Ok, let me get two things out of the way:
1. Links STILL are the number one ranking signal that Google uses and will CONTINUE to be the number one signal of trust and authority that Google will use in their algorithm. Bottom line.. you need links to rank and you’ll continue to need them to rank for the foreseeable future!
2. You can STILL get authority niche links by guest posting and guest posting will CONTINUE to be one of the best ways to get kick ass links on authority websites that will pass juice, give you referral traffic, and help you build a brand (Yeah, yeah.. there are some amateur CLOWNS that will tell you branding doesn’t matter.. but don’t listen to them. They are broke and clueless.)
Guest posting isn’t hard.. as long as you aren’t a raging idiot when approaching websites that you want to post on. So many people just fire off a copy and paste message to any email address they can find. It’s like throwing a bunch of shit against the wall and waiting to see what will stick. Is this a good approach? No. It is a complete waste of time!
Chill. Get a Couple Kick Ass Guest Posts Instead of a Dozen Shitty Ones
Quality over quantity guys.. quality over quantity. Would you rather bang 3 super models or 10 fat chicks? Seriously. Ok, let me rephrase that. If you KNEW that your friends would find out.. would you rather bang 3 super models or 10 porkers!? Compare Google to your friends.. they are going to see. You better say 3 super models.
Use the same approach for your guest posting. Assume that Google is going to manually review every single post that your link appears in. You want them to see them and think “Ok, here is a link that occurs naturally and provides value to the reader” and doesn’t take any action. If they see a bunch of low quality crap (fat chicks) they are going to give you shit and probably slap the piss out of your website and hammer it with a penalty.
Just a FEW high quality authority links that are niche related can give you a huge SEO boost. A lot of people are so focused on link quantity but when it comes to guest posting just focus on locking down a handful of top links in your industry. You probably already know the websites you would kill for a link from. Those are your targets.
There Are 3 Ways to Get Guest Post Links:
1) Submit to websites that openly accept them
There are going to be websites in every niche that openly accepts guest posts. You can find “write for us” pages or “guest blog” options usually in the footer of the website. Some quick Google searches can pull up niche relevant sites that allow you to easily submit guest posts.
Make sure you read through the site first and check out the quality. If you see any low quality content or outbound links that aren’t relevant don’t post on the blog. Quality.. you only want quality links.
If a website does pass your initial sniff test then get a professional to write you an article that is going to get accepted. If you can’t write then pay someone to do it right. Imagine if you waste your time putting together an article and the website kicks it back and tells you it sucks. You just wasted a bunch of time. Really good content doesn’t cost $5. Not even close. If you want good links you have to use good content. Just because a website makes it known that they accept guest posts doesn’t mean that they will accept shitty content.
Make sure you let the writer know where the article is going to be posted so they can write it in a tone and feel that the website will gladly accept. Little things like this go a along way in helping guest posts get accepted. Also, don’t get greedy when it comes to links. Most websites that openly accept guest posts will have terms and most will allow one link. Don’t try to test them by trying to slide an extra one in. They might tell you to go pound sand.
Do it right and then the next time your content will get published even faster. If a website notices you give them really good content that their readers like every time they will welcome your posts as often as you want to submit them.
EMAIL TEMPLATE: (KEEP IT SIMPLE & TO THE POINT…don’t waste their time)
..
Hey (Name),I was just reading (post title) on (website name) and I noticed that you accept guest posts. I do a lot of writing over at (your site) and I would be more than happy to submit a piece. I have a couple great ideas in mind but I am open to suggestions. Is there a particular topic that you feel your readers would benefit from more?
End it with a question. That increases the chance of them responding. If you don’t hear back within 48 hours send a follow up. Remember, they are openly welcoming guest posts.. so don’t be afraid to follow up quickly.
2) Seek out contacts via outreach and ask to submit a guest post
This is where people fail miserably. They write a generic pitch and send it to every email address they can find. What do you think the blog owners and website owners do when they receive these copy/paste pieces of crap?
