backlink Checker”.
Insert a specific domain and hit “search”.
What this will do is populate all of the backlinks pointing to this specific website. You’ll find tons of different backlinks here but what you’re looking for is places that they’ve guest posted in the past.
Because when you write a guest post, remember, you get a link back to your website.
So you can check this out for tons of different blogs in your niche to see places that accept guest posts. From there, you can reach out to these blogs and let them know that you’re interested in getting involved!
Keysearch is a super affordable tool that has both yearly AND monthly plans. If you would like to try the tool, use the coupon code “FASTLANE” for a discount!
Check If Blogger Friends Are Accepting Guest Posts
One thing I love most about being a blogger is the amazing community. I’ve made so many awesome friends through blogging that I would have never met otherwise!
Not only have I become friends with lots of fellow bloggers, but through building relationships, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with them, too.
When we’re looking for people to write guest posts for, the first place I check is within my own network. I know this can be hard as a beginner blogger, but it just goes to show how important networking is!
For bloggers who have already found some friends within their niche, this is a top route to take.
This is one of the top reasons we created a Blogging Fast Lane community Facebook group. We wanted all of our students to be able to connect with one another, work together on different projects, and have a cohort who really understand one another.
If you already know some bloggers in your niche, don’t be afraid to reach out to them to see if they are accepting guest posts. Remember, you’re providing them with content, so this is really beneficial to both parties!
You’ll quickly realize that lots of bloggers are willing to accept guest posts. It’s just about looking in the right place to find them.
Research Online
If all else fails, take to the web to see what you can find in terms of guest posting opportunities. With a simple Google search of “websites that accept guest posts”, I’ve already found dozens of websites that have jumbo collections of places to guest post on.
Some articles include:
- https://solvid.co.uk/180-websites-that-accept-guest-posts/
- https://www.websitehostingrating.com/list-of-200-websites-that-accept-guest-posts/
- https://www.effectivebusinessideas.com/blogs-that-accept-guest-posts/
- https://constantlystriving.com/guest-posting-sites/
While they cover a huge range of different niches, take some time to sort through these lists to see what you can find. It’s a solid jumping-off point if you’re struggling with other methods.
2. Select the Blogs You Want to Guest Post For
Once you’ve rounded up lots of blogs that are accepting guest posts, it’s time to start narrowing them down to select the ones you want to write for.
When deciding who to guest post for, there are a few things that you should look for.
High DA
DA stands for Domain Authority, which is a search engine ranking score developed by Moz that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine result pages (SERPs).
Basically what this means is that websites with a higher DA are more likely to rank for specific keywords. This is why large news outlets like the New York Times or popular websites like Forbes or Buzzfeed will show up when you search for something online – their high domain authority pushes them to the top of the search engine results.
It really helps if you can try to write guest posts for people with a high domain authority. This is how you get the most powerful backlinks!
Lots of Traffic
If you can guest post for a blog that gets tons of traffic, this increases your chances of relevant referral traffic on your own blog. But remember, even if a site has a lot of traffic, if it isn’t relevant to your niche, this can do more harm than good.
Websites With Authority
If you’re hoping to position yourself as an expert on a certain topic, writing for a well-known website is one of the best ways to do this. If they see you as an expert, other people will, too!
Related Content
Above all else, you want to guest post for people who have relevant content.
It won’t do you much good to write a guest post for a tech blog (even with a high DA) if you’re trying to build credibility on a website about campervans. You should choose blogs to guest post for which are within the same niche, or at the very least, have campervan or road trip content on their website.
It’s okay to be picky about the blogs you want to guest post for. It may seem like there are tons of opportunities out there, but it’s all about choosing the ones that will benefit you and your blog the most.
3. Pitch a Guest Post to Them
After narrowing down who you’d like to guest post for, it’s time to set up an irresistible pitch.
But before you reach out to the blogger who you’d like to guest post for, you should warm them up a bit.
Rather than cold outreach, begin to interact with their blog first. Comment on their posts, share their articles, follow and like their social media, or reach out with thought-provoking questions.
Be genuine with your interactions and show meaningful interest. The point here is to get on the blogger’s radar through your positive actions.
Once you start to be a familiar presence, then you can reach out and write a guest post pitch.
Each time you pitch a guest post, it should be totally customized to relate to the specific blog.
