This is a guest post by Michael Chi from Blast4TrafficNow.net.
Do you want to get your guest post published on A-list blogs?
A single guest post on a popular blog can cause and influx of targeted traffic, relevant and unique backlink and increase your Google pagerank. I’ve seen the great potentials in these authority blogs and my major goal is to get at least 2 articles featured on their homepage monthly.
The strategies I highlight below can get you started on your quest for successful guest blogging.
You’ve 3 things to do right away; Read. Understand. Implement.
1. Research Your Topic Properly
You can’t win on these blogs with a generic idea. You need to deliver top-notch articles to be considered. The guest post guidelines are usually strict for these blogs, so you need to know the topic you intend writing on.
By researching thoroughly, several aspects of that topic or niche could be unveiled to you. From this angle, you can pitch the blogger and expect a “YES” every time. Proper research has a lot to do with reading other blogs. It’s not just the keywords that matter, but the motives behind those key terms.
Keywords are critical for SEO, but to land a great article on A-list blog, you need to write quality content, that’s what count and the “available” traffic could be yours.
2. Craft Your Headline
You may call it title or headline, it doesn’t matter. What matters is how catchy and unique it is. I discovered a long time ago that successful guest posters have mastered the art of crafting powerful headlines.
Even before you write the complete article, the headline has to interest and piqué the blog owner. If you fail in this respect, every other effort would be in vain. I know you’re a great writer and your contents are always superb, but does your headline attract readers?
Include numbers on your headline. Don’t exceed 75 characters or else you lose your chances of getting approved.
3. Show Proofs Always
For your guest post to make it successfully on these A-list blogs, you need to present proofs that you’re a skilled writer. This is where writing portfolio comes in – and I admonish you to start compiling all your published guest articles on a separate blog page.
This is going to soften the heart of a blogger when your title idea arrives. Have you published any guest article on similar blogs before?
Even if this is your first time, tell the blogger the truth but have samples to back up your claims as a great writer. When contacting a blogger for guest posting, include published links to some of your works online – this strategy is going to add a feather to your writing cap.
4. Write With A Unique Voice
The most important criteria for getting a “YES” from any popular blog, is the uniqueness of your voice. Truth is: every article has already been written. No matter the topic or niches you’re into, other experts who are more brilliant than you have already done excellent works.
So what’s left for you?
Have a unique voice. Approach a common topic from a creative point of view. Instead of writing 5 ways to make money online, you should select on method and dissect it for easy assimilation. Add a lot of personal anecdote and citation where necessary.
Add humor to lighten up your piece. Everyone loves a cool laugh and would appreciate it. When you write, don’t be pretentious. Instead, say it the way it is – remember, you can’t pretend with your articles. Readers would always know an honest work from a fake one. Make it easier from the scratch. Be yourself!
5. Have Something To Say
Writing with your unique voice is cool, but you must have a message to pass across. No one wants to read generic articles anymore, at least not professional bloggers and internet entrepreneurs who visit these top blogs every time.
Ideally, case studies, interviews and practical articles are the best that always get a positive applause when submitted.
Whatever niche you’re into, you can contact ‘icons’ and extract intelligent information from them. Even in the ever crowded internet marketing niche, you can still do a case study that wins the race.
Solve a problem with your guest article. We’re in the world to impact lives while earning a living. If this becomes the pivot that directs your life, you’ll definitely success online.
When I discovered the problem online shoppers were facing, I built a coupon blog and started reviewing daily consumer products like web hosting voucher, 6pm.com shoe discounts, sitter-city coupon codes etc, the results where overwhelming.
Locate an immediate problem that needs solution, and write an article around it. Follow the above strategies coupled with perseverance and positive thoughts, you’ll make it online as a blogger and that’s a guarantee.
Good tips your right no one wants to read generic articles anymore. I recommend focusing on what problem you have solved. People are most interested in solving problems in their lives.
Thank you Jacko for commenting. I’m glad you enjoyed the guest post. Check back for updates on this blog.
I just think generic articles still suitable for most of newbie in the blogging niche.
yeah it’ll keep them newbies. How many websites do you read with generic articles? I mean really read.
Ya, only few 🙂
Hi Mike,
This is really an insightful article. And I must say you know what you’re writing about here. Having published your guest posts on my blog I must confess that you are one in a hundred who really knows how to write helpful posts.
I’ll want to say that #1 strategy is very important because without the proper research you’ll not be able to write something beyond what others have written before. If you want to set your guest post apart from others, then researching is important.
Thanks for sharing.
I’m grateful to you Chadrack. Those words are too smooth to ignore. Thanks for pointing out the #1 strategy for successful guest posting. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I wish you success this 2012. Kudos
Solid points Michael. I’ve written for a few A list blogs and I can say that you’ve hit the nail on the head. This post is a must read for a newbie planning to do a guest post for a top blog.
Hi Michael, you are really have mentioned some very important tips. I think nowadays, there are so many guest bloggers around and that almost all topics have been written upon and so for a guest blogger to get their articles published in top blogs, they certainly need to add some uniqueness, that is they have to add their own way of explaining stuffs as well as have to come up with something new to say about that topic, otherwise nowadays almost all topics have been already written upon.
Michael, great job applying those tips in this post. The key thing I find that makes a guest post pretty much useless is not having a unique voice. I love it when guest posters take a unique stance!
this great post, you mentioned what you really need to succeed with your blog. Especially the fifth item, because you write things in their own words, is more interesting because you are creating your own writing style. Congratulations for the post.
I agree with #5. This niche is becoming too much boring. The same ideas are being repeated everywhere. Only the words are being modified. This is not blogging
I write a ton of articles and post them on ezine, over 130. Do you think that is a good list to show a blog owner?
Yes, it’s a good list to show blog owners. But it’s better to write for other bloggers. You’ll reap better rewards like quality backlinks, traffic and popularity
Definitely makes sense to use your own voice and present material in a unique and interesting way…and I agree with you that everything has pretty much been written already. It’s the individual twist that each writer can add to the material that makes it interesting and “new”.
Surely all you think about writing, has been written. Therefore vo ce should take care to write, and change the context but not their idea. Let always well marked in his writing, because everyone will prceber it was you who actually wrote this post.