Guest Post Outreach: How to Do It Right

Guest posting is when you contribute a blog post to another website, often within your niche, to gain exposure, build credibility, and foster relationships in your industry.

It’s not just about publishing content; it’s a strategic move to grow your audience, boost your SEO with goog quality backlinks and showcase your expertise to a broader group of readers.

The guest post-outreach process can be challenging. But you have a lot to gain when you do it correctly.

Follow these 10 simple steps to create a successful outreach campaign:

1. Set a clear goal for your campaign

Before you embark on this journey, you must set a clear goal for your outreach campaign, outlining what you hope to achieve. It will make it easier to evaluate if the outcome has been favorable to your brand.

It will also help you narrow down specific brands to help you reach your goal.

The goal of your guest posting could be:

To establish yourself as an authority in your industry.
Get wider exposure and traffic to your website.
Earning backlinks to your website.

But it should be specific and measurable such as:

Increase your blog traffic by 13% by the end of the month.
Increase your leads by 20% by the end of the year.

2. Identify evaluation criteria for your prospects

Now that you have set a clear goal, you need to identify the criteria for selecting your guest posting websites. Here are some common factors you should consider:

SEO metrics

If you aim to receive quality backlinks for your business, you should focus on blogs by evaluating the following metrics:

Domain authority: Find out the authority score of the blog by using Moz’s Open Site Explorer. Insert the website URL and follow the prompt.
Check website traffic: Even with high domain authority, you should check the website traffic and if they rank for relevant niche keywords.

Audience factors

if your goal is audience engagement, you should consider the following in your evaluation

The number of comments per post
Twitter shares
Facebook likes and shares
LinkedIn shares.

3. Research your niche

Researching your industry is essential in developing a guest posting campaign by understanding your audience.

This will save you from getting a series of rejections or wasting time writing an article that the editor will reject because you do not understand what the audience is searching for.

A simple Google search will generate a significant result that will help you understand their search intent.

4. Identify your outreach target

With your evaluation metric in place, it is time to create a list of prospects you can reach out to. Create a Google spreadsheet or a table to record their names, websites, social media handles, and other relevant information about them.

Here is how to identify your prospect

Search for top blogs in your niche

Find top bloggers creating high-ranking content in your industry by using the Google search operator to type in any of the following.

Top Blog + “your niche”
Best blog + “your niche”
Top 10 blogs +” your niche”

Visit the site and use the criteria you have mapped out, such as traffic, audience engagement, and page authority, to determine if they suit your objective.

Search for blogs that accept guest posts

Using the google search operator once again, search for blogs related to your industry accepting guest post requests

For instance if you are searching for guest posting opportunities on sales, you should do either of the following this:

Sales + “submit a guest post”
Sales + “guest post”
Sales + “contribute to our blog”

Narrow down all the blogs looking for guest post opportunities and note them in your list-building sheet.

Search for the backlinks of your competitors

You can also find relevant guest post opportunities on your competitor’s backlinks using Ahrefs or Semrush.

Check their backlink profile and find the backlink they gained. If they have accepted guest posts from others, they will accept yours too.

5. Analyze the personality of the prospects

Creating a personalized email that will get the attention of your prospects will require researching their background, interest, and personality.

One way you can achieve this is by analyzing their LinkedIn profile or social media handle.

You can find relevant information about their profile that can attract their attention when you include it in the email.

6. Interact with the prospects

Engaging your prospect before sending out emails is vital to ensure a high response rate. This will get them familiarized with your brand before receiving your messages.

Here are ways to engage them

Follow them on social media.
Comment, share, and like their comment on social media
Comment on their blog post
Sign up for their newsletter and send a response anytime they send a newsletter

7. Brainstorm guest post ideas

Getting a guest post idea may take time. You need to start developing a topic that will lead to a high-quality guest post by doing the following:

Discover the content they are yet to cover

Find out the topics they have not discussed on their blog. Use Ahrefs to look for popular content on their competitor’s site that the blog is yet to cover.

Check out the audience engagement

Take note of the comment of their audience on blogs or social media and the questions they are asking.

Find their best-performing content

Use Buzzsumo to find out their best content. See if there is a knowledge gap that you can create an additional blog post to close.

Identify the search intent

One of the ways you can identify the type of user intent behind a keyword is by typing the keyword into the search engine and evaluating the top results.

What is the common factor in these articles? If they are the same, there is universal user intent. But if they have mixed results, assess if the keyword suits your marketing strategy.

For example, you can create content that fits the informational intent. Here, the user wants to learn about a specific topic or look for a solution to their problem. The search query is typically question-based. They usually start with how, why, when, or who. You can develop a topic around this.

Overall, choose a topic that fulfills their business need.

8. Personalize the email

Create a personalized email that will get their attention. For example, you can include a post they made on social media or an article they wrote on a particular subject.

