How to Become a Guest Blogger

The two best ways and how to pitch yourself

There are two main ways to find guest blogger opportunities.

The first is to search on Google for “blogs or websites looking for guest bloggers” and start weeding through the results. They won’t all be currently available and many will be sites you haven’t heard of. Which is great! This gives you the opportunity to discover great new blogs and check out new writers you haven’t heard of. With this method, you’re simply searching for people who are asking for guest bloggers already.

The second way is to directly approach blogs and sites you think would be a good fit for you. In this method, you are finding the sites and then emailing or submitting your pitch to the site admins directly. Even if they don’t have a submission page, you can use their “contact me” form to open a discussion.

Searching for Guest Post Opportunities

When searching Google or job boards for sites looking for guest posts, start with your area of expertise.

Don’t do a super broad “guest post opportunity” search, because you’ll have to wade through a ton of sites that won’t be a good fit for you. For example, you want to write a post reporting on Apple’s latest tech release, but the first 3 pages of results are beauty, lifestyle, or travel blogs.

Instead, try searching using your topic or keywords, such as “tech blog guest post” or “tech sites looking for guest posts” or “tech blog looking for contributing writers.”

When it’s advertised looking for guest bloggers, make sure to read the ad thoroughly and follow their submission guidelines. Look for anything about what topics they are looking for or unique perspectives. Many people miss out on opportunities just because they don’t follow the guidelines for how to submit and what to include, such as specific info or specific subject lines.

Sometimes the sites are posting about “contributing writers” instead of using the term “guest post.” In these cases, just read their ad to see if they are looking for a one-time guest post or a long-term paid content writer. Both can be great opportunities and you may WANT the paid position, but how you pitch yourself will be completely different for a JOB versus a one-time article for free.

Directly Approach Sites

With this second method, you will want to have a pitch ready to go or a completed original article already written.

In this method, you are finding sites or blogs you feel you’d be a good fit for and contacting them directly to pitch yourself, regardless of if they are openly looking for guest bloggers. (Note: If they ARE openly looking for guest posts, make sure to follow submission guidelines.)

When you reach out to people unprompted, you’ll need to introduce yourself and the reason for your email, as well as including your pitch.

You’ll want to include several things in your initial contact:

• Who you are and why you would be a good fit to have an article on their site — most sites won’t just take any guest post. It needs to fit with their brand and be something that will appeal to their audience.
• What your article will be about and mention the main points and information you want to share. Make sure they know it is an original unpublished piece of content you wrote specifically for them. Most sites will not accept guest posts that are already published elsewhere.
• A couple of other ideas you could write about if they don’t feel your first idea is the best fit for their audience. This can be just titles or concepts and not fully written pieces.
• A couple of writing samples you can link to show your skills. They will need to know you’re a good writer and already have some published work, even if it’s on your own site/blog.
• Info on your general following and how you plan to share the work with your network, email list, etc. This shows them that it’s beneficial to them to have your work on their site and how you will give them exposure, too.
• OPTIONAL: If your piece is already complete, you can attach it to the message, or you can choose to wait to send the complete article until you get a response.

You are pitching yourself to the site, the same way one would pitch themselves to a client or pitch an article to any site, such as Entrepreneur and Forbes.

Conclusion

If you choose to do free guest posts for exposure, approach it in the same professional manner you’d approach any paying job. Just because it is unpaid doesn’t mean you won’t directly benefit from it and if you treat it too casually or as if you don’t really care, then the site has no incentive to publish you.

Good luck!

What has your experience with pitching guest posts been like? Share with the class!