Catching beats pitching.
For guest posting.
Baseball players feel differently.
Scanning my email inbox a few moments ago in overcast Opotiki, New Zealand, I want to share how to pitch guest post opportunities effectively. If you choose this route.
Hundreds of pitchers do a poor job reaching out to me. A few do a fine job.
The #1 idea to take with you: earning the right to guest post on rocking blogs takes time, energy, generosity, patience and some palm greasing (in some cases). If you are a Smart Sally or Wise Waldo, spending dough to procure a valued Blogging From Paradise course or eBook is the quickest way to help yourself and impress me. More on that with Tip #10. Bribing Biddulph? Nah; just grabbing something helpful and being generous.
1: Pitching Sucks
Although I will share tips below for pitching guest post opportunities…pitching sucks.
Trying to convince a stranger to accept your guest post wastes your time and energy. Ineffective. Inefficient. Mindless, in most cases.
Far more fun, enjoyable and prospering to catch guest post opportunities.
2: Catching Rocks
Receiving guest post invites is fun.
Catching rocks.
Create. Connect. Be generous.
Be The Hunted. Not The Hunter.
Over the long haul it is easier to field a high volume of guest post invites through your writing skills and friend network versus trying to pitch strangers.
3: GUEST Posting Means It’s Not Your Home So Follow The Damn Rules
You have no place to:
- debate guest posting rules
- fight guest posting rules
- try to get around guest posting rules
You are a guest. Remove your shoes before walking into my house. Follow my rules to be in the running for landing a guest post on Blogging From Paradise.
4: Ya Gotta Write Skillfully
Practice writing like crazy. Land guest posts like crazy.
Even if you are connected, no way in Hades you land guest posts unless you can write your rear end off.
Write 1000 words daily in a Word document. Trash the doc. After hitting 1K, of course.
Write, write, write, become a skilled writer, land guesties on the besties.
Suggested Reading: How to Find Your Writing Voice
5: Ya Gotta Mimic The Brand Voice On Some Level
Even though few write like me – most bloggers are sane – I accept guesties only from bloggers who write in a simple, clean, focused, easy to understand style. This is the Blogging From Paradise voice.
I reject all guest posts pitches heavy on stats aka outcomes. Not my brand voice. Buh-bye. Ditto for 10,000 word guesties. Our community appreciates blog posts; not the next War and Peace.
I placed 2 guest posts on Positively Positive with its 2.5 million member community because I matched the blog voice perfectly. Branding folks, branding. Gotta match your style with their style to land guest posts on authority blogs.
6: Ya Gotta Be Connected
As you move up in circles, top bloggers need to trust you to accept your guest post. We paid similar dues to be established pros, moving up in circles, earning our stripes, building our friend networks.
If you’re a lone wolf, you’re dead. Some fear, or greediness, or desperation is there, when you have no connections. Fear tells me to stay away.
Be generous. Help bloggers. Expect nothing in return. Get connected. Gain trust. Land guesties.
7: Persistence Wins
If it takes 2 years to land your first guest post on a top blog, that is 2 years well spent.
Be patient. Persistence wins in the guest posting game.
It takes time to build the skills to place guest posts on top blogs.
Good things take time.
8: Treat It Well Or Beat It
Treat the guest post – if you place it – as the blogger would treat a post. Or as you’d treat one of your blog posts.
Treating guest posts with love and care is an easy way to gain permanent guest posting gigs through invites.
Treating guest posts poorly goads bloggers to tell ya; beat it ya bastard!
I recall someone guest posting on BFP. He responded to zero comments. After 1 week I stripped his links. He claimed to be on vacay. I claimed to never see he added links. Buh Bye!
9: Be Nice
The way some pitchers email me, it’s as if I was considering inviting them into my house and they decided to take a steaming hot dump on the front lawn while giving me the finger.
You are asking to be a guest. Don’t be a prick.
Be nice. Be polite. Be generous.
Nice people stand out from the crowd of lame pitches.
10: Butter ‘Em Up
Buying one of my eBooks, audio books or courses is the quickest way to impress me.
Impressing a guy who receives hundreds of lame ass guest post pitches makes you stand out from the crowd.
Standing out from the crowd is one way to guest post on Blogging From Paradise
Homework time for tip #10.
Buy How to Land Guest Posts on Authority Blogs
I wrote the eBook to:
- help you land guest posts on authority blogs
- help you bribe me
Butter me up and snag a helpful read in the process.
What tips can you add guys?
Ryan Biddulph
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7 Comments
Hi Moss,
Thanks so much buddy. Following the rules is the easiest way to get placed for sure.
Ryan
Hi Sadhan,
This is the first step you need to take buddy:
https://www.bloggingfromparadise.com/how-to-get-featured-on-blogging-from-paradise/
Ryan
Awesome man. I have too many funny stories to share LOL. Maybe I will devote a post to these silly pitches though. Thanks Keith 🙂
You just awesome in writing Sir. I have also kept the opportunity of guest post in my blog. But I can’t see here is the scope. Do you allow guest post from a primary class blogger like me, sir?
Regards
Sadhan Pal
Hi Ryan,
When I saw the title of this post, I went ahead and shared it even before reading the article because I know that it is worth every bitbofnit and will definitely add value to my readers as well.
I love the idea of “follow the damn rules.” This is a remarkable idea because you want to house your content in someone esle’s property. The are rules that you must follow to be accepted.
You have to be skillful, connect with the blogger and get to know him/her before pitching.
In fact, I get people I haven’t interacted with ever before pitching me to host their content on my blog. I fine it awuful. Sometimes I give advice on how they can get their content on my blog.
All other tips here are amazingly fascinating, Ryan.
Thank you so much.
PS: I just published a new post on “how to improve your productivity as a work from him blogger.” I mentioned you in the article in the “Exercise Regilarly section” and link to 2 of your articles.
I will appreciate you to check it out. Thank you a lot Ryan!
I am committing these to memory. Thanks for the advice. Particularly no.3… Have any horror stories to share of people not respecting your house?
I left a thought.