5 THINGS TO DO BEFORE PITCHING THAT GUEST POST IDEA
18:32:00
Go on and check!
Out of a million bloggers, perhaps, only one would attest wrongly that guest blogging sucks and produces no results. And when I say all but this individual are in their right senses, you've got to trust me.
Guest blogging is one of the greatest adventures you can undertake as the owner of an audience-based business who's looking forward to becoming an authority.
By guest posting, you're more likely to improve your off-page SEO through legitimate earning of backlinks, push forward your page rank, familiarize yourself with colleagues within your niche, et al.
The coolest attribute of guest blogging is what I deem as its imperialistic tendency - lets you leave the comfort of your domain by breaking barriers to expand your audience-base.
I'm not however saying guest blogging is some comedy session which can be dabbled into, with zero seriousness, by almost anyone.
Knowing its relevance should hit you into consciousness of the fact that it is a serious business which requires utmost seriousness.
In this piece, I'd reveal to you, 5 things that should be done before pitching your guest post idea.
HERE COMES THE FANTASTIC 5:
Before sending a guest post pitch, ensure you do these:
#1. CHECK THE INTENDED WEBSITE FOR GUEST POST OPENINGS:
Not all blogs are open to guest blogging services. Many prefer to make do with the content provided by their in-house writers, and are in no mood to feed the audience with more than they can contain. Thus, you've got to research whether or not your targeted site will consider your post, if pitched. Else, you may as well be searching for an oasis in the Sahara.
How do you check this?
There are basically two ways to do this research:
First, you scan, or better still, ransack the tabs of the blog unto which your guest post is targeted. Each tab offers you different information as regards the blog/website. You're most likely going to find a page that spells out invitations for guest posting, only if the site accommodates such.
In many cases, such tabs have a 'Write For Us' call. Remember: like humans, blogs use different words to convey the same messages... so, no over-generalizations! Always make sure to check the CONTACT page, too. You never can know what's awaiting you!
Second, use google or other search engines to peep into the keyhole.
You are required to load relevant keywords into the search box to find out whether or not your targeted site would respect guest post pitches.
Taking Kissmetrics.com as your desired blog, you can input search entries like: "guest post Kissmetrics", "Kissmetrics guest blog", "Write for us Kissmetrics", etc.
#2. CHECK OUT THE AUTHORS OF THE MOST RECENT POSTS:
I had to write this next, because it serves to counter the first point.
Note that not every blog states its desire for guest posts. Some shy away from it.
You can however get to know what's cooking just by taking note of the authors of the most recent blog posts. If there contains different authors, chances are high that the said blog accepts guests posts.
All you need to do is mail your pitch or write on the 'CONTACT' form, if there's any.
#3. READ THE GUIDELINES
After discovering that your dream site accepts guest posts, you'll want to read their guidelines for guest blogging.
This is necessary so you don't step out of bounds, as every site has its rules and regulations.
Most times, the guidelines border around the kind of topic upon which their business revolves.
Also note that content in the guidelines varies with blogs. Some blogs state minimum word counts, and make signing up as a contributor, compulsory.
#4. SCAN THE STRUCTURE OF THE PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED CONTENT.
Viewing the guideline and knowing the kind of topics needed is certainly not enough...
You need to go back and check previous posts to discern what's good and what's not.
Should I post pictures? Are list articles going to be compelling?, etc, should be the questions running through your mind.
Thus, this is extreeemely expedient.
#5. MAKE A RESEARCH ON THE BLOG's AUTHORITY:
Do this if you intend targeting big blogs and becoming a success.
The super freelance writer, Bamidele Onibalusi, lamented on how he supposedly wasted so much efforts writing many blog posts for little blogs, when he could have gained more just by writing few quality posts on authoritative ones.
This makes it a sound warning that you shouldn't settle for less when trying to become an authority.
Try making the heads of those at the top echelon, roll.
There are a lot of tools for finding how authoritative a site is, but I'll personally recommend the Open SEO Stats add-on which is available on Chrome, Firefox and Safari.
This add-on gives you such SEO stats, traffic stats,site info, page info, page speed, webmaster tools, all at once!
How sweet?
How sweet?
Make good use of it to determine the best places for your content.
SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Perhaps, you've been going straight to pitching before doing the most necessary things. Do you however find this post useful? What's your take home point? Kindly drop your comments below.
Cheerio!
Newer Post
Older Post
0 comments