Guest posting, or writing content for another website in exchange for a link back to yours, is a great inbound marketing strategy. If you do it right, you will generate qualified leads, grow brand awareness, and establish your online authority. According to SEO Czar, here are ten of the main benefits of guest posting:
But leveraging guest posting for all these benefits requires a strategy, and the first aspect of that is effective outreach. You will need to find appropriate sites to target, look for contact details using a tool to compose the perfect outreach email, and pitch great ideas.
Many would-be guest bloggers fall at this first hurdle by making common mistakes. Read on to learn about five ways to improve your initial approach to maximize your chances of acceptance.
1. Shun The Meaningless Flattery
A well-placed compliment can do wonders, but it has to be genuine. So if you love the site you want to write for, say so. But don’t start gushing about a website you haven’t even read. Editors get messages like this all the time, and they can see straight through it.
Therefore, if you’re going to lead with flattery, cite specific examples of what you like about the website. Perhaps you love a particular aspect of the website design, or one of the how-to articles helped you solve a problem. If you can’t think of something heartfelt to say, it is better to leave the flattery out.
2. Never Propose Off-Topic Guest Post Ideas
There are few things editors hate more than receiving off-topic ideas from people who have obviously not taken the time to review their site before pitching. You might have written the best article about digital marketing in the world, but there is no point in pitching it to a publication about dog grooming.
Therefore, do your research before you submit your ideas. Make sure that your suggested article fits the themes and tone of the website, and that something very similar hasn’t been published recently.
Here is how to do it:
•Check out the site in detail before pitching. What type of content usually appears there? What topics are covered?
• Brainstorm some ideas within that niche. Aligning your proposed topics with what is generally published on the website immediately improves your chance of acceptance.
• Make sure your exact idea, or something close to it, hasn’t been published recently. Go to Google and use this search format: “site:thewebsite.com [proposed topic.]” Here’s an example:
If something similar to your idea appears, move on to the next one.
Once you have a list of ideas that are relevant and have not been covered by that site before, you’re almost ready to pitch. But read the rest of my tips first, so you don’t get caught out by another avoidable mistake.
3. Don’t Submit Boring Topics
Writing a guest post is your opportunity to shine and show off how much you know. You can’t do that if your ideas are boring or generic.
Go back to your list of topic suggestions. Do your ideas sound exciting and engaging? Would your proposed title make you want to click on the article? Think about what you can do to make the same subject more interesting.
An example of a generic topic might be “Introduction to Email Marketing.” But if you change it to “10 Brilliant Examples of Email Marketing Campaigns,” you can cover much of the same material but in a much more inspiring way.
In the last point, I talked about making sure your guest post idea meets the minimum standards of being relevant and original. But now you need to go one step further. Make sure you pitch content that people will want to read and will get value from.
4. Never Promise Your Post Will be “Plagiarism-Free”
Counterintuitive though it may seem, you should also never say things like “I guarantee the article will be Copyscape-protected.” (Copyscape is an online plagiarism detection tool.) A statement like this will make the editor trust you less, not more.
Original content that is not plagiarized is the bare minimum standard and does not need to be stated. Think about it this way: would you visit a restaurant that advertised by saying, “We guarantee we won’t give you food poisoning”? Exactly.
You need to offer much more than just content that hasn’t been plagiarized. Focus instead on providing high-quality content that gives value to the hosting website and the reader.
Always Proofread Before You Hit “Send”
Would you give a guest posting opportunity to a writer who sent you an outreach email riddled with grammatical errors and spelling mistakes?
Remember that you’re pitching yourself as a writer. Therefore, your initial email needs to prove that you can write well. Always proofread and edit your email before you send it.
Here are some top tips for flawless prose:
• Let your writing rest before you send it. Write your email, then put it to one side and reread it later. This is an excellent way to find grammatical and spelling mistakes that you missed the first time.
• Read your words aloud. Reading aloud highlights any errors in the flow and syntax.
• Destroy “filler” words. These are unnecessary words we all use habitually, such as “just” and “very.”
• Ditch the flowery words. Simple and straightforward language is best. You’re pitching yourself as a guest blogger, not writing the next Great American Novel. Never use a complicated word when a simple one will do.
You should also pay attention to the length of your guest post outreach email. The rule of thumb for your guest posting outreach query is this: short and sweet and without too many links or spammy language that could get flagged.
The editor you’re contacting is a busy person and doesn’t have time to read three paragraphs detailing your business’s origin story. Use the minimum words necessary to tell them who you are, your area of expertise, what you are asking for, and what you are offering.
Before you send your email, run it through a grammar checker. Grammarly is the most popular tool. Check out Grammarly Review for more information, but there are great free Grammarly alternatives available too for your content proofreading and editing needs.
Effective Guest Post Outreach
Anyone who runs an online business should include guest posting in their marketing strategy. It is one of the best ways to boost your SEO and improve your ranking position in search engine results. It also helps establish you as an authority and expose your work to new audiences.
