How To Get A Guest Post Anywhere — Part 1

What Is A Guest Post?

A guest post is an article written and submitted to a publication by someone who is not a staff writer or normal contributor to that website. For example, I have written guest posts for publications like the HubSpot Marketing Blog, MuckRack, PR Daily, BuzzStream, and many other websites. My only relationship with those websites is that I have provided them with top-quality content that they are excited to share with their audience. I do not work for them, I did not get paid to write the article, but I did receive the benefits of guest posting by writing and submitting work to them for free.

• Here is an example of a guest post —> Should You Let a Bot Manage Your Instagram Account?
• Here is another —> How To Increase Your Domain Authority and Rankings Using Guest Posts
• And another —> How To Create A PR Story That Grabs Attention!

There are many reasons to write a guest post, but essentially – a guest post is any piece of content that is shared on someone else’s website.

What are the Benefits of Guest Posting?

The exact purpose of a guest post depends on the content marketing strategy being applied behind it, but nearly every guest post will provide a range of benefits to its author. Your guest post should be crafted based on the priorities of your goals as the quality of your writing and the framework of your content is what will determine its effectiveness for reaching those goals.

When you create a guest post – it should be crafted with the desired benefits in mind. For example, if your goal is a backlink to your website at all costs then your content should be written to naturally host that backlink. You need to create an environment where the backlink is justified and expands on the value of your content. Otherwise, it is likely to get removed by an editor for being irrelevant or overly self-promotional.

Here is an example of a guest post written to host a backlink:

 

On the other hand, if your goal is to establish expertise on a subject, then the focus of your content should be entirely value-driven and clearly demonstrate knowledge and insight on a topic. For instance…

 

How to write a guest post will be covered in further detail in Section 6, but the point is that in order to withdraw maximum benefit from a guest post – your content needs to be focused to that goal.

Types of Publications that Accept Guest Posts

A guest post can be placed on many different types of websites. The basic rule is that if it is a website that hosts content – there is potential for a guest post placement on that site. However, some sites are much more likely to accept a guest post than others.

Here is a basic guideline on the types of sites that you might pitch for a guest post:

A) Niche Blogs

There are literally thousands of blogs on the internet dedicated to every type of topic or subject. From Travel to Yoga to Tech to Marketing – these are websites that are usually run by a small team or branded under one person’s name.

• Here is an example of a Personal Blog —> katie did what…
• Here is an example of a Niche Travel Blog —> Scandinavia Standard
• Here is an example of a Marketing Blog —> Marketing Land

WARNING – One thing to keep in mind with Niche Blogs is that many of them monetize their sites through sponsored posts and advertising. This means that if you pitch certain sites, they may respond with an advertising package or a placement fee for their website.

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B) Company Blogs

Nearly every business website has some type of company blog on their site. They are used in a variety of ways from SEO to customer education to sharing company news. However, not all company blogs are perfect for guest posts. In general, you want to avoid company blogs that are in direct competition with your business.

You would also want to avoid company blogs that only share company-specific news and updates or is inactive as they will unlikely post your content. This means you probably want to aim for any ‘shoulder niches’ or blogs that appeal to your customer base as well. Company blogs that share real content by a variety of writers are ideal for guest posts.

It means that they produce value-driven content and are constantly seeking new content to keep their blog active.

Here is an example of a bad company blog for guest posts —> Nianti Clabs. I’m not saying this is a bad blog – I am say it is a bad blog for your guest post. Why?

• Every post is from the same person or “the team”
• Every post is directly related to the company
• The audience is likely limited to people who are involved with the company in some way
• Inconsistent posting schedule indicates they probably only post when they have company news

Here is an example of a good company blog for guest posts —> Semrush. Why is this a good blog for a potential guest post?

• Posts are high-quality, interesting, and cover various topics.
• There are many different types of contributing authors
• They post on a daily basis
• The audience is wide and varied beyond just their customer base
• It is respected as a source of information

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C) Industry-Specific Publications

There are many industry-specific publications that only cover content that is related to a specific industry such as manufacturing or design. These publications will accept content that is related directly to their audience, but the content should typically be written by an industry expert or insider. The content should also not be promotional of a business, but rather focus on actually industry issues or topics.

Here is an example of an Industry-Specific Publication —> Advanced manufacturing

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D) Mainstream News Publications

Mainstream media publications are usually the most challenging place to get a guest post – but that does not mean it is impossible. Typically, guest posts on these sites will come in the form of an Op-Ed (Opinion Editorial). These are usually articles from business leaders who provide insight or perspective into a topic. Guest posts on sites will usually need to go through a rigorous editorial process before getting approved and need to be well-written, thoughtful and/or newsworthy.

• Here is an example of Op-Ed pieces on Forbes —> Forbes
• Here is an example of where/how to pitch an Op-Ed piece —> Forbes

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E) General Magazines or Multi-topic Blogs

While people often look for niche publications or blogs about a specific topic – there are also many general magazines or blogs that cover multiple subjects or themes. Websites like this are usually organized into categories and may cover many different topics like:

• Arts and Culture
• Tech
• Business
• Marketing
• Fitness
• Health

Sometimes a magazine will cover one subject with multiple subcategories. For example, an overall health magazine might cover anything from Yoga to healthy recipes.

Here is an example of a multi-topic magazine —> Refinery 29

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F) Review Sites

There are also many websites that are dedicated to reviewing different types of products or services. Some of these sites will accept reviews from other people, which makes for a great guest post opportunity – particularly when trying to promote a product. You will probably need to use a 3rd party persona so that it doesn’t appear overly promotional, but this can be a good way of submitting content that is focused on a product. *WARNING The majority of these sites will accept a submission of the product only and a writer from their team will review it.

Here is an example of a place where you can submit an app for review —> Free apps reviews

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G) Other Sites

In addition, there are many other types of sites like forums, open contributor platforms, crowdfunding publications, and other types of sites that accept content from 3rd party contributors.

Check out —> https://medium.com/

Check out —> https://steemit.com/

These are great sites to post content because it is easy to get access and you have the potential of tapping into new audiences. Add a dash of outbound engagement and you can build an audience from a huge pool of new readers.

If you can create great content – you can find endless opportunities to share it. However, your focus should always be on quality content over self-promotion. If you can stick to that, you produce a triple-win situation: WIN – Publications/Websites get Free (And Amazing!) Content WIN – Readers get content that they actually care about WIN – You get exposure and credit as the Author

The Flow of our Guide

You’ve just read part one of our guide on how to get a guest post anywhere. Part two dives into the how of it all. Walking through a serious number of tactics and strategies we use to earn guest posts…

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Finally. We walk you through what’s next. How do you maintain relationships with publications? How do you lever good guest posts for maximum benefit? How do you cement yourself as an industry leader!