THEY DELETE THEM! Every single time. These websites get pitched to death every single day and they can spot a copy/paste request a mile away. You HAVE to put some work into a blind outreach. You have to make it sound so authentic and take some steps to ensure that the person reading it knows that you took the time to actually type out the request.
How?
Well, actually type it out – yes a new one for every website you are going to pitch. It is the only way to make it sound genuine.. by actually being genuine. Wow, what a ground breaking concept right!?? People are so lazy that they will skip this advice and just copy/paste until their fingers are numb. But guess what? They still won’t get any guest posting opportunities.
I’m not going to go over how to find the contact information for a website.. there are plenty of guides online. When you do track down the owner make sure you identify him or her. Address the email to them. I get so many freaking spam emails a day and guess how they all start out? “Dear sir”.. every single one. If I see a email starts with “Dear sir” I trash it without even reading it because I have no interest in that crap!
Address the email to the owner and reference the website. If you say “I want to guest post on your website” it sounds like a blanket pitch that you also sent to 50 other websites. Take the 10 seconds and mention the freaking website you want to post on. Tell them why you want to guest post.. and DO NOT mention that you want a link. That is the easiest way for them to delete your email. They know you want a link. You don’t have to remind them.. act like you have done this before. Asking for a link tells them that you are clueless.
So many people pitch guest posts with a topic already in mind. Want to improve your chances of getting the opportunity to guest post? Ask THEM what they want you to write about. You should be an expert in your niche right? Well then you should be able to write a guest post on any topic they want.. or your writer should be able to. Offering to write about any topic they feel would benefit their readers will open up many more doors than just telling them what topic you want to write about. Make it about them.. not about you.. and watch how many more opportunities are offered to you. The key is to not be selfish…
EMAIL TEMPLATE: (KEEP IT SIMPLE & TO THE POINT…don’t waste their time)
Hey (Name),
I was just reading (post title) on (website name) and I really (connect to the article – say you agree with a certain point or even ask a question). I do a lot of writing over at (your site) and I was wondering if you were currently looking for any additional content for the site.
I would be more than happy to write a guest column (don’t use the word guest post – reeks of SEOs) and if you were happy with the performance of the content I would be open to becoming a regular contributor for you. I actually have several topics in mind that I believe your readers would love, although I am open to your suggestions as well.
Is there a particular topic that would be of interest to you?
End it with a question just like the first example. That increases the chance of them responding. Refer to it as a guest column.. not a guest post. This makes you sound more like a journalist and not a link thirsty SEO 
3) Establish relationships.. AKA: learn how to bribe editors and bloggers
And now we come to the most effective way of getting the best authority links.. by BRIBING. I’m not even going to talk about getting links on Forbes.. Huffington Post.. Tech Crunch.. Venture Beat etc.. because there is only one way.. and that is to pay. Don’t waste your time trying to pitch a “guest post” on those websites. You want links there? Get ready to do a bank deposit or send Western Union! No traces. No refunds. Cash baby.. CASH!
When I talk about bribing here though I am talking about bribing owners of niche relevant websites.. and when I say bribe I don’t mean cash. Here are five bribes that you can use:
Links: If you have a quality website then you can offer to give them a link. If they bite on this offer you know they are going to let you guest post on their website. This is when it pays to have a strong authority website. You aren’t going to open any doors with a shitty website.. but if you have built it correctly and it has strong metrics a niche relevant website should want a link from you. This is just another reason to build a quality website. It makes link swaps so easy to get done. Give a link and get a link. Not rocket science here guys.
Expert Q&A: Offer to include the website in an expert Q&A style post that you will publish. This involves basically no work and you can end up getting a lot of guest post opportunities from each of these. Think of one single question relevant to your niche and ask the website owner to answer it. Tell them to make it a few paragraphs and you will link to their website and also one of their personal social media accounts. This makes them happy because they get a link and they might also increase their social followers. If you have 8 – 15 experts do this you get a huge piece of great content and a bunch of guest posting opportunities that = links.
