The bright side of guest posting is that you can reach viewers of other websites and make them your readers too. Well, this may not happen all at once. But with patience and consistency, you can efficiently widen your audience through Guest Blogging.
Guest Blogging can help to achieve various goals. It can help a website gain more link backs from other websites. Besides that, it can increase brand awareness among readers. And, if you are a professional blogger, guest posting can help you add credibility to your name. You can also become more celebrated as a freelance writer.
Approaching sites for contributing guest blogs also called “pitching” may seem like a cakewalk. However, it is harder than it seems. Your pitch needs to convince the host as to why they should publish your content. Here, you need convincing power in addition to great written content.
This article will throw light on writing pitches for Guest Posts that get accepted almost every time.
Here are 5 tips to write an excellent Guest Post Pitch.
1. Personalize your message
There are various ways in which different bloggers accept Guest Post Pitches. Some sites may offer a contact form to be filled up. Whereas, some may ask you to send them your ideas through email.
Whatever be the mode of communication for the pitch, your message must be personalized according to the site. You must have a good look at the website before approaching. Learn the type of content they post. Read some of their blogs and know the style of their blogs.
In addition to these, read the Guest posting guidelines provided by the host bloggers. This will give you much more clarity in customizing your article as well as the pitch according to the site. Know the word limits, topics accepted, formatting and submission process from these directions.
When writing an email, make sure that the subject line catches attention. In case there is a specific subject line recommended by the website in its submission guidelines, use that without fail. Below is a part of the contribution guidelines from a major site.
With this, you are familiar with the editor’s name. Also, there is a proposed subject line. So you must use only that. The format of the pitch is also provided. It is essential that you read these instructions carefully.
Address the editor with his/her name. Do not forget to mention something that you admire about their website in the message. This shows that you researched them well. It also gives them the surety that you are not sending the same pitch to a million other sites.
2. Tell them how the blog will benefit them
You have personalized the message. But that should not be the only attention grabber. When they are reading your pitch the following question will almost certainly pop up in their mind – “How will this post benefit me?”.
So, give them a valid reason. Explain to them how your blog will add value. Convince them that your post will get them more engagement from their audience or will help in increasing traffic to their website. Justify that the topic is unique and not covered before. If your article is on a trending topic, you can also state that.
Make it about THEM. Communicate clearly the benefits that the host will get by publishing your content. Convince them about its advantages.
Avoid focusing on yourself. They are not interested in how the post will get your site more traffic or raise the number of your audience. Do not tell them that posting on their site will give YOU many advantages. It is none of their concern.
Here is an apt example of a splendid email for you to understand better.
Besides that, guarantee that the post is original and that it has not been published elsewhere. If your site has a good domain authority, you can even state that links to your website will be healthy for them.
3. Be short and sweet
Bloggers are really busy. They get tons of pitches every day. It is not possible for them to read lengthy essays. If your message is extremely long, you might end up in the trash or being left unread.
It is essential to be brief. Talk to the point. Focus on the message you want to convey. You do not have to provide your life story to them. They aren’t interested plus they do not have the time for it.
Introduce yourself with a short description (2-3 lines maximum). Links to your website, previous work samples, or your portfolio can be inserted in the introduction. Be wise and naturally insert links in the text. Do not make it look like you are bragging.
Be direct. Show them why you are a fit to write for them. Then move forward to the pitch and provide ways in which your blog will reward their site.
As you can see, the author has generated a great pitch. She has introduced herself in one line. Given a personalized message in the next sentence. Further, she is direct on justifying the usefulness of her blog to the host. The topic has been clarified and she has also stated that she can write on other relevant topics in case the suggested one does not strike a chord.
All this drafted in a really short email of 6 sentences. The time required to read this email: less than half-a-minute. This time-saving approach is sure to impress the host.
4. Email from a business account
You need to own a business email with a professional tag. To be taken seriously by big publications you must email from an id other than yourname@whatevermail.com.
For creating a business email id, you can use the name of your company or your niche. You can also create an email signature to look more professional. Attach this signature at the end of your pitch and it will be a lot easier for bloggers to reach you.
Here is an illustration for an email signature:
5. Send a follow-up
As a general rule, a week is the best time to wait before sending a follow-up email. It is obvious that if the person opens the mail, they will reply to you as soon as they have read your message. Roughly 90% of readers reply on the same day if they really want to.
Despite the high chance of an immediate response, there can be exceptional circumstances. The receiver may be on vacation or might have accidentally missed your mail.
It is important to follow-up. This shows that you care. You can state your previous message. Add the purpose, and explain why you are following-up. Include the action you want after the email so that it is easier for the reader to respond.
To summarise, be sure that your message is customized and you include specific detail about the website or blogger. Justify to them how your content will help them. Leave out the part of how it will benefit you. Keep it as brief as possible (they do not want to read biographies). Make sure you contact through a business email. And finally, follow-up after a few days to show that you are dedicated.
These tips will help you draft an irresistible pitch for your guest posting venture.
Here is one of the great approach samples for your reference.
