When I started writing about Guest Blogging earlier this week with my post Why Guest Bloggers are Great for a Blog I didn’t intend it to end up as a series of posts – but then people started asking about how to find guest bloggers so I wrote another one. Today I’ve been asked about how to get guest blogging gigs – so I guess this is a series of sorts after all.
So as a blogger looking to guest blog on other people’s blogs how do you go about getting the gigs?
1. Watch for Opportunities – keep an eye on blogs in the niches that you write about and look for the opportunities. If the blogger mentions that they are going away, that they are busy with family or business, that they are looking for submissions etc – shoot them an email with an offer to help share the load with them.
2. Be Relational – when I’m pitched by potential guest bloggers I’m far more likely to take them up on their offer to write for me if I already know them. In fact these days I rarely accept posts that have been pitched to me – I prefer to approach people that I already know and have some level of trust and respect for. So get yourself out there before the opportunities arise and interact with other bloggers in your niche.
3. Sell Yourself – if you don’t already know the blogger that you’re volunteering to help out with you need to do so quickly. Include a short bio outlining why you’d fit with their blog (don’t include loads of irrelevant information). Include links to your own blog and examples of work that you’ve done that relate to their topic to illustrate your style, voice, expertise and ability to communicate. Also include some headlines/titles of posts that you’d like to write for them to show that you’ve already given it some thought.
4. Be Proactive – another option is to actually write the blogger that you’re pitching a sample post and something that they can use immediately. Pick a topic within the niche that they cover (preferably something on a topic that they haven’t covered and/or something that they might have a weakness in themselves) and write a medium sized post. When you email them include it and invite them to use it. This will get their attention, give them a living example of your work and give them something to use immediately. If they don’t use it you can always write it on your own blog so what have you got to loose?
5. Keep Your Expectations Realistic – I use link to about 20-30% of the posts that people send me and I suspect that the ratio of guest posts that I use would be similar. Perhaps this is partly due to the numbers of pitches that I get and on other blogs it might be higher. The point is that you shouldn’t get your hopes up too high. Make your pitch professional and short but don’t take it personally if it doesn’t come off.
Read the full Guest Blogging Series at:
