If you’re looking to build traffic for your blog, guest blogging is one of the best ways to do it because it gives you the opportunity to get your great content in front of someone else’s audience. It’s also a fantastic way to get more brand exposure in your industry and to meet and work with other blog owners (which could lead to other collaborations or partnerships).
I also strongly believe that guest blogging forces you to develop your blogging skills faster than just blogging for your own personal or company blog. We all know that we’re a lot easier on ourselves in terms of deadlines, topics, and review process than another blog owner would be. Do you like it cushy and comfortable, or do you want to grow, both in terms of blogging skills and your business??
So, let’s assume that you’re now anxious to look at guest blogging. There are guest blogging tutorials and classes out there, but what if you’re ready now? How do you find guest blogging opportunities? Let’s discuss, shall we?
First a little strategy…
Your strategy should be to land guest posts on blogs that are bigger than your own, but that are in a similar or adjacent industry (so their readers will also match your potential readers or customers). You may want to practice on a couple of blogs that are slightly larger in size than yours just to get comfortable with the process. Then, you can go for much bigger blogs which will usually provide much bigger benefits to you. Don’t forget that you always want to deliver a very high quality post no matter who you write for.
9 Ways To Find Guest Posting Opportunities
Do You Know Any Blog or Website Owners?
One of the easiest sells is to ask someone who you already know or are working with. For example, my first guest post was for Examiner.com where I asked a joint venture partner if I could write a post for her column. That was an easy sell and a great experience! Think about it – who do you know that has a blog or website that is read by the right kind of readers?
Blogs That You Like and Read Already (and possibly comment on)
If you already regularly read a blog and, better yet, comment on it, consider that as an option. Do you notice whether or not they have guest bloggers? Can you write blog posts that meet that blog’s quality standards? Are there gaps in their content that you could fill? This equals a possible guest blogging opportunity.
Sites Actively Seeking Guest Bloggers
Sometimes you’ll see articles shared in social media that have the words “guest post” attached to them.
Take a look at those blogs because they obviously accept guest posts. Also, for other sites that you visit or read, start to look for telltale signs of openness to guest blogging. Check the bylines – are they written by staff writers or do they have guest bloggers (see what site or company they list in their byline). Look at the top menu or the bottom of the page. Do they have any menu items like “write for us”, “contribute” or “guest posting”?
Guest Blogging Matchup Platforms
There are certain tools or groups that focus on matching those seeking guest posts with those that are interested in writing them. Here are a few:
- My Blog Guest
- Blogger LinkUp
- Triberr.com’s Guest Blogging bonfire
- Blog Zone’s Guest Blogging sub-group (search for the Blog Zone Group in LinkedIn)
Lists of Guest Blog Sites
Search in Google for “list of guest blog sites” and you’ll find web sites that have compiled lists of sites and they will also often sort them by industry or by Google Page Rank. Here are a couple of examples:
- http://blogsuccess.com/quality-guest-blogging-sites-the-pretty-big-list-for-2012/
- http://www.webuildlink.com/guest-post-sites-list.html
Use AllTop.com
AllTop.com lists blogs categorized by industry.
Find the category for your industry, click on the ones that have interesting blog posts and see if they use guest bloggers by looking at the bylines or by looking for the “guest posts” or “write for us” type of options. You can also ask someone who doesn’t seem to have any guest posts if they’re open to accepting a post (and give them some proposed topics).
Search on Google for “guest post” and your industry
Go to Google and type in (without quotes), “guest post travel” or “guest post by travel“. Use this search to find different travel blogs that have accepted guest posts.
Search on Twitter for “guest post” and industry
This search is great because it provides very recent guest posts by industry. Many people, when they share content, reference whether it’s by the blog owner or by a guest poster. Searching for “guest post industry” (no quotes) on Twitter is a great way to find active blogs in an industry that are currently accepting guest posts.
Industry associations, software providers and other non-competing organizations
Often industry associations or companies that provide supporting tools to an industry are interested in having more content for their websites and blogs. For example, the local real estate association may appreciate a good real estate marketing article. Or, in the online marketing industry, the email marketing software companies or webinar software companies often accept guest posts that teach people how to better use their tools or provide case studies.
Ready to start?
I hope you’ve found these resources helpful. One closing note. Many blog owners are actively seeking content, so realize that you’re helping them by providing valuable information in exchange for some publicity for yourself. So, don’t be afraid to approach them with your proposal and blog post ideas (you can get blog post ideas here).