The email can go thus:

Hello {name},

I enjoyed reading your article on content marketing. I found this section about lead generation particularly interesting…

This email will grab their attention because they recognize your name and you are interested in their work.

Here are some tips that will help you create a personalized email

Use their name and email address

Use the email address you found on their website, social media handle, or blog. Address them by their name while emailing them.

Even if they have a web contact form on their website, use their email instead. It has a higher response rate compared to a web contact form.

Integrate a personalized subject line

You must personalize your subject line to attract their attention. They probably get a lot of junk emails, and you have just a few seconds to hook their attention.

Add a subject that will set you apart from those junk emails and influx of guest blogging requests.

Write a brief introduction about yourself

This should include your name, position, and any other relevant information about yourself.

Create the body of the email

State why you are reaching out to them and ask if they accept guest posts. Remember to include links to previous articles you have written.

Do not forget to mention a podcast or content they created you consider interesting.

Add a CTA

You should end the pitch with a CTA that will encourage a response.

Example: “if you’d like to discuss this further, feel free to message me.”

You can also end it with a question that will elicit a response. For example, the question could be related to a previous interview or article.

Learn how to write an effective call to action here.

End the email in a friendly manner

Avoid ending the email in a formal or impersonal tone. For instance, instead of using “yours sincerely” or “yours faithfully,” end it with “Regards or best regards.”

9. Pitch your guest post idea

Your topic may be great, but it will only elicit a positive response with the right pitch. List compelling points that will give them an idea of your plan.

Also, show them how your pitch will help highlight the quality of their product or service. You have to show the prospect that you have a unique idea and that you know how to execute them.

Take your time to state your points so they have an idea of what the end product will look like. However, keep it brief and sweet.

Bonus point if you include an interesting twist that will show them you are a regular reader of their blog.

Don’t forget to point out that you are the perfect person to write about this topic by giving an insight into your expertise.

Additionally, check out their guidelines. Some blog posts include specific guidelines for their guest post submission.

Before sending your pitch, check if you can find their guidelines and follow the necessary steps.

10. Develop a unique and valuable article

Congratulations! You got a yes for your pitch. They are excited to see the result. What next? Now is the time to show your turf by creating content that the prospect and their audience will swoon over.

Do not spend all that energy on the outreach campaign only to create subpar content.

Here are some essential tips that will get your guest post published

Have their audience in mind when writing

Every website will only accept content that cares about its audience. Therefore, you need to create an article that addresses the pain point of their audience.

Providing value and helpful information to their target audience should be the first thing to consider.

And it is the only way to prevent your article from being abandoned in their email inbox.

Do detailed research on the topic

Of course, it goes without saying that a valuable article should be well-researched and informational.

Check out credible resources and authorities in the industry to back up your article.

Alternatively, contact Redakthor to do the job’s heavy lifting. From research down to its development.

Align with their brand tone and voice

You should be yourself. However, you have to align with the brand tone and voice to avoid losing the audience. Your post should align with their brand style and help them expand their brand messages. You have to find out their preferred tone and voice.

If it is friendly and conversational, you must use that tone in addressing the audience. If they use only simple language, you have to avoid complex messages.

You may also like: 7 Tips to Create Highly Engaging Content

Add internal links

Linking to other content on their site is a way to show them you did your homework well and that your purpose is to create great content for them.

Use their blog format

Your guest post should align with the blog’s format. You should not abandon their normal tradition just because you think yours is better.

Creative freedom does not mean you should deviate from their usual format.

Also, check out the writing style and usual word limit. Finally, ensure the final product is consistent with their previous blog content.

Add relevant images

Your post should be ready to be published as soon as you submit it. Avoid giving them extra work by leaving out relevant images.

The images should be high quality. And you can go the extra mile to create infographics or other unique illustrations relevant to the content.

Effective tips for a successful guest post outreach campaign

The above 10 steps will help improve your outreach campaign. However, other valuable hacks make it more effective.

Check out other guest posts on the site

The website you are pitching to may have other guest posts. You have to find out how well they are doing, the number and quality of comments they have attracted, and their social media engagement.

Also, evaluate the identity of the guest blogger to determine the kind of people they accept as guest bloggers.

Look out for some red flags on the blog

There are some negative factors you should look out for when selecting a guest blog.

Some of them are as follows

Lack of editing process.
Poor web design
Payment required for guest posting.
Having too many ads above the fold.
No exclusivity on the guest posts they accept.

Identify the major decision-makers

Most of these websites have key decision-makers who play a significant role in determining who gets to guest post on their blog. It could be the head of marketing, head of content marketing, or digital strategist.

Whatever their position is, your job is to find them. Check out the “about us” page on their website.

You can also find them on the employee list on their page on LinkedIn and connect with them.

Sometimes, they may include their email addresses on their LinkedIn and Twitter profiles. But they may be invalid.

