Getting your post onto an A-List blog is one of the best ways to boost your traffic and increase your credibility. It’s also one of the best, if not the best, no cost promotion idea. Here’s a few tips to improve your chances of having a big name blog accept your guest post.
Send The Post With The First Email
Many smaller blogs will email the big blog asking if they would like to receive a guest post before actually sending it. While this may seem like proper protocol, your chances of getting your post published is much higher if you just send the post with the first email. A-List bloggers are very busy people and really don’t have time to play email tag. You can send the post in the email itself or attach it as a text or Words file. The easier you make it for the A-List to publish the post, the better.
Send Your Best Work
When submitting a guest post, always send your best work. I remember a while back when another blog made the claim that guest bloggers will never send their best work because they’ll save those for their blogs. It sounds logically but it’s simply not true. Sending a sub-par post won’t do you any good because it won’t get published. If you have an opportunity to guest blog for an A-List, then you better put your best foot forward because it’s your moment to shine. Your post will be read by a ton of people and they will judge you based on it. If they like what they read, chances are good that they will click though and read other posts on your blog.
Tailor The Post To The A-List Blog
You’ll stand a much better chance on having your post published by tailoring it to the blog you’re after. This shows you actually read and understand the A-List blogger’s target readership. You can also try and spin the post to appeal to the blog owner himself. Brennan Heyde’s post on What Wannabe Dot Com Moguls Can Learn From Gordon Ramsay is a perfect example of this.
Don’t Shop The Post
I have received guest posts where the blogger asked me to reply within x number of hours if I want to use it. Otherwise they will shop it to another blog. In every case, I let them shop it. This type of attitude shows a lack of respect. It also shows the above rule on tailoring the blog post wasn’t followed because if it was, the post wouldn’t be shop-able.
It’s OK to set a time limit on acceptance but don’t tell the blog you’re trying to get published on that if he doesn’t accept, you’re going to give it to someone else. Nearly 100% of the time, he’ll tell you to give it to someone else. I have received guest posts stating that if I don’t want it, let them know so they can publish it on their own blog. That is fine.
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These will probably help those who submit guest posts to you.
Do you have any guidelines regarding the “about the author” excerpt?
Consider “About the author” as your 30 second sales pitch. Put your best foot forward. Also, two links max.
What kind of links are allowed? Affiliate links?
Thanks John.
It depends on the blog owner. I only allow links back to the guest author’s blog.
I don’t think it’s an ethical move to drop an aff link into a guest post. That’s my opinion though.
Perhaps you can link to your landing page that promotes the affiliate product. It would be a good alternative. That way you can also get them to opt in to your list.
Not too ethical and not that smart either, really. It’s a lot more sensible to promote your blog and get people to visit there first. If they like it they may become regular readers.
Affiliate link in a guest post will just turn them off permanently.
Very helpful John both the post and the reply to d3so’s comment.
I think that 99% of people who ask to guest blog do not include their post. It makes so much sense to me to include it after I read what you said about it.
I would never have included it before but now I’ll do it.
Do you allow links within the text of the guest post or only at the bottom “about the author”?
Vance
Is there a character limit?
Just go through few guest posts and get an idea what kind of details John allow and how many characters are there on an average.
Yep, I suppose I will
Thanks for the tip John. About the author is where we can tell more about ourselves quickly and promote our site.
Thanks again John!
I think John should also add photo option so that Guest poster can get some face recognition as well.
John … you should think about it.
Good advice.John can think about that.
Hi John – good post with easy guidelines and I guess you will now get a ton more emails from people wanting to post on your blog. But, I wonder what percentage actually follow the guidelines in this post. Bet it’s not many!
I’ve never read these guidelines before and most others haven’t either. This is what John likes but I bet that other A bloggers have different preferrences.
John knows about the guest blog very well … hence we can expect this kind of great post from John.
what about blogs that do not yet have a new rank or like my blog, if I could get that opportunity?
I accept guest post based on the quality of the post, not on how new the blogger is.
That is very generous and it also makes sense. There are some excellent articles written by brand new bloggers.
If you will send post which is related to current market and have great tips than John will certainly accept that.
