Guest Blogging Opportunities in 2021: What’s Changed?

Online selling is thriving in the new normal. Brands that offer engaging online experiences that can replicate in-store purchases have the power to win over even the most finicky...

Anissa Maligat
Anissa Maligat August 5, 2021

Online selling is thriving in the new normal. Brands that offer engaging online experiences that can replicate in-store purchases have the power to win over even the most finicky consumers.

As more and more businesses “go digital”, you’ll need a digital marketing game plan to take full advantage of the upsurge in online shopping. Adapting your business to the new normal and shifting your strategy can help you attract your ideal customers, promote your brand, build credibility, and expand your reach. 

Crafting guest posts is a great way to stay competitive and grow your online presence. But you might be wondering, “What is guest posting and how can it help my brand get noticed?” Insightful guest posts are helpful and educational. So if you write quality content that can impress your customers, they could subscribe to your blog and check out what you have to offer. 

In this blog, we’ll be covering the basics of guest posting: what it is, why it’s important, and how to find guest blogging opportunities.

What is Guest Blogging?

Guest blogging (or guest posting) lets you write relevant content and publish it on another website. As a guest blogger, you can:

Crafting guest posts shows that you’re an expert in your industry. Your content will help you build that authority and introduce your business to new audiences.

But you don’t always have to be the one doing the guest posting — you can also have other professionals write for your blog. This way, you can share new perspectives and content with your readers. And it works the same way as publishing a guest blog: you can get more visitors to your site.

How Has Guest Posting Changed?

During the early days of guest posting, blogs could be published with poor content as long as it had the right link. But now, content quality has changed and clickbait articles with generic content won’t appeal to a reader browsing their social media feed. 

As a result, contributing to reputable blogs requires thorough planning. For example, some bloggers link with fellow bloggers through guest blogging, making it a great way to build brand authority. As for content, guest posting isn’t just about the quality or number of backlinks. A good guest post offers quality and value.

To paint a clearer picture of the changes, here are a few ways guest posting has changed:

Engagement Matters

In today’s content-saturated world, engagement is more important than before. So aside from making guest posts, make sure to promote your content on social media. By making noise about your content online, you’re drawing more attention to your brand.

Bye Bye, Blackhat

Black hat tactics in guest posting can range from publishing duplicate content to irrelevant posts — basically any tactic that will get a link published. Thankfully, the decline of blackhat practices has become another welcome change in guest posting this 2021. Other examples of blackhat tactics include keyword stuffing, link buying, or including unnatural links in a post. 

Quality Over Quantity

Guest posting used to be just a fallback where people could accept pitches from third-party sites so they could fill their site with content they didn’t want to write. It was more about the quantity than the quality of the content. But these days, bloggers only accept appropriate content pitches for their sites. For example, accepting content with links to gambling sites could have a negative impact on a webmaster’s site.

Use of Tracking Tools

Marketing analytics tools are being used everywhere, and it’s not just when crafting guest posts. Tracking tools, after all, make it easier to single out content that can drive more organic traffic to a site. Some metrics that these tools track include social media shares or guest post views. Using analytics tools can help you refine your content strategy for optimal results.

What Do Website Editors Want in a Guest Post?

Editors receive a lot of content pitches every day, so yours should stand out. Let’s take a look at what editors want in a guest post.

Relevant, Non-sales Pitches

Editors are bombarded by proposals with promotional, irrelevant, or recurring content way too often. That said, a refreshing, original pitch will help you win editors over. Keep it relevant and short so you get noticed.

Multimedia Content

In its State of Digital Media report, content marketing firm Influence & Co. highlighted some interesting data on multimedia content. To summarize:

If the data teaches us anything, it’s that multimedia guest posts are in vogue. So when crafting content, make sure you incorporate infographics or videos. After all, multimedia content is a great way to demonstrate your authority and increase engagement.

