Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Guest Blogging 101: Seven Tips to Getting Proposals Accepted




“…the SEO benefit for guest blogging is not from the obvious bio links, it is from everything else that comes from being known…” –Craig Fifield


Guest blogging is one of the many aspects of driving additional traffic to your web pages. On a whole, when it comes to search engine optimization, guest blogging is still a paramount aspect as according to Neil Patel; this is a way to increase your overall branding, referral traffic and sales.  So, it is safe to assume that as a whole, guest blogging for SEO is not entirely dead. And if online marketing agencies would do well to exploit this. However, before getting all hyped up for guest posting, we are all aware that we need to pitch guest posting proposals and have them approved in order to secure a guest post.

Some of them get rejected or ignored while a few of them may get accepted. This is a focal point when it comes to guest posting as it ensures that your post will be featured and as a result more traffic would be directed to your website. So, just how do you come up with a proposal worthy enough to get accepted? Take a look down below for a few guidelines that may just help you.

1.)    Choose sites carefully


When it comes to selecting guest blogging sites for your guest post, you must exercise deliberate care in choosing only the best ones and of course ones that are aligned with what your guest post is all about. One aspect that should be in paramount consideration is your audience—you need to make sure that you are reaching the kind of audience that will drive real ROI into your website. Additionally, choose quality sites as failing to do so will damage your reputation and may devalue your own website with any backlinks that may potentially come your way.

2.)    Send an email


When it comes to pitching a guest post, your emails should be short, concise and straightforward as possible. The reader probably has a lot of emails to read which are of the same tone, so it would be nice if you cut through the chase and pitch your proposal. Send a message to the site owners or editors by using the submission form or any email address you can find on the website.

3.)    Use a professional subject line


Your subject lines are your tickets into getting your email proposals read, considered and possibly accepted. Come up with a straightforward subject that is honest, profession and clear. Anything less than professional is substandard and it would be the quickest way to have your pitch dismissed, ignored or rejected.

4.)    Sign it professionally


Your signature or your from line is just as significant as your subject line. This would also have an impact on the reader as well as their chances of accepting your pitch. Additionally, consider having an email that sounds professional and refrain from using emails that would make you seem like a nine-year-old in his initial discovery of the Internet.

5.)    Use the recipient’s name if it is available


When it comes to addressing them,  do not be cold and impersonal by saying “To Whom It May Concern” or too formal by stating “Dear Sir or Madam”. Keep things simple and polite but courteous and friendly by opening your email with “Hi (their name)”.

6.)    Introduce yourself


Remember, even if you are pitching a proposal, you would still be sending an email to a stranger so it is only polite and courteous to identify yourself in one line. Link any social media profile you have such as your Twitter account or LinkedIn profile as this will help them confirm that you are indeed a real person.

 7.)    Tell them why you matter



Of important consideration is to have your proposal approved and in order to do that, you need to validate yourself in the consideration of the site manager. Remember, they would probably be sorting through innumerable proposals and as this is the case, there would be an imperative need to convince them to approve your proposal. You can do this by telling them of other places where your work appears and provide them with links. Additionally, tell them about your current project. Let them know what it is about and how this is related to their niche.  

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