Marketing in today’s landscape needs to be creative in order to be successful. There are so many well-established brands that simply having a site that highlights it is enough to draw attention. And one of the ways you can look to establish and grow your site and therefore your brand is through guest posting. This method has grown exponentially in the last couple of years, so why not hop on the bandwagon.
Seeing as this is somewhat more delicate than outright ads, you need to be familiar with the ways of guest blogging to get the most out of it.
One of the first steps to consider is where exactly to find a host for your posts. But fret not, we’re here to help you out.
Finding the perfect site
Before you venture into the vast open spaces that are hosting sites, you need to determine what you’ll be offering. Only once you’ve done that can you find the site you’re looking for.
To make things easier we’ll assume that you’ve got that part covered – you already have the content ready, along with pitches to potential hosts, so now all you need is the appropriate hosting site.
It’s always a good idea to start off with the ideal site that has absolutely everything you’d want and then work your way outward trying to get something close to the center (older readers will recognize the George Costanza parking method in this). Somewhere along the line, you’ll eventually find a site or multiple sites, that will accept your work.
However, don’t stop at that point. Instead, always strive for that perfect site to maximize your potential.
Now, let’s see how you can get the sites you’ll need.
Go to target sites directly
The most direct approach is contacting the sites you already find to be the ideal fit. You don’t need to search for these, you just need to figure out if they’ll accept your guest posts.
Try exploring their site – through pages like “About us”, or “Contact” you could stumble upon a ready-made form or a specific mail using which you can contact them explicitly about guest posting. You’ll be surprised how many sites highlight the fact they accept guest posts.
If no such thing can be found, try emailing them the conventional way, or do a deep dive on their site by searching key terms like “guest post”, “contributor”, or “submit your post”. But if none of these proves fruitful, it doesn’t matter, you’re on to the next site.
In case you don’t have a target site in mind and are having trouble starting, then Google will be your best friend. Honestly, it’s probably the best way to get access to data in general, data that includes information about sites that accept guest posts.
Now, there are a couple of different ways you can go about this. You could opt to search for sites in your field and then go through the first tip on each of them. Be sure to vet the sites if you’re using this method – explore their traffic, check a few of their last articles, find out their SEO score, etc.
You could also try looking for sites that specifically feature guest posts, no matter the field. These can be found individually or through one of the numerous sites dedicated to listing those that accept guest posts.
This list that we’ve found, for example, is overflowing with possibilities, introducing you to over 5000 hosts. And the best part is that it keeps growing by constantly having new sites added to it.
The same can be said for various forum threads (like reddit) that highlight sites, or pages that house articles related to the topic.
You can even go so far as to search for prominent authors that publish content in your field, then contacting the sites they’re writing for. Maybe they’ll extend the same hosting courtesy to you as well.
So essentially, what we’re saying is, you should use Google for this like you would when searching for anything else and you’re bound to find something sooner or later, without a doubt.
Specialized software
If you intend to do extensive research to find the best site for you, there’s the option to use one of the numerous services that get you data about a site that you won’t find anywhere else. Tools like Alexa’s Audience Overlap Tool enables you to look up a site you find promising, after which it provides you with a list of similar sites that attract the same audience.
In this case, you won’t be targeting a specific site (other than the model one), but instead, you will focus on your potential visitors’ habits. This is great because trends can change over time, but habits tend to be much more consistent.
Other than this, the fact that there are many more tools that provide similar services just emphasizes the fact guest posting is taken seriously as a part of marketing endeavors.
Social platforms
Even though relevance-wise Google still reigns supreme, there are also social platforms to consider. And the process isn’t that much different than using a search engine.
Firstly, find your niche and identify the top players. Those would be the ones with the most followers, comments, shares, likes, etc. Usually, they’re not that difficult to spot.
The second part is the research. Find out if they incorporate guest posts on their site and/or if they feature links to those posts on their social platform feeds. Some of them do, and in those cases, your job will be that much easier, since it’s something they’re accustomed to.
Others won’t have the same practice. These you’ll first have to sell on the idea of guest posting in general before you even make the pitch for your content. And as with everywhere else, aim for the top sites in the field and work your way down.
By simply posting on a site you probably won’t get the exposure you’re expecting. That’s why it’s important to also feature your content on a social platform that gives you access to a much bigger and wider array of potential visitors.
The best sites in the business will usually have a strong presence both on their homepage and on various social platforms, but there are those that have a divide between the two and those should also be the ones to target. Pinpoint those that have room to grow, they’ll probably accept your proposals and as they grow you will grow too. But by then, you’ll already be a mainstay in the repertoire.
Conclusion
In everything you do, if you want to be successful, you need to look at every avenue to achieve your goals. With so many sites, businesses, webshops, and blogs out there the importance of standing out can’t be overstated.
Once you’ve exhausted all “conventional” methods it’s time to think out of the box. Guest posting will help you both grow your exposure through your content reaching more viewers and your contacts through partnering with sites that will act as hosts, making it one of the most efficient ways for promotion and therefore something to strongly consider getting into.
Used to write about games and gaming in general, but has since switched to testing and writing about web development software. Still plays a lot of games, just for the fun of it.