But before you can land those great opportunities, you need to know how to conduct effective blog outreach. Do your research, take the time to propose the best guest post ideas you can, and check and check again before you hit the “send” button.
Get Guest Posting Going And Growing
Many would-be guest bloggers fall at this first hurdle by making common mistakes. Read on to learn about five ways to improve your initial approach to maximize your chances of acceptance.
1. Shun The Meaningless Flattery
A well-placed compliment can do wonders, but it has to be genuine. So if you love the site you want to write for, say so. But don’t start gushing about a website you haven’t even read. Editors get messages like this all the time, and they can see straight through it.
Therefore, if you’re going to lead with flattery, cite specific examples of what you like about the website. Perhaps you love a particular aspect of the website design, or one of the how-to articles helped you solve a problem. If you can’t think of something heartfelt to say, it is better to leave the flattery out.
2. Never Propose Off-Topic Guest Post Ideas
There are few things editors hate more than receiving off-topic ideas from people who have obviously not taken the time to review their site before pitching. You might have written the best article about digital marketing in the world, but there is no point in pitching it to a publication about dog grooming.
Therefore, do your research before you submit your ideas. Make sure that your suggested article fits the themes and tone of the website, and that something very similar hasn’t been published recently.
Here is how to do it:
•Check out the site in detail before pitching. What type of content usually appears there? What topics are covered?
• Brainstorm some ideas within that niche. Aligning your proposed topics with what is generally published on the website immediately improves your chance of acceptance.
• Make sure your exact idea, or something close to it, hasn’t been published recently. Go to Google and use this search format: “site:thewebsite.com [proposed topic.]” Here’s an example:
If something similar to your idea appears, move on to the next one.
Once you have a list of ideas that are relevant and have not been covered by that site before, you’re almost ready to pitch. But read the rest of my tips first, so you don’t get caught out by another avoidable mistake.
3. Don’t Submit Boring Topics
Writing a guest post is your opportunity to shine and show off how much you know. You can’t do that if your ideas are boring or generic.
Go back to your list of topic suggestions. Do your ideas sound exciting and engaging? Would your proposed title make you want to click on the article? Think about what you can do to make the same subject more interesting.
An example of a generic topic might be “Introduction to Email Marketing.” But if you change it to “10 Brilliant Examples of Email Marketing Campaigns,” you can cover much of the same material but in a much more inspiring way.
In the last point, I talked about making sure your guest post idea meets the minimum standards of being relevant and original. But now you need to go one step further. Make sure you pitch content that people will want to read and will get value from.
4. Never Promise Your Post Will be “Plagiarism-Free”
Counterintuitive though it may seem, you should also never say things like “I guarantee the article will be Copyscape-protected.” (Copyscape is an online plagiarism detection tool.) A statement like this will make the editor trust you less, not more.
Original content that is not plagiarized is the bare minimum standard and does not need to be stated. Think about it this way: would you visit a restaurant that advertised by saying, “We guarantee we won’t give you food poisoning”? Exactly.
You need to offer much more than just content that hasn’t been plagiarized. Focus instead on providing high-quality content that gives value to the hosting website and the reader.
Always Proofread Before You Hit “Send”
Would you give a guest posting opportunity to a writer who sent you an outreach email riddled with grammatical errors and spelling mistakes?
Remember that you’re pitching yourself as a writer. Therefore, your initial email needs to prove that you can write well. Always proofread and edit your email before you send it.
Here are some top tips for flawless prose:
• Let your writing rest before you send it. Write your email, then put it to one side and reread it later. This is an excellent way to find grammatical and spelling mistakes that you missed the first time.
• Read your words aloud. Reading aloud highlights any errors in the flow and syntax.
• Destroy “filler” words. These are unnecessary words we all use habitually, such as “just” and “very.”
• Ditch the flowery words. Simple and straightforward language is best. You’re pitching yourself as a guest blogger, not writing the next Great American Novel. Never use a complicated word when a simple one will do.
You should also pay attention to the length of your guest post outreach email. The rule of thumb for your guest posting outreach query is this: short and sweet and without too many links or spammy language that could get flagged.
The editor you’re contacting is a busy person and doesn’t have time to read three paragraphs detailing your business’s origin story. Use the minimum words necessary to tell them who you are, your area of expertise, what you are asking for, and what you are offering.
Before you send your email, run it through a grammar checker. Grammarly is the most popular tool. Check out Grammarly Review for more information, but there are great free Grammarly alternatives available too for your content proofreading and editing needs.
Effective Guest Post Outreach
Anyone who runs an online business should include guest posting in their marketing strategy. It is one of the best ways to boost your SEO and improve your ranking position in search engine results. It also helps establish you as an authority and expose your work to new audiences.
But before you can land those great opportunities, you need to know how to conduct effective blog outreach. Do your research, take the time to propose the best guest post ideas you can, and check and check again before you hit the “send” button.
Get Guest Posting Going And Growing
It takes practice to get guest post outreach right. But if you follow these five basic but essential tips, you will give yourself the best possible chance at getting a coveted guest posting spot.