Regardless of what others say about guest posting, the fact still remains, it’s still one of THE MOST effective ways to build relationships and links with other webmasters. If you’re started guest posting but aren’t seeing much success in return, perhaps you’re not making your guest post enticing enough. Well… Forget enticing, let’s talk about being IRRESSISTIBLE!
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Whether you believe it or not, there are ways to make your guest posts irresistible to other webmasters. There are formulas you can use on your guest posts to increase its chances of being accepted and eventually posted on other sites.
What formula is that you might ask?
The Who The What The Why?
Before you even start guest posting, you need to set the facts straight in your mind as to why you’re doing it. Are you doing it for the links, just to promote your site, or to get your clients more traffic? While I don’t totally disagree with those goals, you need to make sure that the other webmaster does not suffer because of your personal goals.
Remember… These webmasters spent years and years of blogging, tweaking and basically making their site look awesome. The fact that you want to guest post on their site is an indication that they did a great job in making their site worth linking to.
Considering that, you can’t just give them crappy articles! You’re literally spitting in their faces by doing stunts like that! You need to show respect by giving them only quality contents that will be of use to them and their community. Think about that while strategizing your personal goals. Just make sure that your goals DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM compromise the other webmaster’s site.
Amazing Headline & Topics
Your headline is your first impression to the webmaster. Get it right, and you’re probably 80% there. However, if you don’t have a captivating headline, there’s an 80% chance that you’ll be rejected.
To make an amazing headline, I suggest that you use 60 – 100 characters only since this has proven to be the most effective number of characters as far as headlines go.
You need to think of a headline that answers a question or a problem. Think about what they or their community might want to know and address it. The more complete your headline is, the better. That may be a challenge though if you also consider the number of characters you’ll be using.
Comprehensive Content
There was a point in time that 400 – 500 word articles were considered the magic number when it came to writing guest blogs. Studies have shown that longer articles (800+ words) have a higher chance of being syndicated and read.
Readers are looking for a single place where they can get all the information they need rather than jumping from one site to another.That said, be sure that your length isn’t made up of fluff. Remember readers want complete information and that’s why they’re opting to read longer posts. If your guest posts have no value at all, then you’re wasting the reader's' time.
Visual Elements
It’s a well-known fact that adding multimedia elements such as photos or videos can help increase your article's readability. That simply means that people enjoy visual content, so you should give it to them. Do not slack off on this one because once again, you’re guest posting.
You SHOULDN’T SLACK-OFF on someone else’s site. It’s just down right disrespectful!
By adding visual content to support your article, there’s a huge chance the webmaster will see your effort in putting everything together. I mean think about it… Long and comprehensive post + multimedia elements = you are working hard to make the post worth while for the webmaster and their community.
Provide Alternatives
Although you’ve executed the article to your best ability, there will be times where they won’t accept your post. Perhaps they’ve recently published a similar topic or they’re looking for something different. Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us. That’s perfectly normal and you shouldn’t take it personally.
To avoid having your guest post declined, I suggest you provide them with more than one option.While submitting the article, you can tell them that you have 3 other titles that they might be interested in and they can choose from those other options or suggest an article that they want written. That way, they won’t feel like you’re imposing your article on them.
In addition to all the tips noted above, you can also check out the 10 commandments of guest posting…
Share Your Thoughts…
If you have techniques or suggestions you’d like to share about guest posting, I urge you to add your thoughts in the comments section below. That way we can ALL learn from each other and start guest posting the right way.
Remember to respect other webmasters as they are as hardworking and as committed as you are. I hope to hear from you soon. Cheers!
on
Hi Camille and Riza!
Thank you for commenting. I’d also like to add how sincerity also plays a key role when getting your posts approved.
The thing is, if you’re sincere about building relationships with other webmasters, you almost always end up saying the right things naturally and your sincerity becomes very evident with the words you chose.
It’s also the same reason why spammers easily are noticed by the webmasters. Their sincerity just doesn’t show.
on
Nice points, Adam.
It’s always about what the site your going to guest post on stands for, and what their readers want. It is never about you. Of course, it’s good to have personal goals, but like you said, it shouldn’t be something that will hurt them in the long run. It has to meet them halfway.
The most refreshing tip I got here would probably be the one about providing alternatives. I think webmasters are honest enough to tell you why they declined your offered article. And if they tell you that they’ve recently published something similar, the alternatives will come in useful.
Awesome post, Adam. I’ve shared it one the IM social networking site, Kingged.com. 🙂
http://www.kingged.com/how-to-make-your-guest-post-irresistible/
on
These are very good tips.
I get frequent guest blogging requests via email and the majority do not follow these guidelines. I have received emails with no sample articles or links to articles. In fact, sometimes the aspiring guest blogger will sign with only a first name. It’s very unprofessional.
You are so right about offering quality content; I have seen samples that are mediocre to say the least. Some even appear to be spun, which is a huge no-no especially these days.
So it is refreshing to get a request from a serious minded and thoughtful individual who has writing skills. He or she definitely stands out from among the others!