If you’re too busy looking for websites to guest post on, creating lists and editing spreadsheets, sending emails to the webmasters (bored with the same template all the time, right?), waiting for their response and then hurrying to write the article that they have agreed to publish, then obsessively checking if the links are good and if they have stayed there after a while – stop right now!
Seriously, stop it and think for a moment: what are you trying to accomplish with all these guest posts? Even if you’re using guest posting only as a link building strategy, the final goal is to get more traffic to your website. The traffic, you can get it from the search engines, or directly from other websites, and guest posting can provide both kinds. But here we’re making the case for chasing one, or a few, quality websites instead of going after a bunch of them – so let’s first take a look at the reasons for it.
Why it’s better to choose quality over quantity
Assuming that the sheer number of websites you’re trying to get published on is influencing their quality in the negative way (which is almost guaranteed, since you’re going after the quantity and speed), sooner or later you’ll end up with publishing your carefully crafted articles on blogs that aren’t better than article directories; no one will ever read what you have written, no one will ever click on the links in your bio to find out more about you. The only use of the links in those articles will be the position of your website on the search results, but it’s questionable for how long it will last – so do you really want to waste your time on that?
On the other hand, becoming a regular content contributor for a few chosen blogs has the real benefits that the previous way just can’t match. Blogs which have developed a loyal readership (and are loved by the search engines) will pass much of that readership on to you: as long as your articles are useful for the readers and related to their interests, guest posting can be your way of getting constant traffic that is targeted, and more importantly, you will be able to obtain the trust of the readers – they will get to know your name and your qualifications, something that “guest posting” on thousands of no-name blogs will never capable of providing.
Also, having the constant stream of links from quality blogs in your niche – links that are getting clicked on, even if the number of these blogs isn’t that high, will send a clear signal to the search engines about the quality of your own blog.
So, how to get near great blogger?
Certainly not by sending her a template email – she’s receiving a ton of them, and sending them straight to Trash.
No. You want to get her to notice you, and to become her friend. It’s not that difficult, just follow the few steps described below.
After you’ve identified the blog you want to become a regular contributor on (it targets the audience that you want to reach, and has a significant amount of traffic and authority), find out who is behind it. It shouldn’t be too difficult, since most bloggers today are using at least Google Authorship and showing their Twitter profile. But that’s not enough – you should find their profiles on all of the networks that they’re using, and start following them there (yes, that means Pinterest too).
The next step is to start promoting the hell out of their content. Not only their content of course – share your own and the other content that you find useful or amusing, but don’t miss any of their posts, and make sure that their link is followed by your comment that recommends it to your followers. They’ll notice, don’t worry.
At the same time, as soon as you read their post, think about how you could add more value to it, and leave a comment on their blog. Bloggers also quickly notice a good commenter – and it’s a good signal that you’ll be there to respond on comments that the other readers will be leaving on the guest posts that you’ll publish there. The blogger doesn’t know it yet, but when the time comes, she will remember.
Then, slowly, start engaging with them on Twitter: you should know their other interests and activities by now, so ask them if they can recommend a good restaurant in Venice, or compliment them on their new office.
When you feel that your relationship is mature enough, be careful about the words you’ll be using to pitch your article. It’s just like any other relationship – when the moment comes, you’ll know. Your first guest post must – must! – be fantastic, if you want it to lead to a lasting relationship, and you have to keep that in mind as well.
About the Author: Andrew, a website manager took his time to write this post and find a good place for it. Be patient. It can take some time before you can pitch your guest post, but it will be well worth it. Just try it with one blog, and see for yourself.
