What is Guest Posting and How to do it?

Welcome to our ultimate guide on guest blogging! In this article, you will learn everything about guest blogging: what it is, its benefits, and how to start guest blogging the right way. 

Whether you are an experienced blogger or a newbie, we’ve got you covered.

What is guest blogging?

Guest blogging (aka “guest posting”) is a content marketing strategy that involves writing and publishing your content on other websites. 

The editors of third-party websites usually give you credits by including your bio and marking the articles as contributed by a guest author.

You will receive links to your website and social media profiles as a guest blogger.  

You can perform this task by using a guest posting service or doing outreach on your own. 

Benefits of Guest Blogging

Guest blogging benefits your own blog in many ways. You can get more traffic, improve SEO, and build relationships with other bloggers.  

Guest blogging provides more referral traffic

For starters, guest posting is an excellent way to reach a wider audience. When readers read your guest posts, they can click the referral links to supporting resources on your websites. Thus, your website’s traffic will increase. 

Moreover, referral readers are more loyal and more likely to convert. A study from Annex Cloud shows that referred customers are 18% more loyal than other customers. If you sell products and services on your blog, you can make more money from these guest visitors. 

Guest blogging improves SEO

The main reason bloggers do guest blogging is because of its SEO benefits. Guest blogging enhances your credibility and authority. When reputable blogs publish your content, search engines know that you are a reliable source of information. This leads to an increase in search engine rankings. As a result, your website will receive more organic traffic. 

Guest blogging gives you more partnership opportunities

Last but not least, guest blogging is an excellent networking tool. By writing high-quality content to other blogs, you can establish valuable connections in your industry and potentially open doors for future partnerships.

How to Start Guest Posting?

Let’s get to the most juicy part of the article! You will learn how to start guest blogging. The right way!

Step 1: Determine your guest posting goals

Before you start guest blogging, it’s crucial to set clear objectives. Clearly defined goals are the compass guiding you through your guest posting journey, ensuring you stay on track and achieve the results you desire.

What’s the goal behind your guest posting efforts? Are you seeking to establish thought leadership in your industry, or are you more interested in driving traffic to your website? Maybe your primary goal is to improve your SEO or build a network in your niche market. 

Whatever your goal is, plan it out! Having goals from the start will shape the way you approach the entire process. It influences the kind of websites you will reach out to, the topics you will write about, and how you will measure your success. 

Step 2: Find guest post prospects

Once you have a clearly defined goal, it’s time to hunt! The next step is to identify websites that accept guest posts. Here are some strategies to get the ball rolling. 

Google Searches 

Google is a free yet powerful tool to search for guest blogging opportunities.  

Type relevant keywords in your niche followed by terms like “write for us”, “guest post”, or “become a contributor”. For example, if you are in the digital marketing niche, you might search “digital marketing + write for us”.

Here’s a list of guest posting sites in the digital marketing niche. 

The good thing about these websites is that they already allow guest article submissions. As long as your content is top-notch, you are more likely to get published on these websites. 

Competitor Research

Another great way to find prospects is from your competitors’ backlink profiles. If your competitors already have a lot of backlinks pointing to them, there’s a great chance they have published guest posts on these websites. 

Use SEO tools to find these potential to find these websites. I will use SE Ranking as an example. 

Let’s say you are in the Golf niche. Hope into the Backlink Checker tool and type in the name of the website. In this case, I will use golfergeeks.com. 

Next, click Referring Domains on the left bar and choose Active to see all active domains. 

SE Ranking will show you a list of referring domains to the target site. You can export this list out for your convenience. 

Check out this article for a complete review about SE Ranking.

Leverage your relationships

You can also leverage your relationships with other bloggers to find guest post opportunities. 

If you know a guest blogger in your industry who can make an introduction for you to the owners of blogs they have guest posted upon, you can ask them for a referral. Your pitch is more likely to get accepted than a cold outreach. 

Criteria for choosing websites

When you first start, you won’t be able to get your website on well-established sites like Forbes or Hubspot. Start small. Aim for websites with a Domain Authority between (40 and 70). 

Also, you want to have websites that have solid organic traffic. 

This website is a good candidate 

This website is not…

Step 3: Collect contact information 

The next step is collecting the contact information of your prospects. Cultivating a personal connection can significantly improve the chances of getting your guest article accepted. 