Content Roundup: This will require you to do a little bit of work BEFORE you ask to guest blog. Pick out all of the websites that you want to guest blog on and pick one post from each site and include it in a content roundup post. Just include a little intro of a few sentences and then the post title from each site linked to the article. Then, reach out to each website and let them know that you included their content in your roundup. Then offer to write a guest post for them. If your website is strong enough they will be happy to have received a link and mention that they will welcome your offer. This isn’t going to work if you have a shitty affiliate website.. you need a strong site. If you were in their shoes would you want a link form your website? If no then don’t try this. If yes then hit it hard.
Social Media Mentions: Do you have some large social followings? If you do start to mention the websites you want to guest blog on. Retweet their tweets and share their Facebook posts. This will put you on their radar and when you reach out to them you can mention that you really enjoy their content.. and they will remember you as the person that was sharing the shit out of it. You have been doing them favors by sharing so now they will be more open to granting your guest post wish. If your social media profiles are REALLY strong then make sure to mention that you will share your guest post on your social accounts, driving traffic back to the website.
Comment Boosting: Start to comment on all of the websites that you want to guest post on. Don’t just post pure shit and spam.. put some thought into it. Remember.. you want to look like the expert.. not just a spammer drooling over a possible link. Create meaningful conversations in the comment section. Good comments encourage others to leave comments and the increased engagement has a positive impact on a website. If you spend some time helping the comment section the website is going to want you to stick around and allow you to start guest posting. Make sure that you use your real name, website, and email address when commenting. That way the site owner becomes familiar with you and your website. If your name rings a bell when you send in your guest post request it will greatly improve your chances.
EMAIL TEMPLATE: (KEEP IT SIMPLE & TO THE POINT…don’t waste their time)
Hey (Name),
I am putting together an expert Q&A piece of content for (your site) and I would love to feature you in the piece. Would you have time to answer a simple question for me?
The first outreach email needs to be simple. Entice them with your bribe offer and end it with a question.
Now, when they respond:
Hey (Name),
Great to hear from you! If you could answer the following question with a few paragraphs that would be great!
Q: (your expert Q&A question)
How would you like me to credit your response? With a link to your website or a link to your site as well as your social profile?
Asking that last question guarantees they will reply fast with the info. When they all respond fast it means you can throw that Q&A piece of content together quickly.
Now, once you post in to your blog reply and ask for a guest post:
Hey (Name),
Thanks again for participating in our expert roundup post. It is live and can be seen here: (link to the post on your site)
We included a link to your website and also linked out to your Twitter profile. Hopefully you see some nice referral traffic and gain some new followers from the exposure.
Are you looking for new content for your website? I actually have a really good topic in mind and I would be more than happy to write a guest column for you. Would you be interested in hearing about it?
Now.. even if they don’t usually accept guest posts they aren’t going to say no because you just gave them a link. They feel almost obligated.
Using the bribe techniques above are the best ways to get a guest post opportunity. When you do it correctly the website you want a link from:
- Will feel that you really do feel their site is an elite website because you took the time to include it in a roundup or Q&A post
- They will get some referral traffic from you as long as your website is legit
- They get to say they were featured on your website.. go ahead and stroke their ego.. whatever it takes to get that link amigos!
- They get a link from you. Don’t forget.. they are trying to get niche relevant links just like you are.. remember the good old days of link swaps? This is the modern day version.
When you have them all warm and fuzzy you hit them with the request. They will be less likely to turn you down if you just gave them something of value. There are plenty of “bribes” that don’t include actual money. If you have stacks of money burning a hole in your pocket go after the major sites.. but most people are on a tight budget so the bribes listed above are more reasonable.
There are many ways to get guest post opportunities. This is just the beginning.. what approaches have you used successfully and what approaches failed? Let’s discuss what works and what doesn’t. This is the kind of discussion that helps everyone here.. As always I hope you enjoyed the read guys and your feedback is welcomed! Until next time..
