Guest posting is not what it used to be, and guest posting is harder than ever to be accepted.
What’s holding you back from your guest posting plans?
We’re going to look at 7 things that most people do when guest posting that actually work against them. To get your guest post published, avoid using them.
What most people do with guest posting that you shouldn’t do
1. Shop around for completed works
You have written an epic work. You want to find it a home, preferably on a blog you admire. So you decide to contact a few different editors to come up with an exact pitch match for your epic piece. You clasped your hands together, waiting for the news that you hoped would be accepted soon.
Your plan? Submit a completed work to the editor approximately 2 seconds after they accept your proposal.
The bad news is that most blogs don’t need articles you’ve already written. They may even reject these works outright or write them into unacceptable guidelines. Bloggers want posts curated specifically for their blog. There’s no way you’re writing something without them in mind – and needing to find a home ASAP.
what to do
Instead of writing posts and then shopping around, put your energy into researching blogs you like. Even better if they are blogs you enjoy reading and People who have a similar audience to you.
Read 3-5 of their posts, and their about Page. Brainstorm ideas that you think your audience will find useful. Perform a search to make sure the topic hasn’t been written about on a blog yet. Then, post the ideas you came up with. It would be even better if you have a list of potential titles to help scope out potential segments.
Blog editors and owners are more likely to sign on to a topic when they know you’ve done your research and want to provide them with helpful articles.
2. Use a pitch template
The pitch template sounds good in theory. With just one document, you can tweak it here and there to create recommendations for a variety of different blogs without spending hours on it. Many potential guest posters do this. If you do this now or have done this in the past, we understand.
But using a pitch template is a mistake. Although they can save time, people rely too much on pitch templates. They change names and a few words and then send off one after another like machines.
Pitches become stale, editors hate them, and rejection becomes the norm.
Plus, it’s easy to mess up these copy-and-paste templates. What if you accidentally left Blog A’s name in the recommendation you sent to Blog B? This was met with immediate rejection and left Blog B completely off-putting.
Another drawback? Pitch templates leave little room for customization. When it comes to merchandising, customization is everything. Blog owners and editors want to know what you think Specifically When you are ready to sell
But we fully understand this will take time. a lot of.
There is a solution, though, and it’s easier than you think.
what to do
Instead of using a standard pitch template for everyone on your dream guest posting list, use a lightweight framework that can be customized for each pitch. The framework is not primarily intended as a time-saving machine, but rather to ensure that you include all the important parts of promotion:
- The hook that starts this piece
- How do you break down post ideas?
- Potential titles and keywords
- They should read your example work
- Conclusion
It might look like this:
_____
(Salutation – also known as “Hi, {name of blog owner or editor}”),
(A quick introduction to who you are, what you like about their blog, and what you’d like to publish.)
(the hook you will use to start this post + the keywords you will use)
(A quick, bullet-point overview of how to break down post ideas)
(2-3 relevant examples linking to your blog post/other guest posts)
(Conclusion)
(Free closing, includes your email, phone number and credentials)
(Checkbox to follow promotion rules according to Blog Guidelines – remove once all requirements are met.)
_____
As you promote and feature as a guest poster on other blogs, take note of what seems like a good fit for promotion and what doesn’t. Save clips that you can rework for future productions.
But overall, strive to create an original pitch every time.
3. Mainly recommend big blogs
Being featured in large publications and blogs with millions of visitors every month is a dream. The idea that this big-name audience might visit your small blog can be exciting.
even more What’s exciting is that many of the larger blogs solicit guest posts and also pay cash.
It’s no surprise that most people spend a lot of time promoting large blogs.
But focusing solely on the big names would be a mistake. It’s really, really hard to get noticed and recommended in big blogs.
Before you accuse us of trampling on your dreams, we’re not suggesting you never promote a large blog. It’s just that you shouldn’t just promote big blogs.
what to do
I also recommend a small blog!
Look for these qualities before doing pre-pitch research:
- They belong to your niche or industry
- Their audience matches your audience
- Blog is active
- The comments section is vibrant – that is to say, they have an enthusiastic following
The simple fact is: you are more likely to get noticed and publish on these blogs. In terms of submission efforts, we recommend sending 70% of submissions to small and medium-sized blogs and 30% to large blogs.
4. Leave promotion to the website
Picture this: a guest post is published on your blog. The author posts relevant content on their social media accounts on the day of publication or a few days later. After that, they forget about promotion. They let the blog editor or owner spread the word.
This common scenario is wrong for two reasons:
- The blog editor/owner is busy. Your post is one of many others they need to promote. They may try their best to promote the post, but they won’t be able to give you the care and attention you deserve.
- A short-lived promotion means missing out on a lot of reach and exposure. When a blog does most of its promotion, you miss out on a lot of potential readers. Why? Because, you have more time and energy to publish guest posts than they do.
