Pitching to Bloggers: How to Get Your Guest Posts Accepted [+Template]

The status quo of outreach (don’t do this!)

Before we get started, here is a quick example shared by one of our clients as a reference point. Here’s what a run-of-the-mill pitch looks like:

The mistakes may seem small, but in many cases are the difference between getting a positive response and not.

With this example in mind, let’s get started.

The link between blogger outreach and SEO

70% of consumers prefer learning about a brand through relevant articles rather than ads, which is one of the reasons why guest posting is key for brand awareness. When done right, it’ll also help you be perceived as a trusted authority in your field.

Still, the juiciest benefit of guest posting comes from an SEO perspective for two main reasons:

• Link building develops trust and authority in the eyes of Google and other search engines—if respected sites link back to you, that confers trust
• For competitive keywords, your can assume your competitors have already nailed their on-page work, leaving backlinks as the primary differentiator.

It’s vital to remember, however, that not all links are created equal.

After living through several generations of Google’s algorithm updates, we can confidently say that in 2021 your backlinks also need to be real and contextually relevant.

Why most paid links don’t work

When embarking on your link building journey, don’t fall into the trap of believing it’s all about the DA. The truth is that most sites offering paid placements violate Google’s guidelines—even at the higher end of the DA range.

This includes:

• Links from Private Blog Networks or link farms specifically created to game Google’s algorithms
• Websites created for the explicit purpose of selling guest posts, rather than engaging readers
• Any site which openly solicits contributions, “write for us”, or similar.

The rule of thumb is that backlinks must be real, relevant and reliable. You want links from real sites with real readership, that are contextually relevant to your niche, and that don’t disappear after a few weeks.

If you’re in the education sector, for example, you should be going for EDU backlinks. If you’re running a crypto project, you want links in high-trust blockchain blogs. And so on.

And the only reliable, repeatable way to get these links is by pitching.

8 tips for pitching to bloggers & getting guest posts published

When pitching to bloggers and other publications, you should focus your efforts on emails that give you the highest chances of success. It might seem obvious, but we’ve seen so many SEO agencies base their blogger outreach strategies on bulk emails.

Here are eight tips to give your pitch the maximum chance of landing.

1. Never send low-effort, bulk pitches

It’s alluring to save time by writing a single email and sending it to dozens or even hundreds of blogs, right?

Unfortunately, that’s a one-way ticket to the trash can. Not only because that’s where bloggers will drag your email, but because you’ll eventually stop reaching their primary inboxes as you’ll quickly be marked as spam.

Bloggers and editors behind high-profile blogs and websites receive countless pitches per day (let alone other emails!). How is a generic one going to catch their attention?

Using email automation tools can be helpful, but you have to be very careful. Nobody wants to be pitched by a robot. As a general rule, your link building strategy should focus on quality over quantity: pitch to bloggers individually and in a personalized way.

2. Find the right blog for your client’s industry

Once again, specificity and relevance over numbers. If your client sells mountain bikes, stick to publications about the outdoors, for example. This both maximizes the chance of your pitch being taken seriously, and also of Google looking favorably upon your link.

A handy way of finding websites that are relevant to your clients and are actively looking for contributions and guest authors is to Google:

"your industry/core product" blog

And then when you’ve found a few sites, check if they have featured similar posts in the past with:

site:theblog.com "your product"

In this way you can search each specific site for posts relevant to your company or product—and give you a good idea of whether or not they’re likely to accept your pitch.

You can then use domain authority checkers like Ahrefs or Moz to check the site’s metrics, including DA/DR and traffic.

3. Check the actual blog

We can’t stress this enough: You need to actually read the blog.

Browse the latest blog posts, see if they’re relevant, not spammy, and that the site passes the sniff test. You should also check that recent posts are indexed by Google:

site:theblog.com/some-recent-post

If this query brings up no results, it means the post is not in Google’s index—meaning this blog may not be a good target for outreach.

Not only will you kickstart genuine conversations, but you’ll probably catch the attention of the editors and bloggers to whom you’ll be pitching later.

4. Come up with a relevant but fresh article idea

If you’ve followed our advice up to this point and selected a real, relevant publication, they aren’t going to accept any old article—you’ll have to put in some work.

The trick here is to strike the right balance between hitting their niche and offering something novel. You want a post that:

• Matches the main topics of their blog and are therefore relevant to their readers, and
• Fills a gap or is interesting and unique in some way.

Search their website (if their internal search box doesn’t cut it, use a Google site: query) for inspiration.

Always remember that bloggers, contributors and webmasters want to make their own lives easy, so you want to pitch something high quality that slots into their existing workflow.

You’re unlikely to land a topic that’s completely outside of their niche. At the same time, though, you should avoid suggesting sub-topics that have already been tackled before (e.g. ‘How to create a social media strategy’ if that blog already has an article titled ‘The ultimate guide to social media marketing’).

