You know you nailed your pitch because you just opened an email asking you to send over your first draft of your guest post.
You give a little fist pump, take a moment to let the glory of your success sink in, and then take a breath and open a blank word document.
Now what?
You know what you want to say, but how exactly can you say it so that you can deliver the awesome content you promised in your pitch? Start with these five tips to help you rock your guest post and please the blog owner (and their readers).
1: Stick to the Plan
Imagine you’re planning a spectacular Thanksgiving feast. You’ve prepared the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and apple pie. You asked your friend to bring the cranberry sauce, but when she showed up, she placed an apple pie on the table instead.
Bummer. Now no one gets cranberry sauce and you’ll have leftover pie.
That’s how the blog owner will feel if you change your idea before submitting your first draft. They expect you to bring one thing to the table, but when you change your headline or supporting ideas, you run the risk of disappointing them.
The bottom line: write only about what you and the blog owner agreed upon.
2: Follow the Blog’s Format
The blog you’re guest posting on accepted your pitch because the owner feels it’s right for his or her blog.
To really make it right for the blog and to avoid revisions, follow the blog’s format. This means you’ll have to do research and analyze past posts to know what’s acceptable and what isn’t.
Consider these 5 questions as you research:
- Does the blog use bullet points or numbered lists?
- How long do authors make their paragraphs?
- How are the subheadings formatted?
- Do the authors bold important information?
- Does the blog use indented quotes?
3: Use Examples and Resources
Using examples and resources can help add value to your piece, which means better content overall to please the blog owner and their readers.
A few ideas for adding examples and resources include:
- Telling real-life stories.
- Teaching with case studies or analogies.
- Sharing statistics.
- Linking to content that expands on the topic.
- Using quotations to illustrate your point.
- Inserting screen shots to help readers learn.
Raubi Perilli does a great job of this in her BAFB article “6 Hooks that Make Your Blog Posts Irresistible.” At the end of each section, she shares a link to a BAFB article that illustrates the type of headline hook she’s teaching you about.
4: Show Your Authority and Personality
Readers don’t want to read a post that feels like it came from an article-generating robot. They want to read content coming from a real person with personality. In turn, this will encourage audience participation and increase your (and the blog’s) exposure.
First, show that you’re qualified to talk about the subject. You can do this within the content by telling stories, or you can share your authority in your author bio to make your content more trustworthy.
Second, show off your personality. Don’t be afraid to share a little humor, tell a story from your past, or simply make conversation with your audience.
I love how Sophie Lizard does this every time she writes. In her article “Why You Should Step The F*ck Up and Be a Freelance Blogger,” she’s wildly successful at this by writing conversationally and humorously.
My favorite quote that shows her personality: “Yes, I know, I’ve started cursing again. I do that when I’m overexcited. And wanting you to win makes me bubble over with fighting spirit!”
5: Interact with Readers After It’s Published
Now that your post is published, you’re still not done rocking it. The final step is to interact and engage with readers.
Promote your post. Not only do many bloggers expect this from guest bloggers, but promoting your post can help it succeed while increasing your exposure. Share the link on social media sites, tell your friends (because you should be excited!), and add the link in your writer portfolio.
Leave replies to comments. If your readers are anything like me, they love it when the author responds to their comment. Make them remember you by leaving a meaningful comment. By doing this, it shows the readers you care, helps them recognize you later, and helps boost SEO. Not sure how to respond to comments? Check out this awesome article on how to reply to various types of comments.
Next time you’re preparing your first draft for a guest post, use these tips as a check list.
Win a Mystery Prize!
Today’s prize is a secret surprise for one Be a Freelance Blogger reader.
For your chance to win, leave a comment — if you’re working on a guest post or you plan to guest post in the future, we want to hear about it. Tell us your plans and your biggest guest posting worry.
We’ll choose the winner at the end of January 9th. Good luck!
THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED – but you can still leave a comment! We read them all and do our best to reply to every single one. 🙂
Image: AForestFrolic
Thanks for having me, Sophie. This was an amazing experience!
Alicia, I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see you building your blogging career like this! Just shows that the right effort, attitude, and enthusiasm does lead to success. Great post and congrats on winning the contest!
And thank you Raubi! Without your encouragement, I wouldn’t be the writer I am today. Plus, I found BAFB through your article “6 Hooks,” so this post wouldn’t have happened without you!
