Guest posting isn’t what it used to be, it’s harder than ever to get a guest post accepted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What’s holding your guest posting program back?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ll look at the 7 things most people do when guest posting that are actually working against them. Avoid them in order to get your guest post published. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ve written an epic piece. You want to find a home for it, ideally on a blog you admire. So you decide to reach out to a few different editors with a pitch that exactly matches your epic piece. With fingers crossed, you wait for what you hope is a quick acceptance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your plan? To hand the editor a finished piece about 2 seconds after they accept your pitch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bad news is, most blogs don\u2019t want your already-written piece. They go so far as to reject these pieces outright or put in the guidelines that they aren\u2019t accepted. Blogs want a post curated specifically for their blog. Not something you wrote without them in mind\u2014and need to find a home for ASAP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead of writing posts and shopping them around, put your energy into researching blogs you enjoy. Even better if they\u2019re blogs you love to read and<\/em> that share a similar audience to yours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Read 3-5 of their posts, plus their about <\/strong>page. Brainstorm ideas that you think their audience would find useful. Run a search to make sure the topic hasn\u2019t already been written about on the blog. Then, pitch post ideas you\u2019ve come up with. Even better if you\u2019ve got a list of potential headers to help shape the scope of the potential piece. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Blog editors and owners are a lot more likely to sign off on topics when they can tell you\u2019ve done your research and want to provide them with a helpful piece. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pitch templates sound good in theory. With just one document, you can make tweaks here and there to create pitches for all sorts of different blogs\u2014without spending hours doing it. Plenty of would-be guest posters do this. If you do it now or have done it in the past, we get it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But using pitch templates is a mistake. As good as they are for saving time, people rely on pitch templates too much. They change the name and a couple of sentences and send them off, one after another, like a machine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pitches become stale, editors hate them, and rejections become the norm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Plus, it\u2019s way too easy to mess up on one of these copy-paste templates. What if you accidentally leave the name of Blog A on a pitch sent to Blog B? It\u2019s an instant rejection and a big turnoff for Blog B. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another downside? Pitch templates leave little room for customization. When it comes to pitching, customization is everything. Blog owners and editors want to know that you\u2019re thinking specifically<\/strong> of them when you\u2019re crafting a pitch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But we totally understand that this takes time. A lot of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a solution, though, and it\u2019s easier than you think. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of using a standard pitch template for everyone on your dream guest posting list, use a light framework you can customize for each pitch. Instead of primarily being a time-saving machine, this framework makes sure you include all the important parts of a pitch:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It might look something like this: <\/p>\n\n\n\n _____<\/p>\n\n\n\n [Salutation\u2014aka \u201cHi, {name of blog owner or editor}\u201d],<\/p>\n\n\n\n [Quick intro on who you are, what you like about their blog, and what you\u2019d like to guest post about.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n [Hooks you will use to start the piece + keywords you would use]<\/p>\n\n\n\n [A quick, bullet-points overview of how you\u2019d break down the post idea]<\/p>\n\n\n\n [2-3 links to relevant samples of your blog posts\/other guest posts]<\/p>\n\n\n\n [Concluding sentences]<\/p>\n\n\n\n [Complimentary close, including your email, phone number, and credentials]<\/p>\n\n\n\n [A check box for the pitching rules to follow as per the blog\u2019s guidelines\u2014delete once you\u2019ve nailed every requirement.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n _____<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you pitch and land spots as a guest poster on other blogs, make note of what seems to work for pitches\u2014and what doesn\u2019t. Save snippets that you can re-work for future pieces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But overall, strive to create original pitches each and every time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a dream to be featured in big publications and blogs with millions of monthly visitors. The idea of these big-name audiences potentially heading over to your little ol\u2019 blog can be heady stuff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even more <\/em>thrilling, many of these bigger blogs solicit guest posts\u2014and pay cold hard cash, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s no surprise that most people spend a ton of time pitching big blogs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But solely focusing on the bigger names is a mistake. It\u2019s really, really difficult to get noticed and featured in big blogs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Before you glare at us for stomping on your dreams, we\u2019re not suggesting you should never pitch big blogs. Just that you shouldn\u2019t pitch ONLY big blogs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pitch the small blogs too! