Since we’re all about guest blogging here at FizzNiche, we rarely get a chance to speak for ourselves… but, today, that changes! Here are some tips from our own Founder, Rachel Honoway on getting your guest blog posts picked at FizzNiche and all around the net!
5 Tips for Getting Your Guest Blog Post Published
Here at FizzNiche, we filter through hundreds of guest blog posts – almost every day! And though we get a lot of great content – we also get some really bad stuff that gets thrown out!
So, here are some tips for creating guest blog content that is more likely to get picked:
Guest Blog Tip #1: Write it Well
The guest bloggers that we choose on a regular basis all have one thing in common – they write clearly and completely.
We get great content from topical experts every day that we can’t use – because, as good as the concepts may be, the submissions are just jumbled messes of notes.
When you’re writing a guest blog post – submit it as if it were going to go live exactly as you wrote it. The site owner will probably do some editing – but the less they have to do, the more eager they’ll be to choose your post over one that needs to be put through the meat grinder before it can be published.
Guest Blog Tip #2: Have a Purpose that Fits Your Credentials
When you see a guest blog post for a topic that you happen to like, it can be tempting to jump in and offer up your opinion. But, before doing that – think about what the post will get you and whether or not it makes sense for someone with your credentials to be commenting on such a topic.
Here’s an example of someone not following this tip… we put out an open call for tips for women in relationships. We received an article that was pretty good at face value… but, it was submitted by someone who had listed her credentials as a dog trainer.
Maybe she had some good insight, but we just couldn’t publish the post. We knew that our readers would raise an eyebrow at our source and may even be offended that we were trying to feed them unfounded relationship advice.
And… from the dog trainer’s perspective – what would she have gained if we had published the post? Though I suppose it’s possible, I doubt it’s probable that women looking for relationship advice would read an article like this and decide they should hire her to train their dogs.
So, when you’re looking at potential topics – be sure that you’re the right person to be commenting.
Guest Blog Tip #3: Follow Instructions
Give them what they asked for, nothing less, nothing more (unless they have a “comments” section where you can offer to give them more – IF they want it!).
When you submit your guest blog post, you’re at the mercy of the editors or the site owners. If they’ve asked for something specific and you’ve ignored their request – it’s much easier for them to hit the “delete” button than it is to stop and ask you to supply the information again.
The same is true for too much information. For example, if our editors need two articles and they have more submissions than that – they’ll skip the ones where the “Article” section of the form includes a four paragraph bio of the author. Even though the content might be good – that extra info that they didn’t ask for just looks like a liability for them – something that they have to follow up with and clarify before deleting it from the article.
Guest Blog Tip #4: Don’t Sell
For the love of God – DON’T SELL!
Sites accepting guest blog posts are not at all interested in selling your products or services. If your post reads like a sales pitch, it will not make it to the site.
Get creative! Offer valuable information and a unique insight and the readers will be looking to see, “Who wrote this? I want to find out more about him/her!”
Guest Blog Tip #5: Don’t Argue the Opposite Position
True story: We put out a call for articles about the benefits of kickboxing for my PrettyHardWork.com site. Someone actually sent in an article titled, “Kickboxing is for Girls” – and he wasn’t joking.
Ummm… yeah… he sent that article in to a site for and by “girls”.
Now… kickboxing is just an example. We get darn-near hate mail when we ask for tips for divorce, dating and weight loss!
Here’s the deal… as a guest blogger, you are wasting your time by trying to get someone to publish an article that denounces the topic that they are focusing on. If you don’t like the topic, don’t submit something to that blog.
If you really think that you have a good counter-point perspective and you’d like to approach the blog owner with an idea to write a point-counterpoint piece or two… you could give it a try. But, stay away from attacking them and telling them that they are wrong. You won’t get anywhere with that approach.
Guest Blog Tip #6: Look at the site for examples
Okay… I know I said “5 tips”… but I’m on a roll!
You should visit the site that the blogger or the editor is working on. Take a look at the posts that they’ve published. This will tell you exactly what they like – and it’ll stop you from making dumb mistakes like submitting a snarky article titled “Kickboxing is for Girls” to a site about kickboxing (and other exercises!) for girls.
Get Blogging!
We’ve got great opportunities available for you right now! Take a look at the stories we’re working on and use the tips above to ensure that your article makes it through to us and gets published on one of our sites!
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About the Author: This post was written by our Founder, Rachel Honoway. Learn more about her and FizzNiche on our About page.
