8 Ways to Find Guest Blogging Opportunities

Are you finding it hard to find guest blogging opportunities? I know what it feels like after sending emails and not getting a reply.

It sucks and feels like quitting. But don’t.

Because as a blogger, marketer, or online business owner, you stand to gain a lot from guest blogging.

I have answers to them for the success you have not been having with your guest blogging campaign.

And for beginners just starting, this is a guide for you.

Stick to the end, comment, and share. Sounds good?

Let’s dive in.

Definition: What is guest blogging, and why should you care?

Guest blogging is writing a blog post on another site (you don’t own) in exchange for the awareness you get while the host gets, in return, amazing content that contributes value to the community.

So, should you guest blog? Absolutely yes.

While there are a lot of myths surrounding guest blogging, the truth is guest blogging is a perfect way to become an authority in your niche.

Here are some of the benefits you stand to gain:

• Build credibility and authority 

As a blogger, being an authority in your niche is important.

When your target audience finds your name on different sites and publications, their personal opinion of you changes. You’ll be perceived as an authority.

The same thing with freelancers; they become the go-to experts. And it gives you the confidence to charge high.

• Nurture relationship

While building relationships with other bloggers and editors is a method of getting featured on blogs, it’s also the other way around.

You can build and nurture relationships with other experts and bloggers as a guest blogger.

Since publishing guest blogs, I have likewise built relationships with authority bloggers in my niche.

• Quality backlinks

This is the primary reason why most bloggers and content marketers guest blog on authority sites to build links. 

And it isn’t a bad idea either. If you own web property, links are important to rank your content on Google.

You may also consider outsourcing your content writing work to make your guest blogging campaigns easier.

A lot more will be discussed about this later in the post.

Let’s dive into the eight simple secrets I have used to find and secure guest blogging opportunities:

1. Create a list of opportunities

My first step in guest blogging is creating a list of sites that accept guest posts. Hundreds of sites accept guest posts, and it’s your job to fish them out.

Here are some tips for finding opportunities in your niche:

• Search for opportunities on Google

You can find sites that accept guest posts in your niche using advanced Google search operators.

You can search for “marketing guest post,” “write for us – marketing,” “write for us business,” “contribute to marketing,” and “get featured on automobiles.”

By entering search queries related to contributing to a blog, Google will list sites with similar titles.

Here’s an example:

• Trace the popular guest bloggers in your niche

Not all sites have a guest blog or “write for us” page. Many of them keep that a secret to chase away mediocre bloggers.

To find more unannounced or published opportunities, I track the guest blogs of famous bloggers or marketers in my niche.

You start by identifying famous guest bloggers you are familiar with within the industry.

Track the sites they have been featured in by searching their name or author bio on Google.

• Social media platforms 

Social media platforms shouldn’t be neglected at all. That’s where professionals are themselves and a better place to connect with them.

Twitter, for instance, is a good place to find guest blogging opportunities. You can start by connecting with the top bloggers and writers in your niche and other closely related niches.

At the same time, Facebook groups are a good place to connect with peers in your niche.

You also need to collect other information like the contact email address.

For this, I make use of google sheets.

Here’s what it looks like:

2. Start small but don’t be afraid of pitching top sites

Start small when just starting with guest posting, but remember, the goal is to write for big publications.

You start small to have many published posts when reaching out to authority sites.

Look around for bloggers who are within your reach. Depending on the level of your blog, start with blogs with a DA of 20 to 40.

While there’s no limit on where to start, reach out to sites that you can easily get accepted on.

Here’s my first guest post on Onenaijablog:

Once you have about three to five guest posts, start pitching for top authority sites. I started pitching for authority sites after writing about three guest posts.

3. Be creative with your pitch

Many guest bloggers get rejected because of their pitch.

While some editors might not reply, some might be nice to tell you they are not accepting guest posts, your suggested topics don’t fit in, etc. The truth is, your pitch is the problem most of the time.

I have also gotten a fair share of bad pitches. That said, writing pitches isn’t hard work; it’s part of good writing.

In your pitch, the goal is to sell yourself. And as a blogger asking for an opportunity to write for them, your pitch must reflect your writing skills.

If you didn’t take the time to correct noticeable grammar errors in your pitch, I doubt you’ll put in the effort to create wonderful content for my blog.

When sending your pitch, re-read it to ensure you do not sound like a spammer.

The internet has been known for its spam. The number of spam emails being sent out is increasing. I get a lot of them.

And here’s the deal, you don’t want to sound like one. And only your pitch could prove that.

So, how do you write a guest post pitch? Here are some tips for implementing when writing a guest post pitch:

• Be personal: Personalizing your outreach email is crucial. The era of sending automated spam emails is gone.

To succeed with outreach emails, you must be ready to put in the work. No room for lazy bloggers, and I’m sure you aren’t one either.

Research each of your prospects to be able to personalize the email to them perfectly. As a tip, register their first name with the spellings correctly. 