Be sure to open with a short introduction and follow up with something that you love about their blog. Then you can go ahead and let them know that you’re interested in writing a guest post.
Ask if they have any specific guidelines or any content gaps they’re looking to fill. You can also make it clear that you have ideas for a guest post so it takes some pressure off them in terms of coming up with a topic for you to write about.
An example of a pitch can be something like:
Hey [blogger’s name],
I’m [name] from [blog].
I’ve been reading [blog name] for some time now and loved your article about [topic] because [reason]. In fact, I’ve actually done [insert personal sentence about how you can relate to a specific article].
I’ve also shared this article on my social media page and my reader’s loved it! [replace with relevant action]I’m reaching out to see if you’d be interested in accepting a guest post for your blog on [topic]. I think this would be an awesome fit as I see that you have some related content [specific related content].
Some ideas I have for a guest post are [x, y, z topics], but I’m also open to any suggestions you may have! If you have content gaps, I’m happy to fill them while following any specific guidelines you have surrounding guest posts.
I’m a self-proclaimed SEO ninja so I can assure you, the article I will write for your blog will be super in-depth, valuable, and SEO-optimized. Feel free to check out some other guest posts I’ve done (link to other guest posts) or some writing on my blog (include URL).
Please let me know if this is something you’re interested in.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Thanks,
[Name]
It’s best to send pitches directly to a blogger’s email, which you can typically find on an “About” or “Contact” page. Some bloggers also have contact forms or “Work With Us” pages on their blog specifically for guest posts, so be sure to check out the individual blog before sending a pitch.
If a blogger doesn’t get back to you… send a follow-up email! Remember, bloggers get tons of emails every day similar to this, so it is important to be genuine and follow up with them.
While a lot of companies email bloggers to try to get free backlinks, for the most part, other bloggers are willing to allow you to guest post, especially if you’ve taken the time to establish a connection with them beforehand.
4. Write an Awesome Guest Post
Received some yeses to your guest post pitch? Now it’s time to write the guest post!
The biggest tip I have for writing guest blog posts is to adhere to the guidelines you’re given. Each blogger has a different style and expectation for their guest posts, so it’s important that you do your very best to stick to them. This shows respect for the blogger and makes it more likely that your guest post will be published.
Any guest post that has to be edited a ton to fit guidelines often won’t be published. Remember, you don’t want to create extra work for the blogger you pitched to!
It really helps to outline your post before you get started writing so that you can create a clear roadmap to follow for your article.
When writing your guest post, I also highly recommend including a contextual backlink to your blog. This means that somewhere in your article, you’ve made a connection to your blog and linked out to it. This sends some link juice your way without disrupting the flow of your article.
It’s even better if you can include a clear call-to-action for your blog like a button or a standout piece of text. This increases the chances of referral traffic!
When submitting your guest post, be sure to include an interesting author bio, as this will likely be included with the post when it’s published.
The more interesting your bio, the more likely people are to click on it and visit your blog! Pique people’s interest and give them a reason to check out your website. You’d be surprised at how much power an interesting blog bio has.
Finally, be sure to triple-check your guest post for grammar and spelling. Read it through out loud to make sure that it flows well.
Before submitting it, ensure that your guest post is polished and that you’ve put your best foot forward. This is when guest posts are most effective!
5. Promote Your Guest Post
Now that you’ve written your guest post and had it published on a blog, it’s time to promote it to make the most out of your hard work.
Share your post on your social channels and encourage people to give it a read. Doing this expands the reach of your post beyond just the blog’s audience. Get your own readers’ eyes on it.
Pay attention to your post and keep on checking back. If people leave comments on it, be sure to reply to them! Not only is it giving answers to people with questions, but it continues to get your name out there.
If you can provide answers to questions that people are looking for, you’re continuing to establish yourself as an expert in the field. Next time someone has a question related to the topic of your guest post, they’ll know who to turn to!
Ultimately, guest posting is beneficial in so many ways.
Not only does it get you links back to your blog, but it helps to build authority and put your name in a conversation about your niche.
Writing guest posts is such a valuable step of building up your blog. It’s oftentimes overlooked because many bloggers wish to keep their content for their own blog… but if you can find a way to share some of that amazing work with others, you’ll reap the benefits time and time again.
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