Guest blogging is a great way to get your own blog or website known, show you are an authority of certain topics and have linking possibilities. But the trick is finding the right sites to guest post on.
You want them to be relevant to your own blog or site in one way or another, so here are some helpful tips for figuring out what to look for in blogs.
What Are Your Goals?
A good place to start is determining what your guest blogging goals are.
By figuring these out, you already have some hints as to what blogs are good for writing your posts.
Some goals to keep in mind are making yourself an authority for a specific industry, creating backlinks for your website and getting more exposure to your website. People reading guest posts may have never been to your site, so this is honest and unique visitor traffic you’re getting.
To achieve these goals, the blog should be relevant to your niche and they should have a decent number of views on a daily basis.
Things to Look For
Now that you know your goals, there are some things to look for when you want to write guest blogs.
You want a blog that has engaged readers, rather than just hit-and-run type of readers. Look at their recent blog posts and see how many comments there are. Not just in quantity, but quality comments that show readers are invested in the information.
You should also make sure their readers are interested in the type of industry you’re in. A fashion blog is great if you own a jewelry website, but not so much if your niche market is men over 50. So of course their niche should also be in your niche, according to content.
You also want a blog owner who is active on social media, because they will probably post about the guest posts on their Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or other social media accounts.
Start With a Search
To find blogs that accept guest bloggers, do a simple Internet search using Google, Bing or another search engine you favor.
You should come up with a keyword relating to your niche or content, followed by a phrase blog owners often use to show they accept guest blogs.
Some common phrases include:
• Submit a Guest post
• Write For Us
• Guest Post
• Guest Post Written By
• Guest Post Guidelines
Before Submitting a Pitch
Blog owners want to know a little more about you, read your content and get a formal pitch from you. They don’t have the space to accept every person who wants to write a guest post.
So before you submit your pitch, it helps to look around their site and read some posts by previous bloggers. This is a good indication of the quality, content and style they’re going for.
Let this inspire how you pitch your own post. You should have some post ideas and titles for them when you contact them, as this is how they decide whether or not you are suitable.
Make sure you read the blog owner’s guidelines clearly so you know you’re submitting content they will accept.
Have error-free and edited blog posts only and find out if there is a specific form of content they’re looking for.