Getting bloggers to publish your guest posts can be hard at times. The writing is the easy part. Publishing… well that's not so easy.
Speaking as someone who has published 500+ guest posts in the past couple of years, I have 5 specific tips to help you get more of your guest posts published by bloggers.
Speaking as someone who has published 500+ guest posts in the past couple of years, I have 5 specific tips to help you get more of your guest posts published by bloggers.
This is by no means a definitive list. But these are 5 tactics I use regularly to increase the odds of getting published.
Note: These tips assume you understand the importance of writing a truly valuable, insightful and informative guest post. If you don't fully understand the importance of this then don't read the rest below because you'll be wasting your time. None of these tips will help you if your content is crap!
1. Be Personal In Your Email
Too many guest posters are trying to get published by sending out emails like this:
"Hey Bill, I really love your site http://yourdomain.com/ and really love the great content you put together. I would be really thankful if you would let me write a guest article…"
Blah blah blah. Seriously! If you want to get published don't bother sending out automated junk like this. Be personal. If you really want the guest post published… send a custom written email and add a personal touch to it.
Tip: Remember to address the blogger by his name.
2. Link To One Of Their Posts Inside Your Guest Post
This is a very smart strategy that really doesn't take you any additional time at all. Take a minute to browse through the bloggers site and find a page or post that is relevant to your guest post and link to it in your article. Mention this internal link to the blogger when you send your content over to him/her.
3. Follow The Blogger In Social Media Channels Beforehand
This strategy is not as common but it works like a charm. Take a minute to follow the blogger you are trying to engage with in his/her social media channel of choice - Twitter, Facebook, Google+ to name just a few. This way when you do send the email introducing yourself, you can increase your odds of the blogger recognizing who you are.
4. Place Your Backlink Inside Your Author Bio
Backlinks in the actual body of your guest post show that you are greedy… and that your only objective is to get a backlink and SEO value from this guest post. Don't be greedy! A backlink in the author bio is good enough. Many bloggers won't even consider a guest post if there's a link in the body.
5. Break Up Your Content
Take a minute and browse at a couple of posts on the blog you are trying to get published on. Look at the source code and make note of the types of formatting the blogger likes to use. Then simply mirror his/her formatting style. Headings, subheadings, ordered lists, unordered lists etc. This makes a huge difference!!!
If you use these 5 tactics right you can't go wrong. Again, assuming your content is on topic and valuable for the blogger.
If I had to add one more item to this list it would be to stay patient. Bloggers are busy people, often individuals who have full-time jobs and families to take care of. They use any extra time they have to keep their blog going. Sometimes they just need a couple weeks or so to respond back. Be patient with them and you will get your guest post published in due time.