How to Find Guest Blogging Opportunities

Do you want more people to read your writing? Do you want to find more writing clients?

If so, try writing a guest post for another blog or website.

I recently shared one way to find guest post opportunities. Also, my recent guest post, for author Frank McKinley’s blog was one of his blog’s most viewed guest posts and listed as one of the “Top Posts” for that month on his website.

Since you’re reading this post, you probably already know about Medium. Medium’s publications, such as The Writing Cooperative, and The Ascent, are great places to start submitting guest blog posts.

Eventually, you will want to also reach out to other websites to build a diverse group of guest blogging credits that will convince editors and clients to hire you to write for them.

Here are some helpful tips on how to:

• find sites that accept guest posts
• send your suggested blog post to these sites, and
• write for another blog or website.

1. Have your own website or blog.

You need to have a website if you plan to write for anyone else (clients, online publications, magazines, etc.). You need to own a piece of the Internet landscape, even if you’re willing to write for free, and especially if you want to be paid for your work.

Why? Because editors and potential clients find their writers online.

Also, consider having a sidebar on your website, or beside your blog’s posts, to promote that you are available to write guest blog posts for other sites.

2. Get social.

Now that you’re getting attention from editors and/or clients, they will want to see that you have a social media presence.

Make sure that you at least have an active Facebook page and Twitter account for your blog. If you’re already on other social media sites like LinkedIn and Instagram, that’s a great bonus, too.

This helps convince editors and clients that if they choose you as a guest blogger, they will see a boost in social media shares and visiting readers for their own websites or blogs.

3. Do a Google search.

Google can help you find guest blogging opportunities. Type your industry keyword (i.e.: lifestyle, fiction, faith, fashion, etc.) and one of the following phrases:

• “write for us”
• “submission guidelines”
• “accepting guest posts
• “become a contributor”
• “guest post”
• “contribute an article”
• “guest post guidelines”
• “want to write”
• “submit your post”
• “add a post”
• “submit content”
• “guest post by”

4. Know your experts.

Keep a list of the top websites or blogs about your topic or industry. Consider which blogs or websites you want to write for.

As you read other blogs and websites, you will start to know the names of the thought leaders, experts or influencers in your area of interest.

Google the names of these people. Their websites and blogs will probably appear at the top of your Google results, but you will also see different websites and blogs where these leaders contributed guest blog posts.

5. Send a proposal and write the guest post.

Follow the guest post guidelines for the website or blog when sending a pitch or proposal to a site that accepts submissions.

Check out at least a few of the site’s posts. This is one of the rare times when you actually want to read the comments from the site’s readers. This will help you get to know your guest post’s audience.

Keep your pitch, to the website’s editor or blogger, short. Be sure to focus on how your post will help, inspire, inform and/or entertain the site’s readers.

Also, keep the submission guidelines and the site’s audience in mind as you write your guest post. Submit your post on time, according to the blogger/editor/client deadline.

This article, originally published in https://writingcooperative.com/