This conversation makes me *happy dance*! Love to see people networking their way to the top. 🙂
I love that the winning pitch was about guest blogging, LOL. Love it. I am pretty nervous about my upcoming guest blog with Sophie. I’m glad she and Lauren liked the article and were kind enough to let me guest post a second time, but this will be the first time I’m introducing a new freebie about querying with it. I want the blog post and the freebie to be super valuable Any suggestions on getting in the right mindset?
Seems to me you just have to remind yourself that you’ve done it before, and you’ll do it again. Take a breath. Look back at your last experience. Was it successful? Then there’s nothing to worry about.
Bookmarked…and no, not just for whenever. I am really going to use this information. It is packed with helpful little gems. Thank you!
At the moment I am still in the process of honing my writing skills but once they are pitch perfect I plan on using the skills for blog posts, selling my own products and translating my Dutch novel. Good luck with everything and I really hope I can win the mystery price this time round:-)
Your skills don’t have to be pitch perfect to guest blog! I’m still struggling writing awesome intros, but Sophie gave me some feedback and helped me out.
Hi Alicia,
Wow, this is an incredibly useful post. You rock!
Sophie, I’m a student of Danny’s ABM and will soon reach the stage of guest-posting. Before that, I have to set up my landing page and create a first impression incentive aka freebie, research blogs where I plan to submit guest posts. I’m doing this step by step to avoid overwhelm. I’m still not sure of my ability to write high-quality great-value posts.
My question is: How do you write such incredible posts? Is it just a matter of practice?
I know you asked Sophie, but I’m going to answer anyway.
My secret: Learn as much as you can. You’re already going through training, and that’s great! I’m sure you’ll have it down in no time. The real key is just learning what you can about writing killer posts and then incorporating it. Practice is always good, too!
Alicia nailed it: continuous learning and practice. 🙂
I do plan on writing some guest posts this year, but I have some other work to do first. I plan to set up a new writer website (with a catchier name) and will guest post to promote it. I’m also working on a book for small business owners called “SEO It Yourself: A Small Business Owner’s Guide to Search Engine Optimization.” Once I have the book ready, I plan to promote it through guest posting as well.
That’s great, but guest posting isn’t all about promoting. You can start now to help build your portfolio.
Hi Alicia,
Congrats on this guest post about guest posting! 🙂 And this is a very useful post for me too. My first guest post goes live on 10th on a big blog. Maybe my next target would be BAFB. 🙂
My plans for next guest posts are for a few selected big blogs – some in the technology niche and most in the blogging and freelancing niche.
My worry is – I’m not an expert in the blogging / freelancing niche but I love this niche, whereas for the technology niche, most blogs have posts about the latest smartphones, tablets and all such gadgets which I’m not too much familiar with. My technology expertise is around computers only.
Also, I have a tech guest post draft ready but I’m worried the rights to this post will be with the blog owner and not mine. I worry about this because I wish to later make this post into a PDF ebook and give it free to my newsletter subscribers. So, probably not the best thing for a guest post (the tech blog mentions we can’t publish full or part of the guest post anywhere else in any form).
Let me tell you a secret: I don’t feel like an expert either.
But no one will know as long as you have strong, solid advice to offer.
And you don’t need to be an expert to deliver that.
About your second point, contact the blog owner and make sure you understand the rights. If you are going to make it into a PDF ebook, I wouldn’t submit it as a guest post. Your website should offer something your readers can’t find anywhere else.
Hi Alicia,
Congrats on this guest post about guest posting! 🙂 And this is a very useful post for me too. My first guest post goes live on 10th on a big blog. Maybe my next target would be BAFB. 🙂
My plans for next guest posts are for a few selected big blogs – some in the technology niche and most in the blogging and freelancing niche.
My worry is – I’m not an expert in the blogging / freelancing niche but I love this niche, whereas for the technology niche, most blogs have posts about the latest smartphones, tablets and all such gadgets which I’m not too much familiar with. My technology expertise is around computers only.
Also, I have a tech guest post draft ready but I’m worried the rights to this post will be with the blog owner and not mine. I worry about this because I wish to later make this post into a PDF ebook and give it free to my newsletter subscribers. So, probably not the best thing for a guest post (the tech blog mentions we can’t publish full or part of the guest post anywhere else in any form).
See reply above.