We saw many posts from a guest blogger which were really unknown to us.
Does it matter if the post is not in the vein of “making money online/internet marketing?”
Most of the bloggers accepted guest posts based on the quality of the posts.
Great article! Thanks for the tips, I may need to try this out sometime for my blog I just started up. Subscribed to feed
-Rob
My blog EarningDiary is also a new one.I also just started subscribed to my blog.
Don’t these A list blogs have a lot of people doing this anyways? I mean, my blog is not have a high page rank, so will people accept it then?
It is not your blog rank,it is your content that makes people to accept you.
Very good point about shopping. Don’t be afraid to follow up with them about whether they liked it or not (but don’t be annoying), and give them at least a week to make a decision. Made that mistake on this blog once and was quite embarrassed.
the most important part is trying without admitting defeat, as professional bloggers have high quality expectations, its pivotal to have backup posts in case your 1st one gets a red card!
Great post on guest posting. If I wanted to attract readers with say a multiple part post and it had to be my best stuff, would it be more enticing to add the first part of the series that gives value and builds hype, or better to give the ending away first, and have people go back to my blog to read the beginning bits?
Excellent article. I am in the process of this as we speak. Interesting idea with having the post already on the first email sent as the guest post. That seems way more efficient.
John,
Thanks for sharing this info. It’s very useful. There have been some wonderful guest posts on JohnChow.com and perhaps I will submit one in the future.
All the best,
Ian
Awsome info and guest posting here is what people will contemplate now, at least for a while until they start thinking about something else.
I believe Ian that you should go for it. Ian. I think you have some good stuff to share.
Vance
Maybe you can share a case study on one of your campaigns
Good idea!
I am also planning to submit guest post in this blog near feature.
John, thank you for your great tips. I see networking with big names is very important. Although I am a newbie, one of my goals is to have a guest post on yours. Will send you my best one in the near future.
Thanks for the insight. It’s funny, here I am with some negative thoughts about your opinions on setting a time limit as a response, but you are making tens of thousands more money than I am. Not to mention that your traffic stats and subscribers put mine to shame.
So, I’ve come to the conclusion that I should shut up and learn from you! I don’t know squat!
If someone starts issuing ultimatums like the offer to ‘shop it around’ I would try to help them do it ASAP. Not only is this showing a great lack of respect, consideration for others time frames and showing it hasn’t been purposefully written for my blog clientele.
And apart from all the above, as my Grandmother used to say “you catch more flies with honey than you do with Vinegar”
And lastly, anyone who does that is just plain rude and bad mannered. Personally, they are people to be avoided because, as my Father used to say “You are labelled by the company you keep”….
Great article! Thanks for the tips, I may need to try this out sometime for my blog I just started up. Subscribed to feed
You have a unique perspective on this topic!
Watch your inbox……some of your readers might try these out on you!
Really great and informative post John. I’m sure this will increase the number of emails and posts you get from people (great filler content) to space out your John Chow posts…looking forward to it…
Thank you john as far as I am concerned this is a wonderfull way to increase traffic without spending a dime.
That answers a lot of questions I had regarding guest posting here.One extra tip for guest bloggers. Write the guest post in the dashboard of your own blog, fully formatted, but without media. After you triple checked it (grammar, typos, fluidity of reading etc) switch to html view, copy and paste all in a simple txt document (NOT word, just a simple text editor) attach to email, attach media you want to have included to same email, send off and be patient
SY
That’s very helpful SY. The reason for not using Word for this is formatting issues. Text file is the best.
I’m a bit confused about the media part though. What do you mean by it, videos and stuff?
Vance
Yes, images, audio / podcats. Videos when already on youtube or similar you can code in. Actually you could also upload images to your own site and hotlink it from the post, SY
Hotlinking them from the post may create too many links which John may or may not object to.
I wish he’d answer my question whether he accepts links within the taxt of the guest post or just ast the bottom of it in the profile box.
I don’t mean affiliate links of course but just to the writers blog or images.
Vance
Sorry for the typos – text not taxt and at not ast.
Typing too fast and not reading things before pressing submit is never a good thing.