Here’s the fix.
what to do
Promote your guest posts yourself. Well beyond publication day social media posts. Instead, do the following:
- Discuss upcoming posts 1 week before they go live. This will heighten your expectations for social media and digital marketing channels.
- Take advantage of pub days. On launch day, publish content about your guest post 3 times across all digital marketing channels – morning, noon and evening. Highlight what readers will find useful or interesting about the article. Try different hooks and see which ones attract the most clicks.
- Pin posts to the top of all social media feeds/profiles. This makes it top of mind for anyone who visits your page.
- Continue to highlight the post weeks after it was published. Highlight your posts at least twice a week. Look at it from a different angle, use different keywords or tags than you would for pub day. Due to the vagaries of the algorithm, some readers may not even be seeing it for the first time.
- Ask if you can partner with the blog to promote the post. Social media takeovers, live Q&As, and podcast appearances are all great ideas for collaborative promotion. The blog owner/editor will most likely be happy that you want to collaborate. This type of promotion benefits both of you!
5. Ignore comments on guest posts
Many guest posters never visit the site again after their work is published. Meanwhile, comments keep piling up, people ask for more, and bloggers miss out on opportunities to grow traffic and followers.
Don’t let yourself fall into this “set it and forget it” trap.
Comments on a blog post mean people are connecting to what you’ve written. When you engage in comments, you strengthen that connection.
That’s why you wrote this guest post, isn’t it?
You have to take advantage of it.
what to do
Ask the blog owner if there is any way to be notified when people comment on your guest posts. If not, that’s okay. Just set a reminder to visit the comments section every day for a week after your post goes live. If you see comments, please reply to them and make sure you identify yourself as a guest blogger.
When comments start to slow down, you can slow access to a few times per week. Eventually, you might only visit once or twice a month. But it’s always a good idea to keep the post open indefinitely. Because you have one goal here: answer every comment.
This will make your audience feel valued and heard, and they will likely visit your website for more of the content you have to offer.
6. When pitching, prioritize quantity over quality.
Let’s be honest, guest posting is a numbers game. The more proposals you make, the greater the chance of your proposal being accepted.
It’s no wonder that most people prioritize sending out as many referrals as possible.
But oftentimes, people start to overlook the quality of pitches in an effort to get as many pitches as possible. Then they start relying heavily on templates and neglect personalization and creativity.
This results in fewer submissions being accepted, and potential guest bloggers either cranking up the submission machine or giving up.
You don’t have to do either of these things.
what to do
The best thing you can do is learn to create high-quality promotions quickly. This takes practice. It requires 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 in a way that fills the framework with excellence.
Ultimately, your pitches will be faster. But quality should always come first. Figure out how many high-quality promotions you can comfortably send each week or month—and then do that.
Whatever you do, don’t sacrifice quality to send out tons of tone.
7. Don’t attract the blog owner’s attention first
Most people are cold-blooded when pitching a blog, meaning they don’t know the blog or the owner before pitching it. So they have to create a really great, unique pitch to have any chance of getting noticed. Because spoiler alert: most people delete the obscure stuff before reading. Almost no one likes to receive a cold sales pitch.
Don’t rely on this approach, but focus on building a relationship with the blog owner or editor before pitching.
That’s it.
what to do
Find out who the blog owner is. Find them on LinkedIn, Threads, or Instagram. Spend a few weeks commenting on their social media posts and blog posts made during that time.
However, don’t spam their posts or provide meaningless comments.
Read their posts. Like, actually read them. Reply with thoughtful and valuable comments. You can share why their post means something to you—how it relates to similar things in your own life. Or, let them know why what they wrote was helpful or inspiring.
Blog owners will begin to recognize you as a contributor to their social media community. When you publish a guest post, they have know who you are– They will be more inclined to read your pitch.
Review: Everything you should do with guest posting to thrive
When you’re using your laptop to type up your guest post, keep these tips in mind:
- only Post your immediate thoughts, not posts you’ve already written.
- Use a flexible framework to remember to identify all the must-have information in your pitch, including a hook to start the post, ideas for how to break down the post, what example work they can read, and more. Cutting and pasting templates is not allowed.
- Promoting small blogs within your niche or industry can do just as much, if not more, than larger blogs. Use the 70/30 rule: send 70% of your pitches to small and medium-sized blogs and 30% to your dream blog.
- Promote your guest posts personally before and after you publish them.
- Reply to every comment on your guest post.
- Learn to create high-quality promotions quickly.
- Connect with blog owners before pitching.
With these tips, you’ll have a strong presence on your guest blog in no time. You will also be treated as a guest blogger, doing your best to create a meaningful experience for everyone involved.
