Must-read Guest Blogger Success Factors

When you contact another blogger and ask him or her if you can contribute a guest post to be published on his or her blog, follow these ten tips to increase your chances of getting your guest post accepted.

1. Read the Blog Where You Want to Submit a Guest Post

If you want to have any chance at convincing another blogger to publish your guest post on his or her blog, then it's absolutely imperative that you take some time to get to know the other blogger, the content of his or her blog and the audience for that blog. Take some time to read through the blog's current content and archives. Read through the comments and get a feel for what content is acceptable and popular on that blog. Then submit a guest post idea that is relevant and fills a gap in the existing content.

2. Provide Your Credentials

When you contact another blogger and pitch your guest post, be certain to provide your credentials. Make the blogger understand why you are the person to write your guest post and why the blogger's audience should listen to and care about what you have to say.

3. Provide Your Blog Statistics

If your blog statistics are good, then make sure the other blogger knows what they are. Share your monthly unique visitor and page view stats as well as your rankings from Google, Alexa and Technorati - anything that will demonstrate that a guest post from you will provide useful links and potential traffic from your own blog readers when you promote it on your blog.

4. Be Honest and Straightforward

Don't waste the other blogger's time or try to butter him or her up with compliments. Chances are the other blogger will see right through it. Instead, get to the point. Most bloggers (particularly successful bloggers) are very busy. Ensure your email pitch spells out who you are and what you can provide to the blogger and his or her audience clearly and concisely. Additionally, don't embellish your credentials, blog stats or other information about what you can provide. Chances are you'll get caught.

5. Demonstrate You Know Something About Blogging

Tell the other blogger how you'll deliver your guest post. For example, if you send your guest post in a Word document, then the blogger has to take extra steps to copy and paste it into his or her blogging software to remove extra HTML code that Word automatically embeds. Make sure the other blogger understands that you will make it very easy for him or her to publish your guest post. Also, ensure the other blogger knows that you will provide content that is unique to his or her blog and that all images and content you provide will be yours or properly cited to avoid copyright problems.

6. Provide Links to Your Blogs and Online Writing

Show the other blogger that you can write coherent and compelling blog content by providing links to your blogs and relevant online writing samples.

7. Start Small

Start your guest blogging efforts on smaller blogs. It's always best to publish guest blog posts on blogs that are bigger than yours to drive the most traffic and gain the most exposure, but it's often best to start by guest blogging on smaller blogs, learning the ropes and building your online reputation and own blog traffic before you pitch a guest post idea to highly popular blog.

8. Write Your Guest Post Before You Pitch It

If you have time, write your guest post and attach it in your email when you contact the other blogger. This will allow the other blogger to see exactly what you can provide him or her, which a busy blogger is likely to appreciate. Rather than having to email back and forth to determine if you can provide quality, relevant content, the other blogger will immediately know what you can provide, which just might increase your chances of having your guest post accepted for publication.

9. Provide Your Best Content

When it comes time to actually write your guest post, make sure the content you provide to the other blogger is your absolute best. Provide your guest post on time, free of spelling and grammatical errors, and in the agreed upon format to increase your chances of being asked to return as a guest blogger. Also, don't overload your post with links to your own blogs or websites and other online activities. Instead, include a short bio (a few sentences) with one or two key links to a page or website that provides access to any other links you want to share. If your guest post looks like spam because it's covered in links to your own content, then it's unlikely you'll be asked to return as a guest blogger.

10. Promote Your Guest Post

Once your guest post goes live, be sure to promote it and drive traffic to it. If the other blogger sees a boost in valid traffic to your guest post with new visitors leaving comments and joining the conversation, it's likely you'll be asked to write another guest post in the future. Don't just spam the post with comments from yourself (even if you use multiple usernames), your friends and family though. Top bloggers will know it if you do, and you won't be asked to return.

Source http://weblogs.about.com
Must-read Guest Blogger Success Factors

How to Be a Guest Blogger or Find Guest Bloggers

Guest blogging is a great way to build your online reputation and drive traffic to your blog.  However, it can be difficult to find quality guest blogging opportunities to write for other blogs.  Similarly, it can be hard to find quality guest bloggers to write posts for your blog.
Check out the tips below to find guest bloggers for your blog or to find guest blogging opportunities so you can write for other blogs.

MyBlogGuest

MyBlogGuest is a site that links bloggers who want to write guest blog posts with blog owners who are looking for guest bloggers to write posts for their blogs.  Rather than randomly searching the Web for guest blogging opportunities and guest bloggers, both blog writer and blog owners can cut through the clutter and find the right partners to reach their goals using MyBlogGuest.  

About.com Blogging Directory of Blogs That Accept and Publish Guest Posts

You can find a list of blogs that accept and publish guest blog posts in the About.com Blogging Directory of Blogs That Accept and Publish Guest Posts.  You can also submit blogs that you find (including your own) which accept guest posts for possible inclusion in the directory.

