Do you guest blog?
If you do, then you must have noticed how difficult it can get finding a suitable blog for your guest post.
Not just any blog, but the perfect fit for your post.
Of course, if your post is trashy, it would be needless to waste time trying to get a perfect place to publish it.
But when you have taken time to write something awesome, it is important that you do not just throw it away in an obscure blog.
What are important metrics to consider in choosing a home for your guest post?
What factors should you weigh in preferring one blog over another when it comes to publishing your guest post ?
Table of Contents
Guest Blogging – You Need Goals
When we set out to guest blog, we should ideally have goals.
Those goals play a huge part in our decision on where to publish our guest post.
What is it you want to achieve?
Take some time out and draft some of the goals you are targeting, and then locate sites that are aligned with your stated goals.
A lot of bloggers hear about guest blogging and just jump in blindly without a well defined strategy in place.
Before starting your guest blogging campaign, it is important that you sit back and decide what exactly it is you want to achieve.
Some goals you should have in mind would include:
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Build relationships with A-list bloggers in your niche.
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Build relationships with growing bloggers and grow with them.
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Get keyword rich backlinks from authority blogs.
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Leave an impression that is good enough to drive traffic back to your site.
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Become an authority in your own right.
How do you find blogs that can help you achieve those goals?
Find Guest Blogging Opportunities in Comments
I have sought and found almost all my guest blogging opportunities in the comments section of my favorite blogs.
How can you make the comments section of other blogs a hunting ground for a home for your guest posts?
Step 1: Seek out quality comments that resonate with you. This must be comments that add to the discussion, not just “me too” kind of comments that are made to register presence in the comment thread.
Bloggers who take the time to leave meaningful comments on other blogs are bloggers who take their blogging seriously.
Step 2: Visit the websites of the commenters. If their sites are as compelling as their comments, and they are in a relevant niche, add them to your guest post prospect list. This list should ideally be an excel document that has a field for contact name, email and website address.
Step 3: Leave a comment or two on every site that makes it into your list. It is also advisable to subscribe to their RSS of your target sites as this will update you on future posts they publish, so you can leave a comment and make the blog owner as familiar with your name as possible.
Step 4: After some days (and some comments), send an email with a guest post pitch to the blog owner. There is most likely an email address on the about or contact page.
I have had almost 100% guest post acceptance following this sequence.
In deciding which sites on your list to give priority to, it is important to answer the question:
How Did Past Guest Posts Perform?
Even after making a shortlist, it may be necessary to still scrutinize the sites further to determine which prospect should be given priority.
Keep your eyes open to tell-tale indicators on the site.
How did past guest post published on the blog perform?
Is there any evidence that the community rejects quality posts from new entrants? You can tell that is the case when quality guest posts have few comments and shares as opposed to the higher comment count all posts by the blog owner attracts.
If a high number of quality guest posts have low traction, that may indicate a trend and you would be wise to be careful about sending your guest post to that site.
It takes time to write a quality guest post, so choosing a home for your guest post should take as much deliberation.
Trash Goes in the Trash-Can
When your guest post pitch is accepted, what is next?
Some persons have the idea that guest posts should be churned out as fast as possible and that it is okay to send trashy posts as long as they get published.
That is one of the biggest mistake you could ever make as a guest blogger.
On the contrary, guest posts should be shining beacons of excellence; a promise of all that you are worth!
So take your time to write the very best possible, keeping in mind that each guest post you send out is like a letter of recommendation – recommending you to your prospective audience.
If you send out trashy guest posts, remember that trash goes in the trash-can.
Even if your trashy guest post gets published by one unfortunate blogger, its presence out there with your by-line does you and your brand more harm than good.
Before sending a guest post out, remember that it takes a perfect guest post to get on a perfect blog.
Take your time to write a guest post you will always be proud of.
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I agree to all your points but one.
“Get keyword rich backlinks from authority blogs.”
Focussing exclusively keyword rich backlinks may not be the most natural thing and Google may strike sites with such backlink profile.
-Ani
Hi Ani,
Thanks for leaving a comment. Glad you agreed with most of the points raised here, so I will just focus on the point of difference. 😉
There is nothing wrong with getting keyword-rich backlinks. Backlinks are meant to point to websites, so if you don’t get them, someone else will.
What Google penalizes in my experience is over-optimization – which refers to the unnatural situation where multiple websites link to yours using the same keywords. Google views that as unnatural for good reason: Webmasters do not all think alike, so in linking, difference of thought ought to be reflected.
As long as too many websites are not pointing to your site with the same anchor text, Google cannot view your site as over-optimized.
I always want to get in to the picture by get highly searched keyword backlink to mine one of the valuable post.
Thanks for reading, Deepak.
There are quite a few reasons to write guest posts:
First you can reach an already established reader base and wow them with your profound insight and your humor. Basically you are able to have readers who would not normally read you, find out about your writing style and topic. It is one of the easiest ways to find new readers.