Oops! Double comments – it happens, Raspal. But if I remove the first one we’ll lose Alicia’s response, and the second one doesn’t show your photo. Dilemma…
Screw it, let’s leave them both here. Move along, people, nothin’ to see. 😉
Excellent post!
My biggest worry about guest posting is that I won’t be liked. Of course, I usually am, but I still worry. 🙂
Oooh, that’s a tough one. I worry about it, too. Is my writing really up to standards with the quality of the blog?
I guess the best thing you can do is remind yourself that if the blog owner liked it, so will their readers. If they don’t, they’ll send it back, which will give you the opportunity to recreate the piece so they WILL like it.
The idea behind this is that readers will enjoy ALL your guest posts since you got them published in the first place. Make sense?
Another awesome post, Alicia! You mention the #1 pet peeve of mine. When guest bloggers try to post to my blog and it’s so obvious they’ve taken no time or effort to read the blog or get familiar with its voice. My blog http://trailertrashfitness.wordpress.com/ takes a unique perspective on fitness, diet, and exercise, focused on people with little or no money, time, space for equipment, etc. I constantly get pitches or blogs from writers suggesting expensive and space-gobbling equipment and other unrealistic suggestions for my audience. (Ever tried to get a humongous treadmill in a single-wide? Ain’t happening.) Your suggestion of following the blog’s format would result in 100% of guest blog posts being accepted on my site, instead of the less than 50% I post now. Thanks, Alicia! Great work!
Thanks Christy! I love hearing what bloggers really think, and most of the time they say the same things.
I’m worried what happens if I put in the work and it doesn’t pan out- and it’s not used. I have done some guest posts that went okay… but am nervous to put in work into something that may not be used.
There are a few options:
1. Submit it to another site.
2. Revamp the article so that the site wants it.
3. Post it on your own blog.
Assuming that you’re pitching ideas to articles in your niche, it should fit well on your own blog. If you don’t have a blog, get one. It shows you’re serious about writing and helps build your authority.
Even if you post on your own blog once per week (I know Lauren of “Little Zotz” does), as long as you’re offering quality content, it can help you build your business.
Besides, most sites want you to pitch your idea first. If they like the idea, then you can start working on the post. If the post isn’t great, they’ll usually work with you until it is. If they don’t like your idea, little time is lost.
Hi!
I really liked your article. It’s given me a pretty clear road map to follow when crafting a guest post. I especially liked your Thanksgiving analogy. I’ve had that happen before, lol.
I already published my first guest post late last year, and I’m currently working on another. I’m nervous about this one because I’m really passionate about the topic and I find myself getting pulled in more than one direction when working on it. I’m waiting for the review of my first draft, but in the meantime, I keep finding all these new angles, and I’m getting overwhelmed. How do I actually keep those blinders on and stick to the plan?
You obviously had a plan to begin with, and the blog owner is expecting you to stick to that.
So, did you write subheadings in your pitch? If so, stick with those and make sure all your information under each supports the main idea of the subhead.
Since you’re passionate about the subject, you’re probably going to write about it a lot more. Take those other ideas you have and craft a new post out of them, which you can submit to other sites or publish on your own blog.
Hi, Great post, there’s lots of info about how to pitch, but not so much about the next steps once you’re accepted. Thanks for the great advice and congratulations on winning the pitch contest!
Thanks!
Alicia, this was an awesome post! A big congrats on winning the contest! You always read about how to get your pitch accepted but not about what to do when afterwards. Interacting with readers who comment is so important! I know I look forward to replies when I comment on a post. 🙂
I have one guest post in the works and a whole bunch I plan on pitching. It’s one of those things I didn’t really do last year so I want to start the year off right!
That’s a great New Year’s resolution to have. It’s really not as scary as people think!
I’m extremely new at this, so I usually feel like hiding in a corner when I read all the comments and it seems everyone has been writing for years. I’ve only been blogging for about a year, with my best friend on our off-kilter mom blog.
I am finding that internet writing is *very* different than the type of writing I learned in high school. If I wrote English and Science research papers the way I write posts, I would have definitely failed my classes.
One to three sentences (or one word!) per paragraph?
Bolded sentences and words throughout your writing?
And no works cited, just highlighted links???
I’m learning, and you can see the gradual change in the way I’ve written my posts on my blog.
