Guest posting is an important part of blogging that most bloggers seem to neglect after they consider their blogs “established.” However, guest posting is something you should do on a regular basis regardless of how established your blog is (unless you are Mashable).

Why Guest Post?

Guest posting is not just for the immediate traffic you receive, it helps you reach a new audience, you gain valuble back links and expand your network. Often bloggers only value the traffic, while others only care about the page rank and the value of the backlink while forgetting all the other benefits of guest posting.

Guest posting is an excellent way of expanding your readership, but only if done correctly.

How To Ask To Guest Post?

Bloggers receive a dozen guest post requests a day and most just ignore them. I receive about 15-20 guest post requests a day and ignore almost everyone of them. So how can you make sure to at least get a reply?

There are a few things you can do to increase your chances of getting a response.

1. Do NOT use a standard email template! Trust me, bloggers can tell if it is just a generic email and often they ignore it.

2. Try to connect via social media. Try to connect via Facebook/Twitter/G+ etc. Socializing via these mediums will help you stand out.

3. Keep it short. Do not write a long story about your life or blog, just keep it short and to the point.

4. Mention your blog with a link. This way the recipient will know you are not some sort of marketing agency trying to promote their client.

5. Links to other guest posts. If you have successfully published guest posts on other blogs provide a few links (2-3 is enough).

6. Offer post exchange. Sometimes they might be more open to the idea of a post exchange.

7. Do NOT include a post with the initial email.

Following the above guidelines will increase your chances of getting a response, of course there is no guarantee. If you do not get a response, you can send a short follow up in about a week. Also, try to ask via a social media site if they have received your email, just make sure it’s private.

How Increase Your Chances of Getting Your Guest Post Published. 

So you were lucky enough to get a response and now it’s time to submit the guest post, remember not all guest posts get published. Here are a few things you can do to increase your chances.

1. Make sure it is unique and not a re-write, a spun article or a previously published article. Bloggers run almost all of their guest posts through CopyScape and will catch you.

2. Make sure it is relevant to their audience. If you are guest posting on a parenting blog, do not write about how to upgrade your kitchen.

3. Link within the blog. Try to place a few relevant internal links.

4. Do not place more than 2 links back to your own blog and never try to place your link before an internal link. Nobody wants the reader to click on a link and leave after the first sentence.

5. Do not target specific keywords that the host maybe competing for. They will just remove your link.

It is always a good idea to ask about their linking policy if they don’t have published guidelines.

Don’t look at these as rules but rather as “guest post etiquette.” If you have a well written post and follow these tips, there is a very high probability that your posts will get published.

After Your Guest Post Is Published.

So submitted your guest post and it is finally published, what should you do now? After the post is published you really don’t have to do anything if all you cared about is just getting the post live. However, if you want to expand your network and get the most out of your guest post, I suggest you do the following:

1. Email the host and thank them for publishing the post

2. Promote it through social media

3. Respond to comments and try to interact with the readers in a polite manner

4. Link back to the post from your blog

Feel free to add more tips in the comments section.