Secondly most blogs will allow you a link back to your website. This helps you when it comes to Google ranking, which can help you improve your standings in the search engines.
Hi Shamelle,
Thanks for adding a refreshing comment!
Quite true, guest posting is one the the surest ways of plying your craft before a new audience. For me, nothing has beat it yet as a reader acquisition strategy.
When writing a guest post, it is best to target blogs that will allow you to place at least one editorial link back to your site. The value of author bio-level links are dropping, so it is not a good idea to depend on them as a value-exchange for the content you provide.
~Yeremi
It’s important to keep going back to that same blog and interact with those who are commenting if there are any. Also, guest posting for the same blog twice can be extremely beneficial both for links, but also for the friendship you just created.
Hi Daniel,
Those are very valuable suggestions!
A lot of bloggers make the mistake of just dumping their guest posts without making any effort to interact and moderate with the host audience. While some make the half-hearted effort just because the host threatens that guest posters who do not interact with the community will lose their backlinks.
Big Mistake! Such half-hearted comments are a dead giveaway.
As a guest poster, make it a habit to mix with and become a part of the community at every blog you guest post on, and the results you get will more than triple! When people know you value their opinion, they will be delighted to voice it more and more wherever they see your post.
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Yes Yeremi, I do guess post and I truly agree with you. Getting an appropriate blog for your guest post is not an easy task to do. I specially like the goals that you have mentioned above. It’s truly needed. Thanks for the share!!
Hey Adita,
Thanks so much for the comment.
Having guest blogging goals enable you measure your outcome and determine if you are making any progress.
If you guest blog without a clear and measurable goal, you may be on a treadmill and still have the impression you are on the speed lane! 🙂
Actually we don’t have any difference. I was also concerned with overuse of similar anchor texts. Maybe I should have elaborated more. 🙂
Hi Ani,
I thought as much. One cannot be too careful with the trigger-happy Google these days. 🙂
Great post, Yeremi. Great advice on guest blogging, aligning your goals, using keywords and targeting influencers. I have included your post in Best of the Web, http://bit.ly/j3bestweb and Facebook http://ow.ly/cMCDn so that it gets a wider audience. Thank you.
Hi Yoav,
Thanks for linking here. It is highly appreciated. 😉
Hi Yeremi,
Thanks for providing such a useful article regarding guest post.
The pleasure is all mine, Albert!
This is a small world, I only go and bump into Yeremi,
As you know I run a multi-author blog and these sort of posts are of particular interest to me.
I do agree that when you’ve written a “great post” then you want to target your audience as best you can and only submit your content to blogs that consistently deliver the stats your searching for.
I for one, have raised the bar for guest posts and if the content fails to meet my requirements then it will not be published, we all know guest posting is popular now and is being suggested by alot of bloggers. That’s why submitting quality content is a must, if I can read it anywhere, then I don’t want it.
Hi Simmeon,
Thanks for your comment! I am sure you will bump into me at Amazing Bloggers quite soon. 🙂
I do not write guest posts that I would not be happy to publish on my blog. I play by the golden rule and only send to others what I would be delighted to receive from them. As a result, most of my guest posts receive high traction and bring traffic to my site.
So far, I have published just one guest post on my blog, and it was a quality post from the list building expert Christine Brady. The post was a resounding success and I am sure she had good results from it.
Why have I not published more guest post? I reject them.
I am like you. I will not publish a trashy post on my site just to make a blogger happy. I believe that If a blogger has respect for me and cared about my feelings, he would take the time to write a great guest post for me that equals the quality of the posts he publishes on his own blog.
one thing I would like to add here is “read the guest posting guidelines of the blog which you are writing for before submitting your article”,BTW thanks for providing such an amazing post.
Ashish,
Thanks for the comment and your additional tip is quite appreciated! Reading the guest post guideline puts you on the same page with the host blogger and significantly increases the approval rate for your guest posts.
Wow…..another benefit of commenting on others blog……you can target potential Guest Post blog through comments….
Yeremi bro… I am a big fan of commenting on others blog as it has given me a lot in return.
Thanks for your article bro….
Hey Sandeep,
Thanks for joining us here!
I also use comments on related blogs to generate lists of guest blog prospects. Its a smart strategy.
Thanks for mentioning it here! 😉
SEO and guest blogging goes together and those who have the power and a system will gain lots of exposure and the keys of building traffic over time.
“Black Seo Guy “Signing Off”
Hey Black SEO Guy,
Great to see you here! 😉
To continue doing guest blogging its highly important to build a strong rapport with fellow bloggers…Choose the best ones.
Sunaya,
Great to have you join us.
I agree with you dude. If you want to proceed with guests posts, would be helpful building relationships with A-list bloggers in your niche.
Hi Santosh, relationship building is a crucial part of guest posting. The higher you aim, the better 😉
In guest posting, aside from the article being unique and not spammy, it is also very important to know the target audience of the website/blog you are writing for.