Don’t use “Dear webmasters,” “Dear blogger,” or “Dear Admin.” There are already thousands of such emails in the trash. Instead, use “Hi {Name}” or “Hello {Name}.”

• Prove your credibility: If you already have some guest blogs published, mention them in your guest post pitch.

But I’ll assume you are a total beginner. And in that case, you should prove your credibility by selling yourself in the pitch. 

• Suggest good topics: A lot of bloggers make this mistake. They pitch topics that the blogger has already written about or topics that aren’t niche-related.

Don’t make that mistake.

4. Choose topics wisely and write a summary creatively

A crucial part of your pitch is the suggested topics you send to your target. I have seen different cases of bad pitches.

They are real cases. Some bloggers don’t include topics and summaries in their pitches.

“Hi Admin, I’m reaching out to write for your blog. I’ll provide 100% original articles for your blog suited for your audience.”

If you’ve been doing this before, it’s time to stop and start writing a complete pitch. 

Here are some tips when choosing a topic to write:

• Choose a topic that hasn’t been written about before on the blog.
• The topic should have some SEO value for traffic.
• ONLY write on a topic that has been covered before if you have something new to add (let the editor know of that in your pitch).
• Craft an attractive and SEO-friendly post title.

The other common mistake to avoid is “not writing summaries.” It is difficult to convince the editor that you can write on that topic without summaries.

You don’t want a blogger to write about a topic they don’t have expertise in from an editor’s stand. It’s imperative, especially when the “target keyword” has more commercial benefits for your company.

So, don’t feel bad when an editor says No. It’s their job to grow revenue with content. And to achieve that, they have all the right to turn down poorly written pitches.

Writing a summary for your topic isn’t just essential. It’s an opportunity to let the editor know the value of your content idea.

The summary should discuss the pain the topic will address and other things your content will cover.

I leave you with a pitch that got me published on Jeffbullas:

5. Build and nurture relationships

Guest blogging isn’t a one-time or one-off thing. You must be ready to cultivate relationships with your targets, hosts, and other bloggers.

Thanks to nurturing relationships with bloggers in my niche, I have landed some opportunities.

I landed this particular opportunity thanks to my relationship with Mudassir.

Don’t ever throw away your network after getting featured on their blog. They would be of help in the future.

However, don’t cultivate a relationship just because you need them. Cultivate a genuine relationship to provide value to each other. That’s what matters.

6. Go the extra mile

It’s a guest post for another blog. I shouldn’t put in much effort, right? Hell No.

Because it’s a guest post, you must go the extra mile to create something their audience would love.

My rule is to put in my best in my guest posts. I do that a lot of times. I only had a single infographic on my blog at the time, but I included it in some of my guest posts.

The point is, do not spare anything to create the best. Give the best to your hosts. They deserve it.

And guess what? You would also benefit from it because you’ll have your byline that says you are the author.

I have landed writing clients from some of my guest posts. Thanks to my guest posts, I have also built new relationships with other bloggers and content marketers.

And you can, if only you put your best in the guest posts.

Always make it a rule of thumb to go the extra mile in providing value in your content.

7. Scale your guest blogging campaign

If it’s for links or building authority, you need to guest blog at scale. And to do that, you need to outsource some parts and automate the process.

If you plan to outsource your guest blogging campaign, I would advise you to start by outsourcing the writing process before the outreach part.

And that’s because you don’t want a freelancer to destroy your reputation with other bloggers because of bad outreach emails.

As said earlier, start by outsourcing the content writing process before outsourcing all other tasks.

You must generate a bank of content ideas to select from when sending out your outreach.

However, a content idea bank doesn’t mean you won’t research the target site. You still need to confirm if these topics aren’t already covered on the target site.

Finally, I use content calendar tools to keep mental peace and the workflow simple. To be specific, I make use of Airtable and Google Sheets.

If scaling is your goal, keep track of your content ideas and follow up with the editors.

One rule of thumb is to not link more than once or twice in your guest post. For the rest of the outbound links, be generous and share them with other bloggers.

And if you’re cozy about the links, you should consider collaborating with other bloggers where you exchange links in each other’s guest posts.

8. Track your Progress

How many pitches have you sent? How many replies did you get? How many guest blogs are live? How many guest blogs are scheduled?

You need to track your progress to know if it’s working for you (though I’m sure it would work).

While many marketers see outreach as a game of numbers, I don’t. You just need to vet your list of target sites and save the stress.

Infographic: Best ways to find quality guest posting opportunities

Conclusion

Finally, guest blogging shouldn’t be a game of numbers. Neither is it dead either. Guest blogging works, and it is still alive. What’s dead is the old approach.

Implement these tips and feed me on your experience.

Over to you

Have you ever found guest blogging hard? Go ahead and try these tips and feed me back on your experience.

Just setting out? Put every tip here to practice, and let me know your experience.