I get pitched a lot of guest posts. And most of them, are absolutely terrible.
As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m working on doing more guest posts.. As I was preparing my list of people I wanted to approach, and how I planned to go about doing it, there was something just gnawing at the back of my mind.
To be honest, I’m surprised at how bad most pitches are. It seems like a very simple concept, yet most people don’t seem to have grasped it.
I’ve sent thousands of people to Ramit’s article about guest posting, yet they still don’t pay attention to it.
For that reason, I wanted to write a post that identifies what to do, and what not to do when pitching a guest post at Location Rebel (or other blogs). From there, I want to take it a step further and look at how to make the most of your post, once you do land a spot on a big blog.
Note: If you want to guest post for Location Rebel, follow these guidelines.
What is Guest Posting (or Guest Blogging)
Before we go too far down the guest post rabbit hole, it’s important to establish what it is.
Guest posting is when you write a blog post for someone else’s website.
The goal is to create a win/win/win scenario:
- The audience gets a fresh voice and useful content
- The other blogger gets free content for their site that can help in search rankings
- You get exposure to a new audience and a link back to your website to also help with SEO
When it works, it works really well.
However, there are a lot of people who have tried to take advantage of this, which has made finding those perfect “win/win/win” scenarios much more difficult than it used to be.
So before we look at how to be successful guest posting, we need to look at a few things you should not do.
Two Terrible Guest Post Pitches
First off I want to take a look at two different types of pitches that I receive daily. On the surface one may seem worse than the other, but let me assure you, both are equally as bad.
The Spam Pitch
Over half of the posts I receive look exactly like this one I got this morning:
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m sure Scarlet, is a fantastic writer and would have all sorts of fantastic thoughts to provide the Location Rebel community – but, no….
If you have a blog of any size you’ve undoubtedly seen these spammy types of guest post pitches. It’s people like this who have pushed the industry so far as for Matt Cutt’s to say Guest Posting is Dead.
While I disagree with him (a topic for another post), it’s clear that a lot of spammers are trying to game the system.
But this is to be expected. I’ve always gotten emails like this, and always will. You know, the one that isn’t personalized, has a generic question, and uses a fake name.
*Delete.*
(See video above)
That’s all that needs to happen there.
However most of you will never send an email as atrocious as this – or at least you better not.
Key Elements of a Successful Guest Post Pitch
The More Rapport the Better
The chances are, you won’t personally know every single person that you pitch. But, the more rapport you can build in the process, the better.
In the week or two leading up to your pitch, here are a couple things you should do:
- Comment on their blog
- Engage them on twitter
- Potentially start an email conversation
Garrin Etcheberry started emailing me maybe a year ago. He never asked for anything, just built rapport and talked about shared interests. When he finally asked to do a guest post, I was more than happy to host him because I knew he’d provide value, and there was a genuine relationship.
You might not have a year to wait, but by commenting on their blog and social media, you’re getting them familiar with who you are. If an email comes in and they see your name, there’s a good chance they’ll recognize it – so when you tell them you’re a big fan, they’ll actually believe you.
Whenever Possible, Be Their Best Case Study
The single best way to connect with someone online is simple: follow their advice and have success.
That’s it.
The very best emails I get are from Location Rebel Academy members that said “I follow your advice in the course, I had success, and it’s all thanks to you.”
There isn’t a single blogger or business owner who doesn’t want to hear that.
And what’s my natural reaction when someone has an experience like that? To share it.
Not only did you change your life for the better, but you’re also making me look good in the process! That makes me much more likely to want to host you on the site, or share you’re story.