One effective method is through LinkedIn. Many website owners and editors are active on LinkedIn, making it a suitable platform for guest posting outreach. Look for the website’s official page and try to connect with decision-making people such as content editors or content managers. 

For illustration purposes, I will use an advertising website called Media.Monks. 

In the search box, search Content Manager. LinkedIn gives me a list of potential prospects. 

You can see the person in the red box can make great outreaches as she is the content marketing manager of the company. 

You can contact them directly on LinkedIn. If you want to communicate via email, I suggest using Hunter.   

Hunter.io is a valuable tool for finding email addresses associated with a particular website. Simply type the domain name and the person name into Hunter.io’s search bar, and it will provide you with the contact email with high accuracy.  

Step 4: Develop some guest post ideas

Before reaching out to your prospects, it’s essential to develop a list of guest post ideas under your belt. This shows your prospect you are serious about providing value to their audience.

Start by understanding the content that resonates with their audience. You can do this by browsing through the most popular articles on their website or studying the themes that they frequently cover.

Next, brainstorm a list of topics that align with their interests and your expertise. Ensure these ideas are unique and intriguing. 

I highly recommend you use ChatGPT for this. Let’s say you try to guest post on an advertising website. I can write a prompt “Give me 10 article ideas related to advertising. The topics should be in-depth and provide value”. ChatGPT can get the job done in 1 minute. 

After this, you can see these content ideas and check against the website to see if they have written about them or not. You don’t want to pitch topics that have been written about.  

Step 5: Pitch Your Ideas

After you have a list of unique and value-driven content ideas, it’s time to pitch them to your prospect. You want to make a good impression as it’s your first interaction with the website owner. 

Personalize your email

When drafting your pitch email, make it as personalized as possible. Address the recipient by their first name, mention some of their articles you’ve read, and express why you believe your guest post idea would be valuable to their audience. 

Your email should embody respect and demonstrate your knowledge of their website’s content. This will not just make your email stand out, but also build a rapport with the recipient.

Provide value to your prospect

Everything in this world is a value exchange. No one is going to help you for free. Not because they are bad, but because they don’t have the reasons to. 

The same principle applies when pitching guest blogs. You cannot just ask them to place a guest post on their site with a backlink back to you. There must be something valuable for them in this collaboration. 

So, you can find a value proposition. It could be your professional experience or other guest posts you have written on other websites. For example, here’s a standard value proposition that Newbies Media often uses when pitching guest posts. 

It shows our credibility since we have published guest posts on high-authority websites. 

The goal here is to provide value and gain trust from your prospect. Once you get that, they are more than happy to link back to you. 

Follow-up your pitches

Don’t get discouraged if you don’t receive a response. Your prospects receive hundreds if not thousands of pitches from guest bloggers every day. Thus, it might take a while for them to get to yours. 

Therefore, it’s important to follow up on your pitches. If you haven’t heard back in 4 or 5 days, send a polite follow-up email to remind them of your pitch. Keep your follow-up brief and courteous, expressing your continued interest in contributing to their website.

Remember, your goal is to build relationships, not just secure a one-off guest post. So, always maintain a professional and friendly tone throughout your communication.

Step 6: Write Guest Posts

If your pitch is accepted, congratulations! You are 1 step away from getting your guest post published. However, to create high-quality guest blog posts, you need a plan. 

Read and understand the guidelines

Most websites have guest post guidelines for their guest authors. Read them carefully and make sure that you understand the expectations. Pay special attention to these points:

• Word count limit – how long should the post be? 

• Tone of voice – do they want a conversational post or a formal post? 

• Keywords – what words and phrases do they want in the article? 

• Backlinks – how many links do they allow in the article?

Make sure you follow these guidelines when you create your content to ensure your guest post gets accepted. 

Create high-quality content

Now, it’s time to get to the main part: Creating high-quality guest posts. 

Start with a compelling introduction that hooks the readers, followed by a body that delivers on the promises you made in your introduction. 

Use subheadings, bullet points, and short paragraphs to make your content easy to scan and digest. 

Research case studies and data to support your claims and provide credibility. You want your content to be well-researched and trustworthy. 

