6 Steps To A Killer Guest Post

This is a guest post by Ann Smarty who runs a  SEO Consulting blog at SEO Smarty.

The first thing to keep in mind when you consider guest posting is that you must guest blog. This is the best way to find new audience and promote your blog.

The second important thing to remember is that a few (or many) of your guest post pitches will fail. You should learn to accept rejection: this is natural, everyone fails sometimes, even the best among us.

What you can do however is to get the rejection rate to minimum, and here’s how with 6 simple steps:

guest posting

Step 1: Do your homework

Learn the blog style, its audience and most active readers. What types of posts seem to do the best on Twitter? Which ones get most comments? Which ones get most links / trackbacks? Here is a quick easy tool to help you see which pages of the blog get tweeted a lot for example:

Topsy is a Twitter tracking tool that lists “More popular” page from any domain. Just do a quick search by the blog domain and see which pages were the most popular there:

Topsy search

Same search is possible both on Digg and Delicious – so you quickly see what gets Tweeted, Dugg and bookmarked most of all and realize what appeals to the blog audience.

Step 2: Work on post ideas

The fact that you have analyzed the blog style and audience doesn’t mean you need to write exactly what you see get popular with the blog readers. On the contrary, the actual purpose of guest posting is offering something fresh and unique.

So armed with that knowledge, think of something new that is likely to appeal to the blog community.

Step 3: Write a good pitch

Take some time to find the blogger’s name. Starting your message with the blogger’s name, you have a good chance grabbing his attention from the very first second.

Here’s a sample of a pitch that has worked to me (if you have the actual post or a draft, attach it as well):

[Blogger’s name],

[A quick introduction of your self]

I’d like to contribute to [blog name]

The post idea I’d like to cover: [describe your idea here. Be brief but mention why you think it will do well on that specific blog]

Here are a few samples of my writing:

[Provide a couple links to your previous posts on the topic]

Please let me know what you think.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

Step 4: Write the post

Once you get a reply from the blogger, write the actual post. Write it as if you are going to write the best piece in your life. Remember, both you and the blogger will benefit if your post does well, so by writing a really good post you will increase your chance of getting approved and at the same time you will get more exposure once the post is live.

Check out these helpful tips by Edward Khoo to make sure your post is really good. Try to be yourself but look for the best in your own style and expertise.

Step 5: Flatter the blogger

Quite a long time ago I wrote quite a controversial piece on the art of flattering (please read before arriving at any conclusions!). Flattery can take various forms: what I mean here is mentioning the old post from the blog (or other blogs from the same owner). The blogger is sure to notice and appreciate them. So he is ore likely to accept your post.

Step 6: Be patient

Popular bloggers are very busy. Don’t expect the answer within one or two days and don’t get alarmed if you don’t hear back after 3 days of waiting. Just wait and you will be awarded.

I hope you would have find this article interesting. If you are going to guest post on any blog, do implement these methods. I am sure, if that article is wonderful then the blog owner will surely publish it on his blog. Let me know your opinions about this article. And Yes, Happy guest blogging!

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28 thoughts on “6 Steps To A Killer Guest Post”

  1. Dear Ann,

    My name is Rachel and I run a web design company in Malaga, Spain

    I’d like to contribute to smartbloggerz to see if your 6 Steps To A Killer Guest Post works

    The post idea I’d like to cover is about your 6 step guide as if it works then this post should be accepted 😀
    I found your post today, its a new post and from viewing your track record on Topsy, should do very well as it already has 2 retweets and hasnt even been running a few hours.

    Here are a few samples of my writing:
    http://www.spanglishwebs.com/blog/

    Please let me know what you think and I’ll be patient.

    Many Thanks,
    Rachel

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  3. Flattery a la Ann Smarty is more than just flattery; it is also a demonstration that you have taken the time to read the blog, understand its audience and should be capable of writing an appropriate post (Unlike that guy who wanted to pay me $40 to post his client`s article, then charge me $5 for writing it.)

  4. Ann is showing as an active person, I like to read her posts as she is much trusted person in my opinion! I had some experience regarding accepting guest posts from other bloggers on my multi-author blog and after seeing a great results I am planning to guest post on some blogs in the coming month as well.

    Thanks you for the good tips!

  5. guest posting is a great boost for any blogger ,your tips were very helpful.i believe it makes sense too to start with smaller blogs . you get to learn the ropes and improve and it could be used to pitch other top bloggers.. …thanks for the tips

  6. I think you describe a good approach to writing popular articles. I just digged you.

    I wanted to add that in addition to topsy search you can also search other social bookmarking sites (In fact, just wrote a post detailing 5 widgets for popular posts on social bookmarking sites). You can also check google analytics and number of comments, other measures of popularity.

    I noticed you use blogengage and sphinns. I haven’t tried them yet. Do they bring you many visitors?

  8. Hi Ann, Thanks for this informative post. It helped me great.
    Can you share something about article submissions and how it helps SEO please?
    Thank you

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