But please be respectful of the blog owners, follow through with your commitments, and bring your ‘A’ game if you do land a guest post spot!
Let me know if you’ve started guest posting yet. Why or why not?
If you’re guest posting now, what are your favorite ways for finding new opportunities?
Image © rubysoho – Fotolia.com
Bali bagus June 12, 2013 at 3:21 am
Your information is very important to me, I was new on the blog, like the tail of a newborn ….
James May 3, 2013 at 2:20 am
I want to start my Guest blogging career and your tips will really help me to find good starting opportunity. Thanks!
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Olivia Brown February 27, 2013 at 8:04 am
Guest blogging is beneficial but not many sites allow this. Does forbes and searchenginejournal allow this?
Tom Treanor February 27, 2013 at 5:30 pm
Olivia,
Actually quite a few sites do (including Famous Bloggers) but you have to have quality examples to show them. Search Engine Journal does – see the bottom for “write for us”. Forbes does but it may be harder to get a first post there without a track record.
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Michael December 17, 2012 at 9:14 am
Thanks for the resource list. I have compiled all the links in here and hope to find some opportunities! I don’t quite understand MyBlogGuest, but the lists posts should be helpful.
Tom Treanor February 27, 2013 at 5:32 pm
Michael – good luck and let us know if you made progress! Yes, MyBlogGuest is a little hard to understand but give it a shot but also reach out to blogs directly and share your “blogger’s resume”.
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Karen September 18, 2012 at 5:05 am
Thanks for sharing so many valuable information, i have tried some ways mentioned here, and finally find some guest blogs through triberr.com platform. Thanks again.
Tom Treanor February 27, 2013 at 5:34 pm
Karen – I’m glad you found some opportunities in Triberr!
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Samuel Pustea August 23, 2012 at 12:12 pm
I always encourage to guest post for blogs that you everyday engage with.
Try writing for blogs that you comment on. One of the best ways to get accepted.
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Tom Treanor February 27, 2013 at 5:40 pm
Agreed – great suggestion Samuel. Establishing that relationship via great comments is a great way to connect for potential guest blogging opportunities.
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Clara July 6, 2012 at 8:02 pm
June was a very good month for guest posting . I think I’m trying to makeup for lost brand exposure due to working long hours at day job. I appreciate the great pointers and helpful posting sites.
Clara.
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Tom Treanor February 27, 2013 at 5:43 pm
Clara,
I’m glad to hear you’ve had a great run of guest posting! Keep up the great work on it.
Tom
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Karan May 27, 2012 at 1:12 pm
Well, for me connecting with people via social networks and then posting a guest post on their blog has been quite a productive experience.
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Tom Treanor May 29, 2012 at 4:19 pm
Karan,
Yes, that’s an effective way for sure. Thanks for dropping by!
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Nasrul Hanis May 26, 2012 at 3:03 am
Definitely agree with the tips and recommendations. Build connection with the website that you want to submit your guest article first before approaching the webmaster or editorial team for a guest post – it will be much better and meaningful for you, the website and the readers.
Guest posting is not just a shortcut to acquire more link, but a platform to build your credibility and authority over the web!
Tom Treanor May 29, 2012 at 4:20 pm
Yes Nasrul. Guest posting is a great way to establish credibility and relationships!
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Vicky May 18, 2012 at 5:07 am
Cheers for the tips – definitely going to take a look at those matchup platforms. Just need to get going now
Marcie May 17, 2012 at 7:56 am
I never knew all of these options existed. I was aware of the first three, but enlightened by the last six. Thanks for these.
Tom Treanor May 18, 2012 at 2:22 pm
Glad to help Marcie! I appreciate the comment.
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Michael Stetina May 16, 2012 at 2:34 pm
Hi Tom – Another great way to find guest blogging opportunities is through Google Alerts. Setting alerts for your main keywords will allow you to see all the blogging activity in your niche. You can then visit sites that interest you and offer to guest blog.
You can also subscribe to the blogs you are interested in to be alerted to new posts. Great for getting blog commenting backlinks!
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Tom Treanor May 16, 2012 at 4:13 pm
Michael,
Excellent points and ways to keep track of blogs writing about your niche. Thanks for adding to the list!