Your conclusion should wrap up your ideas and encourage reader interaction. 

Don’t forget to proofread and edit your content before submission. A post with grammatical errors and awkward phrasing cannot make a good impression. 

Include internal and outbound links

Integrating relevant internal and external source links is a vital part of creating a rich, informative guest post. 

Internal links guide readers to other useful content on the same site, boosting engagement and providing additional value. They also provide value to the site’s SEO, as it helps build topical authority. 

External links, on the other hand, should connect to reputable sources that back up your claims or provide extra reading. 

Remember, these backlinks should be authentic. The credibility of your post relies on them. Use anchor text that accurately represents the linked content and avoid overloading your post with backlinks. 

Create a great guest bio

Your guest bio is an opportunity to establish your authority and engage with the readers. Keep it short and impactful, featuring your professional credentials and highlighting your expertise. Mention any notable achievements or relevant projects to affirm your credibility. 

However, don’t just stick to formal details; let your personality shine through as well. Adding a touch of personal interests or a quirky fact can make your bio more relatable. 

Lastly, consider including a call-to-action and a link to your website or social media profile, inviting readers to learn more about you or your work. Remember, a well-crafted guest bio can increase your visibility and strengthen your brand.

Step 7: Track your guest posts

After submitting your guest post, your work isn’t done. It’s important to track your guest posts and the engagement they are receiving. 

This involves monitoring the comments, shares and likes your posts receive. You can use tools like Google Analytics to track the website traffic originating from your posts. Pay attention to any trends that emerge. Are certain topics more popular? Do your posts get more engagement on specific sites? 

Understanding these metrics helps you refine your guest blogging strategy and focus your efforts where they are most effective. Guest blogging isn’t just a one-time activity. It’s an ongoing process that constantly requires improvements. 

Step 8: Become popular in the Blog Community

Becoming popular within the blogging community doesn’t happen overnight. It requires active participation and genuine engagement. 

Start by responding to comments on your guest posts. Engage with readers who take the time to share their thoughts or ask questions. This way, you can build your reputation as a thoughtful writer and encourage more interaction on your posts.

Attend blogger meetups or online forums in your niche, and network with other bloggers. Share knowledge, exchange ideas, and collaborate on projects. As your connections grow, so does your visibility.

Make sure to stay consistent in your involvement. Regular engagement shows you’re committed and passionate about your niche. Over time, your consistent presence, and valuable interactions give you more quality guest posting opportunities that can improve your website. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, guest blogging is a powerful tool in digital marketing. It enhances your digital footprint, nourishes your writing abilities, and allows you to build meaningful relationships. 

The key to successful guest blogging lies in delivering high-quality content and maintaining genuine engagement with your readers and fellow bloggers. 

With patience, commitment, and creativity, you can become an influential guest blogger.

FAQs

What are the different types of guest blogging?

There are many types of guest blogging. The ones we found that work for most websites are: 

• Case study on the subject. 

• A thought leadership article in your niche.

• A how-to blog. 

• A data and statistics post. 

Is guest blogging paid?

The short answer is: It depends on the website. Some websites charge you a fee to get your guest blog published, some don’t. However, for free guest posts, they will be more selective due to the volume that they receive. So you should strive to create the best quality content. 

Is guest posting worth it?

Yes, guest posting is worth it. It’s a white hat method to gain backlinks to your website without any worries about Google penalties. Also, it’s a great way to build relationships with other site owners. 

Where do I submit guest posts?

As covered above, you can do Google searches to find guest post sites or you can do a competitive analysis. Also, check out our article to find websites accepting guest posts within your niche.  

What is the difference between a blog and a guest blog?

A blog is an article you write and publish on your website. A guest blog is an article you write and get published on a third-party website. 

Are guest posts bad for SEO?

Guest posts are not bad for SEO as long as they provide value to the readers. As the Google Search Central blog states “Google does not discourage [guest posts] in the cases when they inform users, educate another site’s audience, or bring awareness to your cause or company.” Focus on delivering high-quality content and you should be fine. 

Are guest posts good for SEO?

Yes, guest posts are good for SEO. As you include backlinks to your website in your guest posts, you can establish your website as a reliable source of information in your niche. Google is more likely to trust and reward you with higher rankings. 

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