Email Outreach For Guest Posting Opportunities

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Finding guest posting opportunities on high-traffic blogs is a great way to establish your reputation and build your brand. You typically won’t be paid for content as a guest writer, but the guest posting process is mutually beneficial for the blog owner and the guest poster.  Blog owners get a break from writing posts while adding some variety to their posts, and, in exchange, guest bloggers are published under their byline and can gain readers by providing links back to their own sites. (See ”Why Backlinks are a Blogger’s Best Friend” for more information about the value of linking back to your site.)

Finding Guest Posting Opportunities

How can you find guest posting opportunities? Look for popular blogs that rank high in Google searches and cover topics related to your area of expertise. Once you’ve found a potential blog for guest posting, spend some time exploring it. Read several posts, especially those written by other guest posters. Get a feel for the tone of the blog and look for an “About” page to learn more about the blog owner. As you explore, be on the alert for content gaps that you can fill.

The next step is to contact the blog owner and find out if you can write a guest post. Most blogs that regularly publish guest posts provide guest posting guidelines. Read these carefully and follow them to the letter. If you come across a blog you’d like to write for but no mention is made of guest posts, don’t be afraid to ask! Look for an email address on the blog and email your inquiry. If a contact form is provided instead of an email address, use that for your inquiry.

Mastering the art of email inquiries can make all the difference in whether your guest post is accepted and published or rejected. Before you spend precious time researching and writing a high-quality guest post, read these tips for creating the perfect guest post inquiry email:

• When writing your inquiry, avoid making it sound like you’re using a template. You want to convince the blog owner that you’re an authentic expert, so add some details to show that you’re familiar with the subject matter covered by his or her blog.
• Grab the attention of the blog owner by getting to the point in the subject line of your email. Something along the lines of “Inquiry about guest blog post” or “Guest blog post” will make your intention clear.
• Use a friendly tone in your inquiry. Let the blog owner know what it is you like about their site. Personalize your inquiry by providing some background information about yourself and details about your credentials. Mention your previous writing experience.
• Don’t expect the blog owner to supply ideas for content. Brainstorm before contacting the blog owner and come up with a few ideas that you can pitch in your inquiry email. Present these ideas in the form of compelling titles for posts.
• Find out if the blog owner would like you to include links to related posts on the blog or to external websites and blogs that provide additional information. Also find out if you’re expected to include one or more images with our guest post, and ask about the preferred format (Word, text, HTML, pdf, etc.).
• Carefully proofread your inquiry for typos and grammatical errors. Blog owners use inquiries to judge the potential quality of a guest poster’s content.
• End your inquiry with a call to action (such as “Please let me know if you’d like to see a draft version of a guest post”) and use a gracious closing like “Regards,” “Sincerely” or “Thank You.”

When your inquiry is successful and you’re invited to be a guest poster, set a deadline for providing the post and stick with it. Providing the guest post in a timely manner will impress the blog owner and make it easier to get accepted the next time you want to post. As you write your post, do yourself and the blog owner a favor by using sound SEO principles to attract readers searching for information, and don’t forget to publicize your post using social media channels and your email contact list. Limit your backlinks to one at the end of the article. Traditionally, a guest blogger includes a short bio at the end of the post with a link to his or her blog or website.

But what do you think?  Do you use a similar approach when looking for guest posting opportunities?  Do you use any other methods to finding blogs to write for?  Let us know by leaving a comment below!