Guest blogging is an extremely popular way to get your name and your work out there in front of a larger audience. But it’s not always easy to get started with it. If you’re not prepared, it can end up being a waste of time.
That’s why it’s necessary to have a strategy and to follow some simple guest post guidelines to get the most out of it.
Guest Post Guidelines
Tip# 1 — Research your target blogs carefully
Before you start with guest post outreach, take some time to read through their archives and get a feel for their style and the topics they typically cover. It helps you come up with ideas for guest posts that are relevant to their readers.
You can also research about the owner, understand the problems he/she is trying to solve, so and so forth.
Who is the site’s target audience?
Knowing your target blog’s audience is crucial. It helps you ensure that your guest post addresses their pain points, needs and allows you to tailor your content to them.
For instance, if you’re writing to business audience, a guest post geared towards small business owners would be more appropriate than one aimed at solopreneurs.
What type of content works the best?
Find out what type of content works best for them. Some blogs prefer list posts, others prefer in-depth essays, and others still might prefer shorter posts with lots of images.
Your goal is to provide value to the blog’s readers in a way that they prefer, not just promote your own work.
If you’re not sure, check with them while sending them a guest post pitch.
How frequently does the blogger publish blog posts?
You also need to find out how frequently the blog you want to guest post on, publishes new content.
On the other hand, if the blog doesn’t publish very often, it might not be worth your time to guest post there.
To choose a website for guest blogging, it should publish at least 2-3 posts a week.
Tip#2 — Create great content
This is probably the most vital guest post guideline of all. Your content must be high quality and engaging if you want to stand out from the crowd.
You need to create unique content that is relevant to the blog you’re posting on.
Make it original and informative and try to include data and statistics in your guest posts to back up your claims.
In other words, it should be epic shit.
Follow the stylebook used by the site
You need to follow the style and tone of the website you’re targeting. It lets your post look and feel like it belongs on that blog.
If you’re targeting a formal blog, your content should be written in a formal style.
Conversely, if you’re writing on a more informal website, your content can be more relaxed and conversational.
The best way to figure out the style and tone of a blog is to read through some of its recent posts. It gives you a good idea of what they’re looking for in a guest post.
Include a killer headline
Your guest post’s headline is its first and best chance to capture attention. Choose words that are attention-grabbing and make sure it stands out and is interesting enough to make people want to read more.
Make it sound interesting and helpful, use numbers and power words in your headlines to make them more clickable. For instance, “10 Guest Posting Tips for Success” or “How to Write a Guest Post that Gets Accepted Every Time.”
As a general rule, guest post headlines should be around 50-60 characters long.
Pay attention to the word count
Be sure to pay attention to the word count requirements of each blog before you submit your guest post.
If the blog doesn’t have any specific guidelines, try to aim for between 500-750 words. As a general rule, guest posts should be long enough to be interesting and informative.
Most guest posts are between 500 and 1500 words. This is a good length to aim for, as it’s long enough to be thorough but not so long that it’s overwhelming.
Of course, there are always exceptions to this rule. Some guest posts may be shorter or longer depending on the blog you’re guest posting on.
Outbound links, always name your sources
It is always a good guest posting practice to link out to related resources and to name your sources. This helps to give your readers more information and makes your guest post more credible.
If you’re going to include outbound links in your guest post, make sure they are always from high-quality sources.
Make sure to name your sources whenever possible. Citing your sources shows that you’re a credible writer and increases the trustworthiness of your Guest Post.
Don’t link to low-quality or spammy websites as it hurts your own credibility and the reputation of the website you’re guest posting on.
Break up content, easy to read paragraphs
No one likes a wall of text. Breaking up your content into shorter paragraphs makes it much easier to read and more enjoyable for your readers.
Use subheadings, bullet points, and lists. These are all great ways to break up your content and make it more scannable.
Most blogs have specific formatting requirements for guest posts. Make sure you follow them. It makes an editor’s job easier to publish your guest post and will increase the chances of it being accepted.
Write in a natural, conversational tone
When writing content on other websites, you need to write in a natural, conversational tone. It makes your content more relatable and therefore more likely to be read and shared.
Tone matters just as much as content when guest posting. Avoid using industry jargon or complex language. Instead, focus on making your content easy to read and understand.