About.com Blogging Forum

You can post guest blogging opportunities for your blog or offer your own guest blogging services in the About.com Blogging Forum in the special Guest Blogging folder.  It's free to register!

Google

You can conduct a keyword search on Google or your preferred search engine to find guest blogging opportunities or guest bloggers.  Some search suggestions follow to help narrow your results:

• Use quotes and popular phrases such as "write for us" or "call for guest bloggers" or "guest blog submission".
• Add a keyword to target your results based on the topic you want to write about such as "guest blogger" baseball.
• Limit your search to a Google blog search only.

How to Be a Guest Blogger or Find Guest Bloggers

10 Things to Avoid if You Want Quality Blogs to Publish Your Guest Post

Guest blogging is a great way to increase your blog's exposure and drive traffic to it, and getting your guest post published on a high-quality blog is a major coup that can lead to a lot of traffic. However, getting your guest post published on a popular blog can be difficult, and if you're making any of the 10 mistakes listed below, it could be impossible. Make sure you avoid these mistakes, and instead, follow the top tips for guest bloggers.

1. Don't Ignore Guest Post Directions

Never send a guest post pitch until you visit the blog and thoroughly read all of the guest posting guidelines and submission instructions. Many popular bloggers won't bother reading a pitch if it doesn't follow the published guidelines. Think of it from their point of view. If you can't take the time to read their guidelines, why should they take the time to publish your post? See a great example of guest post guidelines.

2. Don't Send a Form Letter

Never send a form letter that begins with something like "Dear Blogger" or "Dear Blog Editor." That's a guaranteed way to send your email pitch to the trash. Also, don't use a mail merge file that inserts the blog URL into the pitch. For example, don't send your pitch if it reads something like, "I've been reading www.BlogURL.com and you have great content." This is a huge red flag that your pitch is a form letter. Popular bloggers get dozens and dozens of guest post pitches each day, and they can detect form letters before they finish reading the first sentence.

3. Don't Include a Random Link from the Blog's Archives to Fake Readership

Don't include a random link to a post on the blog in an effort to show that you read the blog. For example, don't write something like, "I really enjoy reading your blog and found this post www.PostURL.com to be really interesting." It's obvious that you don't actually read the blog, so don't try to pretend that you do. It's insulting and will relegate not only this pitch to the trash but any future pitches you send, too.

4. Don't Explain the Benefits of Publishing Your Guest Post

Established bloggers and high-quality blogs know the pros and cons of publishing guest blog posts. By explaining the amazing benefits that a popular blog will get by publishing your guest post such as free content, incoming links, and so on, you're simply demonstrating your inexperience and relegating your pitch to the trash.

5. Don't Send a Pitch with Spelling and Grammar Errors

If you can't create a well-crafted pitch, then it's not likely you can create a quality guest post. Your pitch needs to be error-free or don't bother sending it.

6. Don't Include Too Many SEO Links in Your Guest Post

Including the actual post you're pitching with your pitch email is great, but if that post includes more than one or two SEO keyword links, most high-quality blogs aren't going to publish it. That's because a link-heavy post looks like link-building spam and could damage the user experience on their blogs.

7. Don't Pitch Content that is Irrelevant to the Blog

One of the most important rules of successful guest blogging is that you need to read the blogs you pitch. Get a feeling for the type of content already published on the blog, what content is missing, and the tone and style of that content. Pitch a useful guest post that doesn't reiterate content that already appears on the blog and is written in the style most appropriate for the audience.

8. Don't Forget to Say the Guest Post Will be Original and Not Published Elsewhere

It's critical that you state the guest post you provide will be original and not published anywhere else online. However, don't hype this fact like it's special. No guest posts should be duplicate content, but inexperienced writers and spammers submit duplicate content as guest posts all the time. You're not offering a special benefit by submitting original content, so don't hype it as such. Instead, you should simply show that you know what you're doing and understand how guest posting should work by mentioning your content is original and not duplicated elsewhere online at anytime.

9. Don't Send a Post that Takes More than a Few Seconds to Upload and Publish

Popular bloggers are busy. If you want them to consider publishing your guest post, you need to make it as quick and easy for them as possible. Posts with a lot of special formatting, poorly written HTML, or lots of images take time to publish correctly. Therefore, omit extraneous elements and make sure you submit your post in the manner the blogger requests, making it a snap for them to publish it.

10. Don't Try to Butter Up Popular Bloggers

If your pitch says anything like, "I found your blog through a Google search and your content is great," or "I've had a chance to read your blog and you really know your stuff," don't bother sending it. This type of buttering up will have the opposite effect that you want it to when a popular blogger reads it. That's because many content mills and spammy link-building companies use this exact technique when they send bulk guest post pitches to their email lists. Don't do it.

Taken from http://weblogs.about.com
10 Things to Avoid if You Want Quality Blogs to Publish Your Guest Post

10 Steps to Writing a Guest Blog Post Pitch that Works

Writing guest posts for other blogs is a great way to increase traffic to your blog. It's a popular blog marketing and content marketing tactic that can have a significant effect on your blog's reach, but you'll waste a lot of time and effort if you're sending guest post email pitches that end up in recipients' trash. Instead, make sure you send compelling guest post email pitches by using this 10-step checklist for bloggers. Not only will your guest post email pitches get noticed but they'll also get positive responses.

