How to Get Guest Bloggers

Guest blogging is a great win-win: you get more original content for your blog, and the blogger gets exposure to a new audience and a couple high-quality, targeted backlinks. It’s not too hard to start posting guest posts – you just need to send proposals or written posts to other blogs.
But what about when you want to start accepting guest posts on your own site? Here are some techniques for finding free, high-quality guest posts.

Set your standards

You blog’s theme or niche should be defined enough for you to know what subjects you would want other bloggers writing about. Guest posts should fit into your existing site enough not to confuse your readers, and to make it clear to new visitors what your site is about.

Do not be open to accepting any guest post – it needs to be relevant and well-written. Don’t be afraid to say no: sometimes posts are just not a good fit. If the article could be accepted with a rewrite, make that clear, too.

Make it easy to get in contact

Make sure that your contact page works, and provide a couple different contact methods (Twitter, email address, and a contact form are a good combination). This way, anyone can approach you about a guest posting opportunity.

Also create a dedicated page explaining what you want to see in a guest post, like subject, length, document format, and how to submit it. Link to the page from your navigation with a subject like “Write for our site” or “Submit a Guest Post Proposal.” This way, anyone who hears about your solicitation will be able to find the appropriate link without much work.

Give back some link love

You are generally not expected to pay for guest posts, but you are expected to post a short bio of the author with a couple links. It is polite to include those links as regular do-follow links from the body of the post.

And once the post is live, make sure you advertise it as if it was your own – in Twitter, Facebook, and whatever other avenues you usually use. When others see that you accept and post guest posts, they will likely approach you on their own.

Put out a call

If you want to start actively looking for guest posts, advertise it. Mention it on your blog, on Twitter, on Facebook, and anywhere else that you interact with readers, fans, or other writers. Some bloggers even search Twitter for “guest post” to find posting opportunities.

Offer to trade guest posts

If you know other bloggers who are also soliciting guest posts, suggest a post exchange – you can write a post for their sites while they write one for yours. This is a great situation for both bloggers to get some backlinks and exposure to other audiences.

Find up-and-coming bloggers

Look for lists of new bloggers with potential in your niche. Invite these bloggers to contribute guest posts. As new bloggers, these writers are often passionate enough to make up for their lack of experience, and they will be eager to get backlinks from other sites. You never know who will make it big and appreciate your posting opportunity.

Myblogguest.com

One great site to know when you are trying to find guest posts is My Blog Guest. This site lets bloggers post prewritten guest posts, and then blog owners can find appropriate posts and request the guest post from the author. Once the author approves the request, the post is ready to be posted on the blog owner’s blog.

Solicit specific guest posts

If you know someone specific you would like to post on your blog, try asking. Though you are not likely to hear back from A-list bloggers, a number of blogs you probably read are likely written by people trying to get a leg up, just like you. Also think about opinionated people who are likely to write a post with a dissenting opinion.

You could even try asking your engaged commenters and most active fans if they would like to write a guest post for you. They are already part of your community, which makes asking for a guest post natural, especially if they always want to comment and pitch in their two cents.

Do you have good techniques for soliciting guest posts? Or would you be interested in a guest posting opportunity? If you are looking for guest posting opportunities, you can even leave your contact information in the comments for blog owners who will be reading this post in the future.