4 Tips for Pitching Guest Posts

Guest posting: it’s a process that even some seasoned bloggers shy away from. On your own blog, you can post anything without anyone else’s permission or oversight. When guest posting, you might be experiencing editing, compromise, and other delays for the first time.

For all its intimidation factors, guest posting is worth the risk for the exposure to new audiences, the new relationships with other bloggers, and the high-quality backlinks. So how can you pitch your posts and assure that they will be accepted as often as possible? Start by following these simple pieces of advice.

Know the blog

You need to have at least a surface-level familiarity with the blog you are pitching to. Make sure you have read the About page and a number of the recent posts. Notice whether or not other guest posts have appeared recently, and check for a page that describes how to present a guest post proposal.

If the blog has instructions on how to submit guest posts, and if the blog’s requirements contradict anything else you have read, always follow the blog’s specific requests. These tips are general guidelines, but many larger blogs are overwhelmed with guest post proposals, and the requests which don’t follow the blog’s requirements are easily discarded. Make it clear that you have done your research.

Be sure to choose the right blog to start submitting guest posts. Try starting with smaller blogs before targeting A-list bloggers, and be sure to listen to and learn from any feedback from editors or commenters.

Offer multiple ideas

When a blog does not specifically request a fully written post, it is best to offer post ideas instead. By providing two or three different ideas, you can be sure that you are spending time on the post which will get the best reception by the blog’s audience. You will also be able to incorporate any ideas or requests from the editor, instead of trying to add them in later.

When offering your ideas, flesh them out enough to be understood without being too wordy. Try offering article titles and one or two sentences describing what you would write about. Format the email so that the titles stand out – using a bulleted list or making the titles bold with the descriptions beneath.

Prove your mettle

If you are not sending a fully-written post, show the quality of your writing by sending links to your best work. Sending links to your blog helps, but showing other guest posts that you have written shows the blog that you are pitching to that you are experienced with guest posting. The social proof of seeing that other bloggers have trusted you to guest post on their sites can also help influence an editor to accept your work.

If you blog on a similar subject as the blog you are submitting a proposal to, you should point out your site as well. Also mention if you have specific expertise or another reason for being a good voice in your field. When other bloggers respect you as an authority or insider instead of a newcomer, you will have more meaningful connections which might even blossom into other partnerships.

Cut to the chase

Though this might seem like a lot of information to put into an initial contact, you should also make sure your first email is as short and streamlined as possible. Include a sentence or two of introduction stating that you would like to guest post, include your guest post ideas, and then add links to previously posted work. End with a simple thank you.

Avoid sending attachments unless they are specifically requested. Most people, including bloggers, view any attachments from unknown senders with suspicion, and might go as far as ignoring your email when they saw it had an attachment.

Though you might be anxious about the idea of guest posting, start by just writing a proposal. Once you know that a subject is right for a particular blog, you can write your post with that blog and its audience in mind. Plus, nothing speeds up writing like a deadline! By taking a baby-step approach to writing guest posts, you can get your posts done with less anxiety and more success.