How to Start Guest Blogging for Your Business?

Guest Blogging is a content marketing and SEO technique where someone writes and publishes a blog post on a third-party website or blog to promote their personal/corporate brand.

Learn how guest blogging helps your business.

This blog contains information that will help you to know how you can start guest blogging and how to get your guest post featured on HUGE authority sites in 2021.

Here are the steps:

Step 1: Find Guest Post Targets

Your first step is to find a site to guest post on.

Here are a few proven ways to find sites that accept guest posts:

Technique #1: Google Search Strings

Looking for something besides the typical “keyword” + “write for us” search string?

I’ve got you covered.

Here’s a list of search strings that you can use to find guest posting opportunities:

“guest post”
“write for us”
“guest article”
“guest post opportunities”
“this is a guest post by”
“contributing writer”
“want to write for”
“submit blog post”
“contribute to our site”
“guest column”

Technique #2: Google Reverse Image Search

First, find someone in your niche that writes a lot of guest posts.

For example, Neil Patel tends to contribute to a lot of blogs in the marketing space.

Second, grab the URL of the headshot they use in their author bio:

Finally, pop that into Google reverse image search:

Boom! You get a list of places they’ve guest posted… presented to you on a silver platter.

Technique #3: AllTop.com

If only there was a place that listed the best blogs on the internet.

Oh, wait there i

It’s called AllTop.com.

Just head over to AllTop, find your topic, and you’ll get a list of the best blogs in your niche:

Of course, you won’t be able to submit a guest post to every single site listed in AllTop.

But with enough legwork, you can find a handful in which you can.

Technique #4: Lists of Sites That Accept Guest Posts

Why spend hours searching for guest posting opportunities when other people have already done the hard work for you?

For example, here’s a huge list of 300+ guest posting sites that someone made:

This post even provides stats on each site on the list:

This is a good list to get you started.

But if you want even MORE sites that accept guest posts, here are 4 lists that I use whenever I’m looking for sites to guest post on:

Now that you’ve found a site to guest post on, it’s time for step #2.

Step 2: Get Your Guest Post Ready

At this point, you have a list of sites that accept guest posts.

Now it’s time to move to the next step.

In this step, I’ll show you how to find sites that are a good fit for your guest post.

First, you need to separate the wheat from the chaff.

In other words, you need to find sites that are worth writing a guest post for.

To be clear:

If you’re just starting out, you actually want to focus on blogs that aren’t that popular.

These smaller blogs will be MUCH more likely to accept your guest post.

Then, as you get more posts under your belt, you can level up to more popular sites.

Either way, you want to guest post on sites that:

Have an authoritative link profile
Are in your niche (or a related niche)
ONLY post high-quality content
Can bring you targeted traffic
Won’t bury your link in a tiny author bio box
Have a significant amount of social media followers

For example, you can try posting a guest post on the Buffer blog:

And when you look at that site, you realize that it checks all of these boxes…

Strong link profile? Check.

Significant social following? Check.

Warm Up Your Targets

If you want to guest post on an authority site, you want to get on that site’s radar screen before you pitch.

That way, when you reach out, they’ll say:

“Oh yeah, that’s Rahim, the guy who leaves all those awesome comments.”

Here’s how to do it:

1. Share on Social Media: Want to get your name etched on a blogger’s brain? Share their stuff on Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Find The PERFECT Guest Post Topic

Here’s exactly how to find the perfect guest post topic:

1. Check out the site’s most popular posts.

These are sometimes listed in the blog’s sidebar:

Or you can use a tool (like Ahrefs) that lists any blog’s best-performing stuff. Just to let you know this a paid app.

No matter how you find them, these topics are proven to generate shares, traffic, and comments.

So when you send someone a guest post on that topic, they’ll say: “Content on that topic always crush it on our blog. Perfect.”

2. Head over to BuzzSumo for trending topics.

This is an awesome tool for finding trending topics in your niche:

Why is this important?

Well, bloggers want to publish posts that are on a hot, trending topics.

(Because it means more traffic for them)

So when you offer them content on a hot topic, they’re MUCH more likely to accept.

3. Check out their other guest posts.

What have other people posted already? This will give you an idea of what the site owner looks for when vetting posts.

Step 3: Send Your Pitch

I would recommend not to send a generic guest post pitch. Rather you can use the template attached below to send your pitch.

Here’s what makes this email template so effective:

Starts off with something specific about THEIR SITE
Short and sweet (150 words)
Gives them 3 specific topics to choose from (less work for them)
Soft sell
Touches on your experience and published work

Free Email Template to Send Your Pitch

Step 4: Write Your Guest Post

So, a site has accepted your pitch. Now you need to actually send them something. Definitely, you can’t write a 3000-4000 word ultimate guide for every site out there.

That’s why you should separate your targets into two groups:

Group 1: These are the top 10-20 undisputed authority sites in your niche. Sites that you can name off the top of your head. Sites you actually visit, read and follow.

Group 2: Tier 2 sites that are blogs that are acceptable enough to warrant a high-quality guest post. But they’re not big enough to spend a week writing mind-blowing content for.

With that, let’s cover what to send to Group 1 and Group 2 sites.

Group 1 Content

Content for group 1 sites should be as good or better than what you post on your own blog.

I’m talking mind-blowing pillar content that forces the hand of the site owner to hit “publish”.

Content that changes minds, sparks conversation, and spurs action.

Remember: Authority sites are authorities because they only post quality stuff. Period.

And they’re not going to drop their standards just because you commented on their site a few times.

You really need to bring it. Here’s how…

Here are 4 things you need to include in your Tier 1 guest post content:

1. Send a System: If you look at the best content on any site you’ll notice that they have one thing in common:

They layout a complete step-by-step system for reaching an outcome.

Why? Systems have a MUCH higher perceived value than a set of random tips.

2. Length is Strength: Longer articles have a higher perceived value than short posts.

That’s why you shoot for AT LEAST 2500 words for group 1 sites.

3. Custom Screenshots, Flowcharts and Images: Include lots of screenshots and other visuals. These help you stand out and adds lots of meaty value to the post.

4. Internal Links: Internal links are GREAT for SEO. So make sure to link to some of the site’s other content in your guest post.

This shows that went the extra mile to make your guest post as valuable as possible.

Group 2 Content

Group 2 sites deserve some effort too.

If they’re on your list of targets, the blog must have something going for them. You should send them something of value.

It just may not be quite as amazing as the stuff you send Group 1 sites.

Step 5: Follow Up

Here are some things you should do to get the most from every guest post:

1. Actively Respond to Comments

Don’t post and run. Take the time to respond to people’s comments as they roll in. In fact, I usually leave a comment right after my post goes live to show everyone that I’m hanging out to answer comments:

2. Promote Your Guest Post On Social Media:

This is a win-win-win: The site you guest posted on gets some traffic. And you share an awesome blog post with your community.

3. Send a Thank You Note

You can send group 1 sites a quick follow up email letting them know you appreciate the opportunity. Again: this is something that no one does. So this little thank you note really helps you stand out. It also keeps the line open for the next time you want to guest post on their site.

So, don’t you think it’s time for you to start guest blogging too?

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