To avoid sending your pitch to an invalid email address, you should always perform email verification.

Build a relationship with the prospects

It is worth mentioning again that establishing a relationship with the prospect is another means of having a successful outreach campaign.

Give them that likable side of your personality and make them want to have you around.

Actively engage on their posts

Before reaching out to your prospect, try to be the first to comment on their post.

Don’t drop one-liners such as “great post or great article.” it doesn’t contribute anything meaningful to the conversation.

Leave an impactful comment and top it up with a question that will encourage them to engage with your comment.

Appeal to their emotions

When you finally reach out to them, it is not enough to offer them great content. They want more than that. Find a spot that will stir something in them and appeal to their emotions.

What do they want for their blog? Social media shares, viral blog posts, or more traffic?

Find it and convince them you can get it for them.

Design a unique email template

You don’t want to be writing an email from scratch anytime you wish to contact a prospect. With a template in place, you can add personalized messages for each prospect. This makes it easier for you.

The email template should capture essential parts of an outreach email.

Carefully proofread and edit your pitch

If your pitch includes a lot of grammatical and spelling errors, it might end up in the garbage bin.

And if the quality of your pitch is subpar, they will wonder if the main content wouldn’t be equally worse.

Therefore you need to spend some time editing your pitch and make sure it is as straightforward as possible.

Leverage technology to improve outreach performance

Technology helps automate some processes in your outreach campaign so you do not waste valuable time performing repetitive tasks.

Some of the technology you can utilize include

SE Ranking

SE Ranking has all the essential SEO tools that will help in promotion and active outreach campaigns.

It provides keyword search, ranking, and tracking features to help you find the best blog for your guest posting.

Snov.io

This digital tool will help you automate SEO cold outreach by organizing the data, finding prospects, and reaching out to them.

It also provides Email finder features that help you find email addresses and verify the addresses. This will reduce the high bounce rate.

BuzzSumo

Buzzsumo helps you discover authors and creators based on their industry, topic, and interest.

Crystal Knows

Crystal Knows uses AI to predict the personality of the bloggers you want to email based on their digital footprints. As a result, it will help you send more personalized emails.

BuzzStream

BuzzStream is an all-in-one solution when it comes to outreach campaigns. You can use it to build qualified lists with the built-in automatic prospecting, and discover a website’s domain authority, contact information, and social metrics.

You can also use it to send your personalized emails at a go and keep track of your conversations, campaign performance, email open rates, and reply rates.

Track the campaign

Tracking and improving your campaign strategy will help you get better over time.

Do not be discouraged when your outreach campaign does not work out. Find out what you can do differently. Then improve and executive.

Tracking the campaign will ensure you discover what works and what doesn’t so you can tweak your next guest post outreach campaign to get an adequate response.

Ensure you promote your product/ services

When creating your guest post article, incorporate content that will promote your own brand.

Ensure your bio includes a link to your website if your goal is to get good backlinks.

Write an interesting author bio

Once you have been accepted as a guest blogger, you need to draft an interesting author bio. This is an opportunity to introduce yourself to their audience and grab their attention.

State who you are and what you do. Take advantage of this opportunity to make an impression.

If you want to increase your follower count on social media, include a line that will prompt the readers to follow you on social media.

Be prepared for edits

Sending out articles to high-authority websites may require going through a few rounds of edits after writing the content, and you have to be prepared for it.

Apply all the suggested edits and submit it on time. Do not be discouraged if the work has a lot of edits.

It does not mean your writing is terrible. It simply means they want you to adjust your writing style and tone to suit their audience preferences.

But if you do not like incorporating edits into your writing, then guest posting may not be for you. Stick to your website.

Help promote the post

Once your guest post is published, you shouldn’t fold your arms and watch things unfold by themselves. Instead, it would be best if you put in the work to ensure the successful promotion of the post.

Promoting the post through social media shares and engaging with comments will ensure a great relationship between you and the publishing website.

It is also one of the simplest ways to get another guest posting invitation.

At the same time, you’re promoting your own work and increasing your reach.

Takeaway: Create a successful outreach campaign by building a relationship with your prospects

To create an effective outreach campaign, you need to engage and interact with bloggers in your industry. This will require conducting in-depth research, engaging with prospects before outreach, and sending a personalized email.

If your request is granted, pitch your idea and develop unique content that will suit the website’s target audience.

Guest posting has many benefits. It helps to improve your SEO performance by increasing your domain authority, driving traffic to your website, generating better high-quality leads, and increasing your online visibility.

However, you have to do it the right way. The purpose of your guest post should be more than just gaining backlinks. Instead, it should focus on providing value to the audience and sharing valuable insight about a relevant topic.

Contact Redakthor to get a free blog audit and create a high-quality guest post that will establish your brand as an authority in your niche.