Active voice makes your writing more engaging and easier to read. It also makes your article sound more like a conversation than a lecture.
And that’s what you need to use as much as possible.
Add statistics if possible
If you can back up your content with data or statistics, that’s a great way to make it more authoritative and trustworthy.
Factual content that is backed up by data is more likely to be shared and liked by readers. Focus on creating helpful and informative valuable content to the reader.
But, make sure all facts are correct
Make sure all of your facts are correct and that all of your statements are attributed appropriately as it helps maintain the blog’s credibility and prevent you from looking like a spammer.
When you are mentioning facts and statistics, make sure to include a link to a credible source.
Content that is well-sourced and accurate is more likely to be appreciated by the users.
Include images, infographics, or videos
Posts with images, infographics, and videos tend to perform better than those without.
Information graphics are a great way to make complex data more digestible and visually appealing. Include an infographic in your article to make it more valuable and shareable.
Videos are another great way to make your content piece more engaging and shareable. If you can create a video to accompany your article, that’s a great way to increase its value.
Focus on making your article as visually appealing as possible.
Include a call to action
CTA’s help in generating leads and boosting conversions.
Content pieces that include a CTA is more successful than those that don’t.
CTA encourages readers to comment, share, or visit your website.
When writing your guest post, be sure to include a CTA at the end. This could be something like “subscribe to our newsletter” or “follow us on social media.”
Optimize your guest post for SEO
When optimizing your article for SEO, be sure to include relevant keywords throughout the content body. You can also include a keyword in the title and in the meta description.
Articles that are optimized for SEO are more likely to be successful on search engines. So, use keyword-rich titles, descriptions, and tags to help your guest post rank higher in search engine results.
Be sure to include links back to your website in your content. This will help to generate boost your SEO and generate traffic.
Edit and proofread your Guest Post
Before you submit your article, make sure to edit and proofread it to make it error free.
Take the time to read through your content several times to catch any typos or grammatical errors.
If possible, have someone else read through it as well. They may be able to catch errors that you missed.
Nobody would want to go through content full of grammatical errors and mistakes
Submit original content
If you’re writing content for other sites that are in the same niche as your own, it should be unique.
The editor of the other site is likely to have seen similar content before, so it must be plagiarism free and even Copyscape clear.
Google also prefers original content, so by publishing original content, you’re increasing the chances that your post will be crawled and indexed.
Original content is also more likely to be shared and engaged by the readers.
Scrutinize feedback and take it to heart
Be open to constructive criticism. Writing for others is a great way to get feedback from other authors / blog entrepreneurs in your niche. Once you’ve written a few posts on different sites, take some time to read the comments and see what people are saying.
If you’re getting negative feedback, try to figure out why. Is there something you can improve? Is there something you’re doing wrong?
Then work on that.
Be persistent
Succeeding at landing guest articles opportunities can be daunting. And it’s not always easy. If you’re having trouble getting your content accepted, don’t give up. Keep trying and eventually, you will find a site that’s a good fit for your content.
Because it’s worth it. However, persistence is key.
So, keep trying and eventually, you’ll find a few sites that accept your content requests.
Tip#3 — Submit your content soon
The sooner you submit your content, the better. Most bloggers have a backlog of articles, and it can take them a while to get through all of them. As soon as you have an idea — without wasting much time — go for it.
Taking quick action could be extremely helpful in succeeding at landing content on popular blogs.
Tip#4 — Don’t stop at publication
Make sure you continue to promote your article after it’s been published. Share it on social media, send it to your email list, and post it on your website. Whether you publish content on your own website or other websites, you need to promote it well.
This will help to increase its reach and get it in front of more readers.
Respond to comments, to that you’re interested in engaging with their readers and that you’re invested in the guest posting process.
Tip#5 — Include a brief author bio
Author Bio’s help to introduce you to the readers of the blog. Include a brief author bio at the end of your guest post. This is a great way to build credibility and promote your website or blog.
Guest Posting Guidelines — Conclusion
Make sure to include links back to your website or blog in your author bio. This will help to increase traffic and boost your SEO.
Don’t be afraid to brag a little bit in your author bio. Include information about your accomplishments and links to your website and social media profiles.
Avoid writing promotional content. Your readers will see right through it and you’ll come across as spammy.
If you follow these guest post guidelines, you will most likely succeed at it.