New Perspectives 

We’ve seen it all before. A blog that rehashes the same ideas you’ve seen from other articles you’ve read online. When looking for new guest post opportunities, make your content unique and bring a new perspective to the table. Instead of just jumping on the bandwagon and adding nothing to the conversation, your pitch could face rejection. So think beyond the box and make your piece insightful.

The Right Length

Influence & Co.’s research also found that the most-shared blog posts have an average word count of 986 words. So make sure you follow guest post guidelines and make sure your content is between 900 to 1,000 words. After all, these types of blogs are a lot more readable and shareable. 

Where Can I Find Guest Post Opportunities?

Finding blogs where you can post your content is where guest blogging opportunities start. Here’s a checklist of what you should look for in a website:

Below we’ve provided a list of how you can identify new guest posting opportunities.

Search on Google 

Google is always a good place to start. The search engine lets you search for anything under the sun, so you can easily find guest post opportunities online. So conduct a keyword search — and don’t forget to include niche-related keywords in those keyword phrases, too.

Any of those keywords should help you look for web pages related to guest posting.

Research Influential Guest Bloggers

Are you always on industry-related blogs, reading up on the latest trends? You’ll probably notice how these websites feature articles from prolific guest bloggers. You can type the names of these personalities followed by “guest post by” on Google to see the sites they’ve written for. That way, you can get a list of what sites to pitch your content to.

Forging connections with a guest blogger in your niche can also help you land guest posting opportunities. For example, they can introduce you to bloggers who’ve published their articles.

Track Competitor Backlinks

Looking at the backlinks of your competitors and conducting competitor analysis is another good way to find guest blogger opportunities. Those links can lead you to websites that accept guest posts. Open Site Explorer by Ahrefs or any other tools with backlink analysis capabilities to view competitor links and guest articles.

Browse Social Media 

Social media is rife with guest blogging opportunities. Bloggers and guest posters share their articles on these platforms, so remember to keep an eye out for these posts. If you’re on Twitter, try searching for “guest post”. You should see Tweets about niche-related blog posts or articles, with links to the sites that they’re published on. 

How Do You Write a Guest Blog Post?

Once you’ve got the green light from a website editor, working on your guest post is the next step. But how do you come up with a compelling article? Here are a few tips.

Comply with Guest Post Guidelines

Site editors hold up standards before deciding to publish a piece so make sure you comply with all the requirements. Guest post guidelines usually cover the following:

Take time to familiarize yourself with the rules before sending your content pitch. Don’t hesitate to reach out to the editor if you have any questions.

Focus on Your Niche

As said by Mark Twain, “Write what you know.” You’re free to explore different topics from time to time to cover what’s trending but it’s better to focus on your niche and write about industry-related topics. After all, it’s the best way to boost brand credibility and make your website’s search engine rankings go up.

Showcase Your Style

Keep in mind that when you’re writing for a different site, you’re writing for a different audience. And your audience doesn’t know who you are yet. That presents a perfect opportunity for you to communicate with empathy and showcase your messaging. So impress your readers with your unique writing style.

Keep it SEO-friendly

When writing guest posts, remember that you’re also writing for SEO. Here are some best practices to follow:

Add the Right Backlinks

It’s common practice to include a website link to your guest post. But don’t forget to include links to authoritative sites, as well. Those links can help you build credibility, especially if you’re citing relevant data from your industry.

Lastly, don’t forget to include an internal link in your article. Your internal link could be another blog post or web page on the site that you’re writing for.

Follow Google’s Guest Posting Guidelines

Google has set the following rules to help guest bloggers write and submit ideal guest posts. To summarize:

Share Valuable & Insightful Content

Guest posting can help you showcase your expertise to new audiences, build a more credible brand, and gain more attention. But for this to work, you’ll need informative, relevant, and valuable content.

If you’re planning to dive into guest posting, Growth Rocket offers content marketing services to get you off on the right foot. Start working your way to guest blogging success. Get in touch with us.

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