Guest posting is a great way for new bloggers to hone their writing skills as well as expand their fledgling network. However, there is a right and a wrong way to go about requesting a guest post spot.

  • First, make a list of blogs that you really like to read and respect their content. Do they accept guest posts? Who is the contact person and what is their email address?
  • Do research on the site prior to submission. What type of content do they share? Does this fit with your niche or goal for blogging? Make sure this it is a good fit for you and the blog; you need to provide them with a reason why you should write for them.
  • Spend some time coming up with a title and a few sentences about what your post will be. The title is essential and should pique the interest of the reviewer. This is the story of your post boiled down to the essence. It should be tweetable and easy to share. Every post title should be:
    • unique
    • interesting
    • informative
  • At this point, you may write an email to the blog contact person. This should be a personal email and start out with a friendly introduction. Make sure that you are following whatever guidelines they list on their site for guest posting. Send a link to your blog and a few links to some of your best work.
  • Here are a few examples of what big blogs have for guest posting requirements:

How to Guest Post for 12 Most

Want to Write for Social Media Examiner?

Guidelines and Suggestions for Guest Posts at ProBlogger

Top tips for submission:

  1. Be polite — please and thank you still go a long way
  2. Spell check and re-read your submission prior to sending. If you can’t write a proper email, don’t waste their time submitting a post. Carelessness and lack of attention to detail are evident in many of the emails I receive for 12 Most submissions. These get a rejection letter.
  3. Provide them with all the information that they request. Be thorough!
  4. Don’t pitch the same idea to multiple blogs. Be considerate.
  5. Follow up in a few days if you haven’t heard from them unless, like Social Media Examiner, they say that they receive many requests and it may take up to sixty days for a response.
  6. Be prepared to actually write the posts that are accepted. There are times that people submit a request, are approved to post and then never follow up with the post. Don’t flood the blogosphere with more writing requests that you can handle. If you have an idea that you really love, write the entire post while you are waiting. Impress the blog owner with a perfectly crafted post upon approval. Meeting the commitment that you made to the blog is essential for relationship and reputation building.
  7. Be prepared to send a short bio with your submission. Don’t make this overly promotional but you may be able to include a link to your blog and a few social media links as well.
  8. If you are accepted for submission, follow the guidelines and submit your post in a timely manner. Make sure that you watch the blog to see when your post is running and reply to comments. Many large blog sites will not have time to contact you individually when your post will be live, remember they are receiving a lot of requests. Be considerate of their time. Also, make sure that you share the post with your network of followers and tag the blog owner so they know you are proud to be a part of their blogging community. Saying thank you via email or tweet is also a good gesture.

I hope that you consider these common sense suggestions next time you are submitting a request to guest post, and I wish you luck in your guest posting endeavors.

How have you had success with guest blogging? Have you started submitting guest posts to other blogs? What other tips can you add to guest blogging success?

Resources:

100 Sites to Submit Guest Posts by Brian Keith May

MyBlogGuest — a community of guest bloggers where you can find guest blogging opportunities

How to be a Good Guest Blogger by ProBlogger