How to Secure Guest Posts on Large Publications (WSJ, Forbes & HuffPo)

Update: I received a few dozen emails asking for more details so I recorded a 30-minute video describing my process and the timeline:

We all understand the value of guest blogging. It gains you new exposure with targeted traffic, positions you as an influencer, and connects you to new publications and sites that are in your industry. Guest blogging is a quick and very smart way to bolster your brand and outreach efforts online, to say nothing of the excellent backlinks it can generate.

Backlinks, authority, reputation, popularity, traffic, leads, and SEO are just a few of the benefits the strategy can deliver. Back when it first launched, Buffer used guest posting to generate 100,000 new customers. In only 9 months.

But how do you go about doing it?

There are thousands of sites out there that “accept guest posts” but you know they’re not worth the time and energy. They need you more than you need them. I’m sorry, but I’m not looking to publish my hard work on a site that gets 100 page views a month, all from people within that company.

We all dream of pitching those big league sites and getting back a “yes.” Sites with hundreds of thousands or millions of pageviews and visitors.

I’ll tell you right now: it’s totally possible, and you don’t have to be a veteran of your industry to make it happen.

I’ve been fortunate enough to contribute to the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, HubSpot, Inc, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, and more, and no matter what the site, success comes from the same tactics and hard work.

Below is my playbook on pitching a guest post on virtually any publication. No matter how big or small, you need to treat every pitch with the same amount of respect you would want from someone who emails you.

Follow these steps carefully, and you’re going to land that big fish in no time.

Research, Research, Research

Before you even think about opening your email, take the time to research everything you can as thoroughly as possible. The big three are 1) your topic, 2) the site, and 3) the contact.

But – before you even do that – ask yourself a few key questions about a site:

• Does their audience align with your ideal audience? You want to generate traffic and quality leads from your efforts, so they’d better line up.
• Do they give writers a bio and link at the end or on an author page? Some do, some don’t. What good is a fantastic post if no one knows you wrote it or how to find out more about you?
• Is their audience engaged? Look for social sharing counts and relevant comments as evidence people are reading and connecting with the content.
• Do they share and promote their content? Getting your guest post on their Twitter feed or Facebook Page can increase its exposure exponentially.

If you can answer “yes” to most if not all of these, you’ve got yourself a winner. Time to choose your bait.

Research Your Topic

Start by checking out other people who’ve written similar articles or posts. There are very few subjects out there that haven’t already been written about ad nauseam. The trick is to come at it with a fresh perspective and appealing tone. See what’s working for other people first, and then learn how to be original with it from there.

A simple Google search using the ‘Past year’ or ‘Past month’ tool will show you some of the different approaches and angles others have recently tried. Obviously, the higher it appears on the SERPs, the more it resonated with readers.

A service like BuzzSumo can likewise show you the most popular posts – based on social sharing – for any topic or site, filtered by past 24 hours, past week, past month, past 6 months, or more.

You might even try Google Trends to see the popularity of any keyword relative to search volume, and across various regions of the world.

What’s fresh and engaging? What’s well past its prime?

Research the Site/Publication

This is important, especially in understanding lead-time (the time between a pitch or assignment, and the published piece). If you want to write an article that centers on Labor Day, you should be pitching it in July or even June, not the third week of August. There’s a degree of turnaround time that can make topical pitches tricky if they’re done last minute. Some sites avoid topical stuff altogether. You have to know that before you write your post and pitch.

Some sites publish an editorial calendar and/or lead-time guidelines to help the pitching process. Look for it using “site:example.com editorial calendar” or something similar.

You also don’t watch to pitch a blog post or article to someone on a subject they’ve just published. Check their recent posts, or use the “site:example.com [keywords]” search parameter or onsite search field to confirm.

Later, in your pitch email, we’ll talk about how you can prove you’ve done your homework by learning what they do and don’t write about, and how you can write something original that still works for their audience and style.

Virtually every site has guidelines for pitching. In magazines, you’ll find it in what’s called the Masthead. Here’s an example of HubSpot’s guidelines. For almost any publication or site, they’re just a query away—so don’t be afraid to ask Google for some help here, too.

Research the Author/Editor

Finally, make sure that you research the person to whom you’re pitching. If you’re writing to the editor, let them know which authors you especially like, and what pieces (from their section of the publication) resonated with you.

If you can’t be specific, they’re  going to see right through your B.S. Make sure you know the person, their work, and their style before trying to ask them for something.

Once you have the name of the individual, find the proper email address to send your pitch. It might be a generic one listed in the guest posting guidelines, it could be listed on each specific section or category page, or you may have to do some digging. A tool like Voila Norbert or Clearout can find anyone’s corporate email address for you, or if you think you know it, an email verifier can confirm for you.

But honestly, any publication that accepts guest contributions isn’t going to make you search that hard to find the necessary details. They’ll be front and center.