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Steve May 16, 2012 at 1:08 pm
Tom,
Without much doubt, guest blogging is one of the very best ways to gain both traffic and solid link these days. Having had a fair amount of guest posters on my site and done a few myself, I think they are a great way to build an audience and perhaps more importantly to build authority and a reputation.
Thanks for sharing some great ways to find those perfect places to guest post almost regardless of the niche.
Steve recently posted..The Shocking Truth About Niche Sites [a 1,027 Word Manifesto]
Tom Treanor May 16, 2012 at 4:17 pm
Steve,
Yes, I was trying to make it niche-agnostic because guest blogging can add so much value, especially in niches where it might be less common. I appreciate you stopping by!
Tom Treanor recently posted..Why I’m no longer monogamous with you, my dear (blog)
david May 16, 2012 at 12:50 pm
Hi Tom, thanks for these tips on finding places to guest post.
Do you find that guest posting is far more advantageous than just commenting?
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Tom Treanor May 16, 2012 at 12:54 pm
Dave,
No problem. I’m not a prolific commenter so I definitely get more benefit from guest posting. I’m sure the people who are methodical about commenting can get some great benefits from it. One major difference between commenting and guest posting though is that you can say, “I’ve written for Famous Bloggers or Copyblogger, etc.”. That can provide some credibility if you’re trying to close a deal or get a speaking engagement. Also, guest blogging forces you to examine your writing style and to improve because the pressure’s on when you’re writing for someone else.
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Sana Knightly May 16, 2012 at 9:12 am
@ Tom Treanor
Thank you for mentioning MyBlogGuest in your article.
Also happy to see comments of our members above!
Tom Treanor May 16, 2012 at 12:56 pm
Sana,
No problem. I think people struggle with where to find guest blogging opportunities and MyBlogGuest is a leader in this area. Thanks for stopping by!
Tom Treanor recently posted..The Best Excuses We Tell Ourselves To Avoid Blogging
krystle May 16, 2012 at 8:26 am
Great tips! I am thinking of trying my blog guest to get a guest poster. We will see how it goes since my blog is pretty new so people probably won’t be interested.
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Tom Treanor May 16, 2012 at 12:57 pm
Krystle,
Give it a shot! Also consider seeing if some of your existing contacts or partners would contribute a post as well. Good luck!
Tom Treanor recently posted..Why I’m no longer monogamous with you, my dear (blog)
Kostas May 16, 2012 at 8:25 am
Hi Tom, guest blogging is probably the best way to make a blog popular fast. It’s not just the backlinks or even the traffic that you get but most importantly it’s a great way to build relationships with like minded people in your niche and it’s always great if you have influential friends, thanks for sharing…
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Tom Treanor May 16, 2012 at 11:58 am
Kostas,
Yes, it’s a great part of your marketing mix. Having contacts with other bloggers (who have their own audiences) is absolutely essential to fast growth. Thanks for your comment!
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Aasma May 16, 2012 at 6:43 am
Nice points, You usually find many blog post which tells you how to write best and quality guest post but you hardly find any good post on “How to search or find guest post opportunity”. Great work!!!
Tom Treanor May 16, 2012 at 11:57 am
Aasma,
That’s what I thought too. Lots of benefits of guest blogging but not too many “how to find” resources. That’s why I wrote this one up and I’m glad it’s helping people get started!
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Nishadha May 16, 2012 at 4:28 am
I have tried many of the methods mentioned here and joined some of the sites mentioned here as well. From all those I like BloggerLinkUp the best. They conveniently deliver you a mail with guest blogging opportunities and they categorize the by niche as well. Really cool service to use.
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Tom Treanor May 16, 2012 at 11:55 am
Nishhadha,
I’m on the emails but haven’t used it yet, so I’m happy to hear your take on it. Thanks for stopping by!
Tom Treanor recently posted..Why I’m no longer monogamous with you, my dear (blog)
Anton Koekemoer May 16, 2012 at 3:01 am
Yes – I do agree. One of the best ways to find guest blogging opportunities is to approach people online, Show them the quality of your work, and if you are offering valuable content they will be sure to give a spot on their website.
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Tom Treanor May 16, 2012 at 11:53 am
Good point. I’ve been asked in my LinkedIn group if people could post on my blog. At least I know these people a bit so I agree, that’s a good tactic.
Tom Treanor recently posted..Why I’m no longer monogamous with you, my dear (blog)
Jack Sander May 16, 2012 at 2:51 am
Guest blogging is great, as it has multiple advantages both for the guest poster and for the blog owner. Taking into account all the opportunities you have shared with us, I think that we should all look guest posting from a different perspective. Guest blogging, is a great way to build relationships and one way back-links to our sites.
