Guest blogging is a popular way to share your expertise with others and launch into new professional territory.
How to find guest post opportunities?
There are many reasons people choose guest blogging as a strategy for their business, including the following:
1) It can significantly increase visibility throughout the industry you are targeting.
2) Guest writing represents a chance to establish credibility and authority in your field.
3) It’s easy to find relevant blogs or publications that will publish your work for free or at a low cost.
4) The opportunity exists for guest posting to aid future client relationships and create an organic conversation about content marketing strategies.
5) It provides valuable experience; you can learn about the blogging and publishing process while producing content.
Before you get started, it’s essential to understand how guest blogging can benefit your business or your organization.
In the post below, I’ll outline five tips for finding guest post opportunities. I’ll also include a few examples of places you might want to pitch to get your start and potentially launch a career in writing as a side business idea for yourself or as a means of building an additional stream of income in your entrepreneurial life.
Figuring out where to start with guest posting can be tough.
I’m going to assume you already know why guest blogging is a good idea.
But now you’re wondering where to find opportunities. I’ll cover that in this post, but first, I’ll share the five tactics I use to identify and land guest posting opportunities.
1) Look for Industry Associations
These organizations are made up of people who love their niche and are eager to learn more about it. They welcome guest bloggers with open arms and don’t mind if you approach them with general ideas or questions based on your audience’s interests.
To find associations in your industry, simply Google “your industry association.” Here is a list of associations arranged by category: http://www.associationdirectoryweb.com/article-5-how-to-become-an-association/.
2) Look for large blogs that cover your industry
This is a more specific search. If you know the name of a large blog in your industry, try searching for it with the words “blog” or “column” followed by “your industry.” Here are some examples:
Small Business Trends = http://smallbusinesstrends.com/
Entrepreneur Magazine = http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/?p=2025
3) Look for sites that rank within your category on Google
This might not be the most glamorous way to find guest post opportunities, but it’s a good place to start. Use Google to search for “your industry” (or the particular topic of your article) + “blog.”
Possible search results will appear on the right side of your screen. Sort the results by date or relevance by clicking on one of the tabs at the top of the page and then looking down at one of the results.
If you find a blog that ranks well in your industry, try to find the contact information on the site. Most big sites have “Contact” or “About Us” links. You can also look for contact information in Google search results, but you’ll need to read all of the blog posts after your search results show up on the page in order to find it.
4) Look for guest blogging opportunities posted by other bloggers
There are two great places to start looking for guest posting opportunities. These sites will help connect you with bloggers who are looking for contributors and/or offer free advice on how to become a successful blogger.
You can search Google for “blogging” or “how to blog” plus the name of a specific blog.
5) Look on Facebook for other people in your industry who are already guest posting
This is a relatively new tactic, but it’s a great way to find bloggers and others in your industry. Another great thing about this technique is that you don’t need to be in a particular industry to find people you can contact. You can still reach out and ask anything related to blogging, content marketing, or small business ideas.
This strategy works well because you don’t have to join an association or identify a specific blog that might be looking for guest posts.
