Writing guest posts, articles or blogs is a fab and pretty painless way to get your brand name bandied about. I’ve talked previously about the many benefits of guest blogging (you can read the content here) but it’s important to pay extra attention to a number of elements, if you want to succeed as a guest post writer, and get your content accepted and published every time.
Here goes…
- If you’re submitting to an online magazine, always read (and adhere to) their submission requirements; they’re all different.
- Be mindful of their word count and stay within it (10% over is usually acceptable, but try to get as near as possible).
- Only write content that fits in with their yays and nays, otherwise they’ll ignore you.
- Spend time researching the site before you write your blog so you can make sure your style and content are relevant (and much more likely to get accepted).
- Be professional at all times – don’t badger people for follow-ups / complain that you didn’t get published; just move on. There’s a big wide online world out there waiting for you.
- Only submit your guest posts to magazines/other brands with a similar audience to yours.
- Once you’ve guest blogged for a site, they’ll probably be more than happy for you to add their logo to your website. And remember, share the article on your social media platforms too (not just once, either).
- Read the blogs on the site you want to submit to; are they high quality? Do the owners respond to comments? If the answer is ‘no’ then submit your post elsewhere.
- Don’t go in for the hard sell – any icky sales references will probably be edited out anyway.
- Don’t submit guest posts if you’re not prepared to let the receiver edit the blog. It’s their platform, they decide. Remember, editing isn’t personal, it’s about making the content snappier and fluid.
- Format your post like the posts on the site – this will increase your chances of getting accepted.
- Always offer a high value post that demonstrates your expertise in a friendly, approachable way.
- Write a pithy bio to submit with your post.
- Get a professional (or as professional-looking as possible) headshot to submit with your post.
- Analyse your headline here and get the score at least 70+.
- Read the other guest posts on the site and try not to write anything that’s already been done to death.
- Make sure your blog stands out from the crowd, that it’s full of fresh content and has no hint of vanilla or beige.
- Add a call to action to the blog to send readers to one of your freebies.
- If you really want some extra brownie points add a backlink to one of the site’s other articles. Backlinks are great for search engine rankings. Remember to always add your weblink in your bio too.
- Don’t submit your first draft with a ‘that’ll do’ kind of outlook. Your guest posts should be at least as good as your own posts if not better. You’re looking for long-term relationships here so give it your very best.
On a final note, it’s a good idea to keep a record of the guest posts you submit, including the title, submission date, published date and how many times you’ve shared this on your own social media platforms (and backlinked it in one of your blogs too). 😉
It can really make a huge difference to raising brand awareness if you guest blog regularly, so get yourself a strategy in place and get writing some cracking content.
If you’re interested in guest blogging for me, I’d love to hear from you. Or if you’d like to share your guest blog success stories, please leave a comment!
If you don’t have time to create your guest blogs, then get in touch. I’m offering a very special opportunity throughout March and April. Let me repurpose 3 of your blogs and suggest potential places to submit them. Just £99.
