How to get a guest post in 5 simple steps

Jun 21
07:44

2012

Daniel Kidd

Daniel Kidd

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There are many different ways to build links for your site. Each technique is debated as to how important they are for SEO purposes.

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Writing a guest post for a blog,How to get a guest post in 5 simple steps Articles however, is not debated. It’s universally accepted as a very important form of link building. This is a guide for anyone who wishes to write a guest post with a link to their site, in order to improve search engine rankings.

Write content

It goes without saying, before you can even offer to write a guest post, you have to write a post. In order to stand the best chance of getting noticed, make your content unique, informative and interesting. Include a link to your site with the correct anchor text and you’re on your way.

Find blogs in the niche

Once you’ve written your content, you have to find the blogs within the niche you’re writing about. There are a few ways in which to do this.

Google Blog SearchBlog Search Engines (Blogpulse, Bloggeries, Technorati etc)Blog DirectoriesSocial Networking Sites (Twitter, Facebook)Social Bookmarking Sites (Reddit, Digg etc)Blogger ForumsOnce you’ve found as many blogs as you can, go into each one of them and check the comments to their posts and their blog roll/links section. There’s a chance you might find something you’re looking for in there.

Do they allow guest posts?

You can use the search engines to find out if these blogs allow guest posts. There are a lot of blogs out there who openly advertise for guest blogging opportunities. Search for the niche you’re interested in posting in with “guest post” and “guest blog” next to it. For example, if you’re trying to get a guest post in a football site, you enter ‘Football “Guest post”’ or ‘Football “Guest Blog”’ into the search engine. If you find a site that allows guest posts, get in touch.

If you can’t find a site in your niche that allows guest posts, don’t worry. There are still hundreds of blogs out there that will accept them. If you’re post is unique, then bloggers will be grateful for you giving it to them to feature on their blog.

Contacting the Blogger

Now you’ve found the blog, have a look to see if you can find their contact details. Do they have a contact page? Is their email address showing? Do they have a link to their Facebook or Twitter account? If you can’t find any of these when you look, you can always run a Google search. Go to Google and enter in ‘site:www.****.com:Contact’ This searches the whole site to see if there’s a mention of the word contact on the site.

Now you have contact details, whether it’s by email, contact form or social networking, your next step is vital.

Before you approach a blogger, realise that they may be receiving up to hundreds of similar requests every day. It’s very important not to come across as spammy.

1. Make a proper introduction

Always make sure you explain who you are and what you do. Include details of yours or your client’s website.

2. Always make the contact personal

I usually have a look at something they’ve written about and relate to it. I was once trying to get a guest post on a walking site, and I noticed that one of their previous posts had been about a walk on Dartmoor (which is 20 miles away from where I live). Straight away, I saw the opportunity to get personal with the blogger, and asked them a few questions about some of the places I knew.

I didn’t get a guest post at this time, but I did get a reply from the blogger, so if I have another post in a few weeks, I’m already on friendly terms.

3. Always be polite

Remember, you’re asking somebody a favour, and if it’s a full time blogger, it’s a big favour. Make sure you say please and thank you wherever possible.

4. Explain your intentions in full

Don’t just say ‘Can I please write a guest post on your site?’, explain what the post is about. Tell them why you think it would benefit them and really try to sell yourself.

5. Attach the post to the email if possible

Bloggers can be extremely busy and not have a lot of time. Attaching the guest post saves them having to reply, and emails going back and forth.

6. Leave contact details

It might sound pretty obvious, but if you’re sending an email, as well as including your email address, use other forms of contact too. If you’re using Twitter to request a guest post, include your email address. It just makes the contact and yourself look more professional.

Build relationships for future opportunities

If you follow the four previous steps correctly, the chances are at least a couple of the websites you apply to will respond and accept your request for a guest post. In order to increase the blogs that accept you in the future, do all you can to improve your relationships with these bloggers.

Use social media to your advantage. Search for someone who asks a question about the industry that you’re knowledgeable in, and try to answer any question they may have. I have gained some useful contacts by doing this, and will continue to do so.

Find blog posts about the subject you want your guest post to be about and leave comments on them. Make sure you include a link back to your site and that your comments are informative. This way, not only are you contributing positively to the conversation, but you also give the blogger and their readers the chance to have a look at your site. The chances are, if you make numerous contributions to this site, you’ll end up gaining traffic to your own site.

Visit forums relating to your site and make positive contributions to discussions involving your topic of expertise. This way, if someone has a question and you answer it well, you’re doing them a favour. And if they are a blogger, they might reward the favour by offering you a guest post. 

Ongoing process

Guest blogging is so important for SEO purposes that I’d advise you spend a lot of time trying to find opportunities. If there is a blog that is well ranked on Google or any other search engines, they will probably have many offers of a guest blog, so don’t be put off if you don’t get an immediate reply. The higher your reputation as a blogger, the better chance you’ll have of gaining guest blogging opportunities, so make sure you work hard in achieving this.