Thats a great point. Word adds all sorts of weird coding which causes problems when you just want the plain html text on your site.
This is great info for people trying to get their post on a top blog. I agree with the fact that busy people don’t like playing email tag and you should always include all the info in the first email so you don’t waste the bloggers time.
Really good info John….you always provide us with the most valuable information. Hey I’m having a contest on my blog you have the chance to win a Microsoft Zune, $50 Amazon Gift Card, or a $25 Amazon Gift Card check it out: http://www.growingupharvey.com/contest
Great post with excellenmt guidelines.
Only just starting out so need to hone my skills first but guest posting is something I would definitely consider to get exposure.
Good point about shopping as well. I would never have the nerve to get on the wrong side of an A list blog, I would need them more than they need me therefore would need to stay on there good side and try and build a relationship with them.
Many thanks
Simon
Content can be hard to create. I’d think offering a post of value would to the blog would be necessary.
Send the post with your first email? Brilliant idea. One of those so simple it’s pure genius kind of ideas.
Why didn’t I think of that. You just gave me my new weapon of choice in my quest for great guest post gigs. Thank you so much.
It is a brilliant idea and it will surely work with John.
It is also very revolutionary and some big A bloggers may consider it a bit pushy.
Trying it out will determine who it works with and who will get turned off.
Sometimes, pushy is a good thing!
Thanks for some very useful information John. I’m working on it…..
When it comes to guest blogs, content comes before anything else. Nuff said.
my thoughts exactly…not so mush where the author is from…
True. Although, I do get excited when A-list marketers post here.
yea its a great feeling to post on an A-list blog. You get great exposure.
Thanks John. I think the mindset we need to have is to help the A-list blogger help his/her audience. If you provide valuable content then people will naturally want to share it.
Yes, every blogger wants to have great content and if you can provide it you’ll be welcome to guest post.
That way both the A blogger and you will benefit from readers interest.
Interesting tips you gave there John. It’s also a win-win arrangement where the A-list bloggers get to choose and put quality content on their site while the contributing authors get a link back to their site.
=)
thank you for your valuable insight on this , john.
inevitably, i have come across many bloggers who were so anxious to have their guest post up by the shortest time fame possible.
However, one should understand that if you really interested in submitting a guest post within a specific blog site, you ought to know that many are doing the same thing as well. Wait and have patience, i’ll say.
as mentioned by john, you can go about ‘shopping’ your post but never expect the blogmaster to think they are at a lost. =\
as they always say, making money online takes time and effort..
cheers
Thanks for sharing this John. I’ve made a guest post here once and it really gave me nice result when it comes to traffic and generating subscribers as well.
Thanks for giving me an opportunity to post on this blog and looking forward for more guest posts. =)
Kind regards,
Gary
Interesting to read. It`s always hard and time consuming to write a good blog article. Once you put efforts in it, it`s good to know some tricks to raise the chance that your blog will appear online. Especially on the blogsite you want =).
BR,
Jelle (NL)
Thats some very useful information in case I ever decide to submit articles online. Thanks!
I also never submit guest posts.In future I’ll try to write for John.
Great post John. Do you mention about the copyright?
I can relate totally to email tagging. In a way them sending a good written post in the first email shows how good they at writing as well..
It is better to link to landing page that offers affiliate products.
Great post John,
I have not thought about guest posting, I use article marketing and people use that as content for the sites but you can not guarantee they while keep your links in.
best wishes
“I have received guest posts stating that if I don’t want it, let them know so they can publish it on their own blog. That is fine.”
John, that’s awesome, definitely a classy move.
I’ve published extensively in academia, and it’s just common courtesy to acknowledge a guest post post submission, even it if’s a “Not right now, but thank you for your submission.”
setting limit to the A list blogger??? that’s the last thing i’ll do… but for me, i need to polish my english before ending it to john…
No matter how good a post a new blogger submits to the A-list blogs, it is bound to get rejected atleast 90 out of 100 times.
Hmmm…i guess if you’re not trying to sustain a long term plan that might be ok, but it’s still whoring out chow’s site for possible income as opposed to website/ blog visibility and promotion.
Glad that you like it.
I wish John should apply it as soon as possible.