I’d like to write a guest post about this. I still have to look around and see if Sophie has a post about this already, though.
The funny thing is, my biggest guest post worry is being required to post a photo of myself. I don’t post photos of myself or my family anywhere on the internet. I’m weird like that. And I’m afraid that will affect people accepting me as a guest blogger.
You don’t need a photo of yourself! Just something that you carry around with you online so people recognize you. I’ve seen a lot of bloggers who use cartoon images, and when you see that image, you know it’s them. Just make sure you’re using the images legally.
Thanks! I was considering this, but so many bloggers use their real faces, I thought it wouldn’t really be accepted.
Now to draw up something… 🙂
I don’t have a full post on that topic and I’d love one – pitch when you’re ready!
As for a photo, your real face is ideal but if you’re protecting your privacy then like Alicia said, an illustration, logo, cartoon or whatever is totally acceptable. If you’d like me to put you in touch with an artist you can get an image drawn for you for a small fee (I’ve paid $20-$30 and been very happy with the results).
Awesome! Thanks!
I promise I will thoroughly read the directions for pitching this time. 🙂
As far as the artist goes, that would be great. I was worried it would cost more like a couple hundred to get something drawn up. Thanks!
Alicia,
Great post. I especially loved the Thanksgiving Day analogy. I would take it further. If someone was supposed to bring cranberry sauce and showed up with another apple pie, I would promptly show them the door. I would keep the pie (you can never have enough pie).
The same thing would probably happen with your guest post. You would never get invited back, and word would get around about how you couldn’t follow the rules. Something to keep in mind.
I also see a few comments about fear. The best way to overcome fear is to just put yourself out there, and the fear becomes less of a problem. Repetition breeds confidence.
Congrats on winning the contest as well.
Show them the door? I wouldn’t want to show up with apple pie to your house.
Great post Alicia and congratulations on the win, very deserving!
I guess my biggest guest post fears is the ideas not being good enough or generally running out of ideas to post on multiple blogs haha.
I had my first guest post publish in December here http://performdestiny.com/being-hard-on-yourself-where-do-you-draw-the-line/ and in result got 11 unique commenters which was a blast to connect with new people online and see my writing relate to others.
Just need to get more confident with my topics I guess, it’s always easy to come up with the ones for your own blog because maybe we’re not as critical as we should be or whatnot haha.
But it’s a new year and it’s time to take my blogging further and get more by-lines out there so I plan to suck it up and sink or swim!
I’ll be pitching Lauren and Sophie within the week so who knows, maybe I’ll nail it, or if not – I’m sure I’ll learn something along the way!
Cheers and sorry for the ramble!
Fear of not being good enough only keeps you from taking chances. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d win this content, but I thought “Why not?” Like I said before, they generally only reject your pitch. If they like that, they’ll probably (big chance here) like your article, too.
Joe Bunting recently said to me “Know the style of the blog you’re pitching, and if they have guidelines, make sure to follow them! That being said, if you make a mistake, most blog owners are nice people. Don’t be so afraid that you’re not following the rules that it keeps you from submitting. We want to see your writing! “
Thanks for the useful information.
I plan on learning more, pitching more, and generally doing a better job than I did last year.
Great New Year’s resolution. Be a Freelance Blogger is certainly the place to start.
Great tips, Alicia! I plan on finding better quality guest post opportunities and I want to be clearer on my guest blogging goals!
That’s great! Have you downloaded Sophie’s free guide for blogs that pay? That’s a great list of quality guest post opportunities.
Everything I read tells me guest posting is the way to go. Even Jon Morrow says so. I recently switched my niche to green living and environmental issues. I’ve spent the last half of 2013 learning everything I can about blogging, which had me concentrating on sites for writers. Now that I’ve determined my niche, I need to seek blogs dedicated to green living and become known as a reader/commenter. Once I do that, I’ll work on guest posting.
Great information, Alilcia. Thanx loads!
I like how you’ve outlined these goals, but I noticed you didn’t say anything about starting your own blog. Do you have plans for this?
Alicia, I did start my own blog in August. At first I went the motivational route, then switched to green living in late November. Here’s a link to my latest post: http://www.shaunalbowling.com/1/post/2014/01/agricultural-compost-waste-not-want-not.html
Hi Alicia,
Thank you for these awesome tips. I especially like #3, the use of examples and stories. I also never considered looking at the form in which the blog uses quotes. There are some great tips in here that can really make that first draft ‘pop’ for the site owner/editor. You did a fantastic job. : )
Thank you!
