Guest Posting On Large Publications In 3 Painless Steps

Tirelessly spinning your wheels on how to become a highly sought after expert, even if you're new to your industry?...

Stop spinning, put down the wheel and listen up!

You’re already an expert.

You just need everyone else on the planet to know this too.

One of the many ways, that helped me get known as one...is guest posting. Something about those "Featured In" logos on your website, that makes you look legit and YOU got something worth saying --even the big players want to hear.

I’ve broken down this painstaking process of how to land the guest post in 3 painless steps:

 

1. Do Your Research

Let’s be clear. Your pitch to the editor’s isn’t about your service or product you’re trying to sell or a press release for your upcoming event. It needs to add to the existing conversations happening on their website, something that adds a new perspective or twist.

Guest posting on larger websites are a great avenue to promote your work (if allowed within their guidelines) but you need to write with their needs in mind first.

How are you adding value to their platform and audience?

Remember, you want their audience to become your audience and if you’re not meeting them where they're at...you lose.

Whether your pitch is accepted or not...

You want your content to share something the reader doesn’t already know, a new way of doing things or an opinion they’ve never considered before.

Their needs come first, your needs are secondary.

Research Strategies:

• Follow the publication's social media channels and see what they post daily.

Not everything on the website makes it to social media, that’s because they decide what they believe to be share-worthy. You want your post to be share-worthy, so study what is shared/liked on their social feeds.

• What is featured on their home page?

Usually, what is featured is rotated content with previous high engagement. Or again they consider these articles to be highly favored by their audience. Study these.

• What gets the most engagement?

Use this website: buzzsumo.com to see what naturally gets shared across platforms.

2. Create Killer Headlines

Next to your research, comes down to creating a click-worthy headline.

If you don’t nail this: do not pass go, do not collect $200

Consider this the gatekeeper to your content. If you can create enough curiosity, excitement or controversy around your headline you have granted access to your content. People will click to read further.

Larger publications know how crucial a compelling headline is, they research, have a team and data centered around it. You should spend the same amount of time on this, as your content, otherwise writing it would have been in vain. You and 5 of your closest friends would have read it, but that doesn’t count --now does it?

Play around with this formula to become a headline assassin: (I even used this formula for this article)

Number or Trigger word + Adjective + Keyword + Promise

How To [Land The Guest Post] On [Large][Publications] in [3 Painless Steps]

3. Make Your Content Compelling

Here’s how you create pitch worthy articles. Understanding, CONTENT IS KING.

How many times have you heard this?? Well...it's true, very painstakingly true. It's the unique content that get views/likes/shares, therefore it's the unique content that lands the guest post. But unique content takes time and we don't like how much time that takes...do we?

No, we don't.

 

How do you create epic content and be loved for it then?? I got you!

A. What question, do you get asked a thousand times by customers in your business? This is a key topic point to write on, they're practically handing the content to you! Give your best advice, create a how-to article or do a tutorial post.

B. What about your industry frustrates you? Think about the things you wish others would stop doing, speak more on or tell the truth about. This writing prompt can give you some really drool-worthy content, write that ISH.

C. What's the most popular article on your own site? Re-mixing/re-purposing content you already own (blog posts, newsletters) is brilliant and less time consuming. If you have previously written articles, you know the publications audience could benefit from --there ain’t no shame in dusting that bad boy off and pitching it.

WRITING FOR LARGE WEBSITES IS A GAME CHANGER!

How game changing? Put you on the map & magnify your thought leader presence, overnight "changer".

Even if you're in the early stages of existence, you don't have to wait until you establish more credibility. The courage to send your pitch lies in your message. Know exactly what to say, how long, and what to include when you email editors. Stop psyching yourself out, submit your guest post idea and LAND IT!