The sender's email address matches the blog URL.

Many companies outsource their blogger outreach activities, including pitching and writing guest posts, to freelance writers, content marketing companies, social media companies, or search engine optimization companies. As a result, pitch quality suffers. One of the biggest red flags that seasoned bloggers look for in guest post email pitches is the sender's email address. They want to confirm that someone who owns, works for, or writes for the blog is actually sending the pitch.
If a veteran blogger receives a guest post pitch from a Gmail account or an account associated with a marketing or SEO agency or third party company, it's highly likely that the pitch will go directly in the trash. That's because this type of pitch is most often associated with link-building mills and "spammy" websites and content. The blogs using these services might not even know that is the perception. In other words, they're wasting their money because the positive responses they do receive to these pitches won't come from the high quality sites they need to effectively increase traffic to their blogs through guest posting.

Your pitch follows all of the blog's guest publishing rules.

Do your research before you send a guest post pitch to a blog. Visit the blog and search for guest post submission guidelines, and follow those rules very carefully.
Popular bloggers who take the time to publish these guidelines use them to reduce the number of low quality and spam submissions they get and to quickly purge low quality pitches. In other words, if you can't be bothered to look for and follow the guest post submission guidelines, the blogger will instantly click the delete button when he sees your email pitch.

You're pitching from a high quality blog.

If you're making a guest post pitch from a low quality blog, then it's highly unlikely that a popular blog will accept your pitch. That's because linking to and from a low quality blog can damage the popular blog's search rankings and search traffic.
Keep in mind, low quality is not the same as low traffic. You don't have to pitch from a well-trafficked blog to get a positive response, but the content on that blog needs to be good. 

You're pitching highly relevant and high quality content.

Again, do your research and learn what the content on the blog you're pitching is about and what the audience is interested in. Your guest post pitch must offer content that is highly relevant, useful, and meaningful to the blog's audience. Make sure your pitch is written very well, because it's a direct reflection on the quality of the content you'll provide in your guest post.

Your pitch is not passive.

Never start your guest post email pitch with a passive opening such as, "I'm sorry to bother you," or "I know you're busy." In fact, these types of phrases should never be included in any part of your pitch. Instead, use active messages. If your pitch is good enough, then you're not bothering the recipient. Make sure it's good enough.

You've clarified that your post will be 100% original.

It never hurts to mention that your post will be 100% original and never be published elsewhere online. It gives the recipient peace-of-mind that they're not wasting their time by considering your pitch. That's because publishing duplicate content can damage the search rankings and traffic to all blogs and websites where that content appears as well as to any sites linked to from the content of the post.

You've explained that your post will not be self-promotional.

It's always a good idea to clarify that your post will not be self-promotional, but it will be useful to the blog's audience. You can expect to receive a link back to your blog's home page in your published guest post. That's how guest blogging works. Keyword links and multiple links to specific pages on your blog can be considered spammy, and many bloggers will not publish your guest post or consider future submissions from you if you self-promote or include numerous links in it.

You haven't tried to butter up the recipient by saying how great their blog is.

Novice bloggers might be happy to read a guest post email pitch that praises their brilliant blog, but bloggers who've been at it for a while and understand how guest blogging works will click the Delete button when a guest post like this appears in their in boxes.
The reason is simple. This tactic is usually used by content mills and SEO-link building campaigns. It's highly unlikely that the sender has ever even visited the blog he or she is pitching. This approach to blogger outreach and guest post pitching worked several years ago before guest posting became an abused SEO tactic and an industry unto itself, but it doesn't work with quality blogs anymore.

You didn't include links to random content on the blog to pretend you read it.

Never include a random link to a blog post on the recipient's blog in an attempt to show you've read the blog. For example, don't include a sentence that says something like, "I really enjoy reading your content and particularly liked the insights you shared in http://www.arandompstURL.com."
Like buttering up the recipient discussed above, this is a tactic that worked in the early days of guest blogging but doesn't work anymore. Instead, pitch a fantastic guest post. That's how you get noticed and get positive responses to your guest post email pitches.

You didn't explain how the blog will benefit from publishing your guest post.

This checklist item is most important when you're pitching high quality blogs that are well-trafficked, because these bloggers fully understand how guest blogging works. They know that allowing you to publish content on their blogs will help you more than it will help them.
Don't explain that they'll get free content and you'll promote your guest post to drive traffic to it. Don't say that you'll talk about the post on your own blog giving them a valuable incoming link. Popular bloggers know that publishing guest posts can often lead to more harm then good. They want to know that you're going to write amazing content for their audience, and that's what your pitch should focus on.
Ref http://weblogs.about.com

10 Steps to Writing a Guest Blog Post Pitch that Works