As part of my efforts to become an established freelance blogger and partly because of one of my planned guest posts, I’ve started really focusing on my pitching and following up. I had one of my pitches accepted, and when I wrote the post I accidentally did many of the things suggested here by the way I had chosen to tackle the subject. Needless to say it got accepted. I’m going to make my own summary of this post, and add a few things to my own checklist for getting posts accepted after the pitch made it through.
My biggest problem right now, as I’m submitting quite a few ideas on a daily basis, is consistently coming up with good ideas that fit the blog or website in question.
Yes, there are tons of other tips to rock your guest post. I’d like to see which ones you come up with.
As far as ideas, that’s always a tough one. I try to go back through the posts and see what topics they like and what hasn’t been done before. If you can connect those two things (give them an idea right for their audience that they haven’t posted about before), then you’re in.
I plan to release a whole training program on finding and developing blog post ideas this year. 🙂 My brain throws up blog topics all day long, and it’s only recently I’ve realised that not everyone else has the same talent/curse! Now I’m working on digging up how my brain does it so that I can write out a blueprint for building your internal idea machine.
Great idea. Most of us, noobs, simply need to learn how to look at the task. Look forward to attending. Let us know — duh.
Hi Alicia,
I liked this post a lot. You not only provided helpful points, but you also explained them with examples. Most bloggers I’ve encountered say what to do, but since they haven’t done it, they don’t tell you how or why.
I also appreciated the inline links where I could get more information.
I just wanted to suggest an addition, and that is send a message to your list notifying them, too, that you’ve written a post that could be helpful. This adds to your credibility as an expert and, as a result, makes everything else you tell them more believable.
Now I’m going to scoot right over to your site to see what other interesting things you have to say.
Cheers, Bruce
It surprises me that more bloggers don’t use examples. I mark it as one of the most useful and crucial writing techniques. Thanks. Hopefully you have fun at my site!
I see no winner chosen yet, so I can still post here, I guess. Okay, should I rejoice or jump up and down if my first ever guest post went live on a high-traffic blog?
My first ever guest post went live on Daily Blog Tips yesterday .. . or how do I say that? Here’s the link, if Sophie would allow that.
Rejoice and jump up and down! That’s great, but I don’t see a link.
Yep, my anti-spam filter holds anything with a link for moderation — Raspal’s post is at http://www.dailyblogtips.com/comment-form-mistakes.
OK, this contest is officially closed and the winner is Jackson Anderson! Congratulations Jackson, I’m emailing you now about your prize.
For everyone else, sit tight for next month’s new development on Be a Freelance Blogger: we’re going to start holding a $100 pitching contest every couple of months. 🙂
Congratulations, Jackson! Whoo hoo!
Wow. A class on coming up with topics along with a class on getting clients! You rock Sophie!
Good post Alicia!
1 thing I want to share with you is, while doing guest blog we shouldn’t forget “Google Authorship” to earn some extra points for our profile. After that include that blog into “Contributor to” section in Google+ – so that next time you blog anywhere it would have better chances to appear on so many keywords in Google.
Btw, Congrats Jackson for winning the contest!
Great suggestions!
You’re welcome 🙂
As usual another excellent post on ‘Be A Freelance Blogger’. Signing up as a member was one of the better choices I made.
Glad you liked it! You’ll definitely learn a lot here.
Hi Alicia,
Excellent post. Every one wants to be a freelance blogger these days, but very few of them knows exactly how to proceed step by step. Your guide will help us a lot. I faced a serious problem when my post was rejected by my host because they thought i had changed thew topic. In fact, it was not. I had just changed the heading and few points.
So, your suggestion is quite practical and helpful.
Thanks for this
Saket
I’m a stay at home mom of the cutest 9 month old on the planet. I’ve been writing as a hobby as long as I can remember, I figured I would try to make a living off it!
I appreciate that you produced this wonderful article to help us get more knowledge about this topic. I know, it is not an easy task to write such a big article in one day, I’ve tried that and I’ve failed. But, here you are, trying the big task and finishing it off and getting good comments and ratings. That is one hell of a job done!
Great post-Alicia and congrats on winning the contest.
Great, this is an incredibly useful post. You rock!