5. Always check a blogger’s pitching guidelines

Before firing off your proposal, check if there’s any published editorial or pitching guidelines.

Many blogs that rely on freelance contributors or offer guest posting opportunities also include a page on how to approach them.

Whilst we don’t recommend posting anywhere with an overt “Write for Us” page lest you fall afoul of Google’s guidelines, it’s always worth looking to see if there are any specific requirements. Sometimes these instructions appear on their contact page.

While many of them are fairly standard, it’s always worth checking for specific topic requirements, word counts, limits on links inside articles, and so on.

6. Remember: it’s about them, not you or your clients

Before you begin pitching to bloggers, start with a mindset shift from ‘asking them to do you and your client a favor’ to ‘offering them value.’

Unfortunately, this is something that many business owners get wrong: they get in touch asking them to ‘please, publish my article’ as if the blog were some kind of charity.

Are you confident that the guest post idea that you’re providing will benefit the blogger and their readership? Because, if you’re not, they’ll definitely be able to tell from your email.

You need to keep in mind that bloggers are busy and working towards growing and maintaining a loyal readership.

Paradoxically, the ones you want to talk to most are often the ones who will have least time and interest in your pitch.

They’re not there to do you a favor by publishing your guest post, and they most definitely haven’t got time to explore options together.

Focus on saving your prospect time and energy. This is the trick to get your cold emails noticed when pitching to bloggers.

7. For a successful pitch, craft a personalized email

Now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty. Always strive for a cold email that’s short, clear, and personal:

• Keep your subject line to the point: if this doesn’t make a blogger want to open your email, they’ll never see your pitch. Something like ‘Article idea for [blog title]’ is always a versatile option. You could also personalize it right from the start with ‘[blogger name], here’s an idea for [blog title]’ or generate curiosity with ‘you haven’t blogged about this topic yet, right?’
• Get their name and contact information right: you’d be surprised at how many times agencies put off bloggers by misspelling their name or that of their business
• Show that you know them and have read the blog: start on the right foot by giving them a little tasteful shot of flattery. For example, you could mention that you’ve been reading their blog for a while (if you’ve been commenting too, they’ll probably recognize your name), found out about them through a mutual connection on LinkedIn, or—even better—say how much you’ve enjoyed their blog post on a specific subject
• Explain how this guest post will benefit their blog and reader: convey the value that this guest post will bring to their target audience, why they’d find it useful, or how you’ve identified a gap in their content that you can help them cover. Remember, they’re usually looking for more traffic and readers—tell them how your post will help them with that.
• Prove why you are (or your client is) the best person to write it: establish authority by positioning your client as the most qualified individual or company to tackle this specific topic
• Always triple check your spelling and grammar: first impressions matter, and this goes beyond getting their name right. If your email is poorly written and contains grammatical mistakes or school-level English, can you really expect this blogger to trust you with writing an entire guest post for them?
• Try using local and relevant industry-related lingo as well as the correct English spelling (e.g. -ise instead of -ize if pitching to bloggers in the UK)
• Consider time zones before pressing ‘send’: you want your email to appear in bloggers’ inboxes during their workday or right before it starts. If necessary, schedule your email for sending later.

8. Follow up wisely

Popular bloggers and editors are busy, have tons of other things to work on, and can genuinely forget about emails from time to time.

Unless their guidelines specifically state otherwise, it is always good to send a follow-up after a few days, but always be polite and professional.

Don’t get emotional or point out overtly that you’re unhappy you still haven’t received a reply.

Instead, you could acknowledge that you know they’ve probably been super busy and just wanted to see if they got a chance to review your blog post idea.

This is also a handy opportunity to restate its benefits. Even better, try to add some more value to the exchange and tell them something you didn’t tell them before.

Finally, don’t be afraid to change medium! If your pitch still hasn’t received a reply, find the right phone number on their website and give them a call to see if they received and read your email. A phone call often shows you’re serious, and rises you above all the low-effort pitches they will be receiving.

Try this template for pitching to bloggers

As a starting point, try using the following template:

Hi ___ [blogger name]

I really enjoyed your recent article on ___ [blog post topic].

I’m writing to you because I work for __ [business name] and I had an idea that I think would be perfect for __ [blog name].

[your blog post idea]

Since it tackles a topic that you haven’t covered before and ___ [establish why your client is the right person to write it], I’m confident that it’d be incredibly useful/appealing/interesting for your readers.

Given the current interest in [topic], I also think this would be great way to increase your readership among [new niche].

Let me know what you think.

Sincerely,

[Full Name]

Remember, the key is being sincere, helpful and also persistent.

If you spend the time and effort to find well-qualified target blogs and pitch something that is genuinely useful for their audience, you are guaranteed to land some strong backlinks and begin building authority for your brand.