Tom Treanor May 16, 2012 at 11:51 am
Thanks Jack. Yes, I hope people can use these different approaches to land their first guest post!
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Jeremy Ruggles May 16, 2012 at 12:50 am
Hey Tom,
Guest blogging is a great way to network and build a name or yourself. I am new to guest blogging myself and just made my first guest post in a guest blogging contest. Check it out and tell me what you think….
Thanks a lot for the ideas and resources!
~Jeremy
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Tom Treanor May 16, 2012 at 11:48 am
Jeremy,
Nice guest post! You presented the facts in a really easy to understand way and had some great solutions. I definitely learned something. Keep it up!
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Sara May 15, 2012 at 11:18 pm
Guest blogging is definitely an effective way to get traffic on your blog. Aside from that, you are also opening yourself to the blogging community since you’re going to meet more bloggers as well.
Tom Treanor May 16, 2012 at 11:45 am
Agreed Alda. That’s been a great side benefit (meeting the other bloggers) of doing guest posting.
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Ryan Biddulph May 15, 2012 at 8:45 pm
Hi Tom,
Love the ideas! Really keen insight for branching out and expanding your presence.
2 keys: 1 – develop your blogging skills. 2 – Be aggressive in reaching out. As your skills develop expect more offers to come to you. Bloggers want good content. Be a person who provides helpful, usable content, and other bloggers will want your posts.
Being aggressive means actively asking authority blog owners for guest post opps WHILE adding immense value with comments, sharing their posts and building a solid relationship with the blogger. So much easier to get a “Yes” if you helped the person out by sharing awesome comments, and sharing their content on social sites.
I believe Hesham has been gracious to me, allowing me to post freely on this awesome site, because I penned value-packed comments for many months and shared his content on social sites before asking for a guest post opp. Give. Receive. Sow. Reap.
Thanks for sharing your insight Tom!
Ryan
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Tom Treanor May 15, 2012 at 10:22 pm
Ryan,
I agree with your 2 keys. The foundation is the blogging skills. And the reaching out allows you to benefit from that. You’ve clearly done a great job with this and with the give, receive, sow, reap strategy. Thanks for adding to the discussion here!
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Dean Saliba May 15, 2012 at 6:07 pm
I can not speak as a guest blogger, but as a blog owner I just wanted to say that My Blog Guest has been a godsend for me, if it wasn’t for them I would not have accepted ANY guest posts on my blogs. If you haven’t tried them then I urge you to jump in today!
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Tom Treanor May 15, 2012 at 10:18 pm
Dean,
Thanks for the great recommendation. It actually gives me some ideas for another blog I’m just launching. I appreciate it!
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ICCIEV May 15, 2012 at 5:18 pm
Hi Tom,
That is really a great list of resources for guest authors, I am not a guest author yet but I do accept guest posts at my blog, however I don’t have a call out (guest blogging), However I am using Myblogguest to find guest posts. In the beginning it was really hard to find guest authors whom are interested to guest post at my blog but with time moving; I have started to receive many requests, even I started to receive requests from outside myblogguest. Thanks again for sharing your resources and your tips.
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Tom Treanor May 15, 2012 at 5:23 pm
IC, thanks for sharing your story about using Myblogguest and then also getting requests from outside the platform. It sounds like you’ve made some great progress on that end. Good luck if you choose to do some guest blogging yourself!
Tom Treanor recently posted..Why I’m no longer monogamous with you, my dear (blog)
Morgan from Sociable Boost May 15, 2012 at 4:54 pm
Hi Tom!
Wow, great resources! Outside of simply listing blogs that accept guest posting, this is a great list of places to find potential blogs to guest post on.
Something else to mention is, even if they don’t clearly have a ‘guest post’ button anywhere on their site, that doesn’t mean they don’t accept guest posts. I’ve gotten some great guest posting opportunities by simply contacting them and asking if I could. But like you said, you can usually tell if they accept guest posts, especially if you frequent the blog often.
Great post!
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Tom Treanor May 15, 2012 at 5:08 pm
Morgan,
I agree with that. You can definitely check with blogs that don’t call out “guest blogging” and submit a proposal. If it’s interesting, they may strongly consider it. In fact, the first guest posts for my blog came that way. Thanks for the addition!