Guest posts can be a great way to get your name out there, share your expertise with a wider audience, and generate traffic for your site. But if you’re not careful about how you pitch yourself or your ideas, you could end up with a bad reputation as a spammer in the blogger community.
Let’s talk about how to write an effective guest post pitch and show you how to make sure it lands on the right desk.
Guest posts are a great way to share your expertise and help you connect with others. Guest posting can be a great way to build your personal brand, but it’s important to do things right if you want the benefits of guest posting without any of the risks.
But it’s important to follow some rules to make sure your post doesn’t scare off hosts.
- Don’t be a pest.
- Don’t be too pushy.
- Don’t be too self-promotional.
- Don’t be too boring (or, if you are, at least make sure the host knows what they’re getting into).
- Don’t write a post just for link building
- And don’t write an essay that’s too long, either: if your post is going to run over 1,000 words or so (and it probably will), ask the host first if that’s okay before sending it off for publication!
The first step is finding a host.
This can be the most difficult part of the process, but it’s also an opportunity to do some research and find out what makes a blog tick. You want to find a blog that is relevant to your area of expertise, has lots of traffic, and is likely to be interested in your post.
So how do you determine all these things? Well, there are several ways:
- Use Google search operators like “site:” or “inurl:” (for example site:techcrunch.com keyword)
- Look at who else has linked back from that particular site before–this can help give insight into its popularity as well as whether or not other people think it’s worth reading!
Write an email with your idea, why they should publish it, and why they should publish it now.
When you’re ready to email your idea, it’s important to make sure that the email is well-written and professional. It’s also important that you are clear about your idea and why they should publish it now.
If you’re writing an email for a guest post, make sure that you address the right person by name in the body of your message rather than just “Dear Editor.” If there isn’t an editor listed on their website or LinkedIn page, try sending messages through social media instead (they may be more likely to see those).
Create the perfect pitch by following these steps.
- Use a personal email address. It’s important to use your real name and not a fake one because you want them to trust you and feel comfortable working with you.
- Use a professional email address. Make sure it’s something that looks professional and doesn’t give off any weird vibes (like the example below). If they can’t tell who sent the email, they might think it was spam or something unprofessional!
- Include links to your website and social media accounts in the signature section at the bottom of your pitch email so they can easily find more information about who you are before replying back with questions or comments on their post idea itself.*
Make sure you’re addressing the right person in your email.
When you’re reaching out to a potential guest contributor, make sure you know who it is you’re contacting.
- Do they have a job title? If so, what is it?
- Do they have an email address? If so, what is it?
- Are there any social media profiles associated with this person and/or their company that would be useful for me to check out before reaching out (for example Twitter or LinkedIn)?
Clearly explain how your post fits into their audience’s interests and needs.
The most important thing to do is make sure you’re writing for the right audience. If you are writing for a site that focuses on travel, don’t write about how bad your day was at work–instead, focus on how traveling has changed your life or why it’s important to take time off from work.
The second step is targeting your content to the right audience; if you want them to read more of your writing in the future, make sure they know how it will benefit them now or in the future!
This can be done through an explanation of why this topic is relevant today (or tomorrow) and how readers will benefit by reading what you have written about it. You could also include links/resources that provide more information on this subject matter so people who aren’t quite ready yet can learn more later if they choose to.
Explain how your expertise is relevant to them and their audience’s interests.
You’ll want to explain how your expertise is relevant to their audience’s interests. For example, if you’re writing on the topic of marketing, let them know that you’ve worked in the field for years and have seen firsthand how effective marketing strategies can be.
If they don’t publish it now, they will miss out on all of the benefits associated with having this information on their blog. Explain why publishing it now will help them reach more people and build trust with readers who may not yet be familiar with their brand or products/services.
Before sending emails, make sure there aren’t any clear signs that you’re unwelcome on the platform or website you’re contacting via email.
Check the blog’s comment policy. Most blogs have a clearly defined set of rules for commenting on their site, so it’s important to read these carefully before attempting to contribute anything.
It’s also worth noting that many blogs have policies against spamming their readers with unsolicited links and content (or even just plain old advertisements).
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Now that you know how to pitch a guest post, it’s time to get writing!
Remember that the best pitches are ones that explain why your post fits into the host’s audience’s interests and needs. The more personalized your email is, the more likely they’ll be interested in publishing it on their site.