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Look for these qualities before doing your pre-pitch research:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The simple truth of it is this: you\u2019re more likely to get noticed and published with these blogs. As far as pitching efforts go, we recommend sending 70% of pitches to small and midsized blogs and 30% to the big guns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Picture this: a guest post gets published on a blog. The writer posts about it on their social media accounts on publish day, and maybe a few days later. After that, they kind of forget about promotion. They leave it up to the blog editor or owner to spread the word. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This all-too-common scenario is a mistake for two reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s the fix. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Promote your guest posts yourself. Go way beyond social media posts on publication day. Instead, do this: <\/p>\n\n\n\n So many guest posters get their piece published and never visit the site again. Meanwhile, comments are piling up, people are asking for more, and the blogger is missing out on a chance to grow their traffic and following. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t let yourself fall into this set-it-and-forget-it trap. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Comments on a blog post mean people are connecting to the content you\u2019ve written. When you engage with comments, you\u2019re strengthening that connection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s why you wrote the guest post, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ve got to take advantage of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask the blog owner if there\u2019s any way you can get a notification when people comment on your guest post. If not, that\u2019s OK. You can just set a reminder to visit the comments section every day in the week after the post goes live. If you see comments, respond to them\u2014and make sure you identify yourself as the guest blogger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When the comments start to slow down, you can slow your visits to a couple times a week. Eventually, you may only visit once or twice a month. But it\u2019s always a good idea to visit the post indefinitely. Because you\u2019ve got one goal here: to answer every single comment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This makes your audience feel valued and heard, and they just might head over to your site to get more of what you\u2019re offering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Honestly, guest posting is a numbers game. The more pitches you put out, the better chance you have of getting pitches accepted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s no wonder why most people prioritize sending out as many pitches as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But more often than not, people start neglecting the quality of the pitch for the sake of getting as many pitches out as possible. Then they start relying heavily on templates, ignoring personalization and creativity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This leads to fewer accepted pitches\u2014and would-be guest bloggers either ratchet up their pitching machine or give up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You don\u2019t have to do either of those things. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The best thing you can do is learn to create quality pitches quickly. This takes practice. It takes following a high-quality framework, like the one we outlined earlier, and figuring out the most efficient way to learn what you need to learn to fill in the framework with an outstanding pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eventually, you\u2019ll get faster at pitching. But quality should always, always come first. Figure out how many quality pitches you can comfortably send out each week or month\u2014and do that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Whatever you do, don\u2019t sacrifice quality for the sake of sending out mass numbers of pitches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most people pitch blogs cold, which means they don\u2019t know the blog or owner before they pitch. So, they have to create a truly stellar, unique pitch just for the chance of being noticed. Because spoiler alert: most people delete cold pitches before reading them. Almost no one likes receiving cold pitches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of relying on this method, focus on building a relationship with the blog owner or editor prior to pitching. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s how. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Find out who the blog owner is. Look them up on LinkedIn, Threads, or Instagram. Take a couple of weeks to comment on their social media posts and the blog posts they publish during this time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t spam their posts or offer up fluff comments, though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Read their posts. Like, really read them. Respond with a thoughtful and valuable comment. You could share why their post is meaningful to you\u2014how it relates to something similar in your own life. Or, let them know why what they\u2019ve written is helpful or inspiring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n2. Use a pitch template<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What to do instead<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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3. Pitch primarily big blogs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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4. Leave promotion to the site<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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5. Neglect comments on guest posts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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6. Prioritize quantity over quality when it comes to pitches <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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7. Don\u2019t get noticed by the blog owner first<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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