Get on the Radar

You’re working from the outside in, so it’s important to remember that while cold emails can be effective, they’re not always the strongest method for getting a response. Try to come up with a few creative ways to make your name more recognizable to someone. Warm up your initial approach as much as you can.

Social media makes this almost too easy.

Comment on a Post

Start by engaging in the comments. If you’re doing research on an author or site, you’ll be reading some of their stuff anyways. This gives you the perfect opportunity to slip in a thoughtful, engaging comment. Don’t just say, “Great stuff!” or something equally superficial. Try asking them a question and starting a conversation. Add your own insight. Create some value.

Those are the comments they’ll read and remember.

Reach Out on Twitter

I’m active with other users when they comment, and I’m especially active with Twitter users. My main goal is to try and be helpful, so I try my best to reach out to folks as often as I can when they have questions.

The above screenshot is the perfect example of someone who uses Content Marketer and wanted to know more about some technical aspects. If he reached out to me again, I’d probably recognize his name from the Twitter comment.

Comment, reply, retweet, or direct message with them. Ask a relevant question about something they said or shared as a way to (hopefully) get a conversation going.

Approach in Concentric Circles

Not everyone is equally accessible. There’s a hierarchy to these things. Just like you wouldn’t try to email Bill Gates if you had a question about the new Windows 10 update, you’re probably not going to reach the editor on a cold email.

The writer/journalist is the outermost ring, the editor is the innermost ring. In my experience, it’s a lot easier to reach out to a writer and have them ultimately introduce you to an editor later on. Be strategic about how you do outreach.

It’s About Creating Relationships

When you’re pitching, you don’t just want to reach out in a way that communicates your intentions as “one and done.” You want to form a relationship with that person that’s mutually beneficial. You have good ideas and insight, and they have a good platform. That’s something that can certainly be used more than once.

Maybe you share with them an interesting post, service, or tool that you recently discovered. Perhaps you comment on their recent article in a meaningful way. You could quote them in your new blog post, or point out a broken link with a replacement suggestion, or add them to a flattering list, link to their content and/or section…build the relationship. Make it all about them at first. Create value in connecting and engaging with you. Don’t ask for a thing (yet).

Don’t Pick Up the Phone

It’s always better to leave things to email. A phone call isn’t always the wrong way to go, but when it comes to building relationships and eventually pitching, email is most definitely the right choice. You’re busy, and they’re very busy.

Crafting the Pitch

First and foremost, you need to find the value-add. Your entire pitch will be informed by showing whomever you’re pitching what your piece brings to the table—and more specifically, how publishing it will benefit them.

Done correctly, it’s like you’re doing them a favor…without explicitly saying that. Maybe it’ll expand on one of their most popular pieces, or updates a good but older post, or fits their target demographic like an Italian-made suit.

What value are you giving them – for free – that would be insane to refuse? Highlight that.

You Don’t Matter

It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, except insofar as it qualifies you to talk about something. It’s not what makes publishing your work appealing.

What the person you’re pitching to really wants to know is what will your article do for them? What value are you bringing to their work by having them publish your writing?

Stop pitching yourself, and start pitching your work. Be confident in the subject that you’re writing about and the strength of the material you’re writing on. Sell people’s interest in it.

If you want stats, use a tool like BuzzSumo to get in the heads of readers. You’ll have concrete numbers to show for what’s resonating with people right now for a given topic. Angle, approach, format…give the people what they want.

Have an Attention-grabbing Subject Line

Subject lines aren’t as tricky as we make them out to be. The below example worked well because it’s a statistic that relates to something near and dear to my heart—growth hacking—and shows that the person knows who I am and what I do.

You don’t have to go more than 8 words or so, but don’t be afraid of being specific. Give the person you’re emailing some incentive to open without sinking to “clickbait” type verbiage.

A good subject line is clear, concise, and specific. It avoids spammy words, unnecessary punctuation (there’s never a good reason to use 4 exclamation points), all-caps, or being overtly promotional. It’s personalized whenever possible, and tested again and again to optimize and perfect.

Keep it Short

Don’t waste time on describing yourself, or even the exact details of what you want to write for them.

What the above example does really well is that it gets straight to the point in the first sentence. If I think the article has legs, then I’m going to look into who the author is, not the other way around.

The editor of a large publication like Forbes receives dozens or hundreds of pitches each day. Don’t waste their time with unnecessary information. Get to the point, and get to it immediately.

Be Confident

Don’t use language along the lines of “if you wouldn’t mind” or the dreaded “please.” Be confident. Likewise words like “believe”, “think”, and “in my opinion” have no place in a professional pitch. No one cares what you think. What do you know, and what can you do for them?

You know that you have something good, and you’re offering it to them if they think they can use it. If not, you’re going to move on.

Have a Strong CTA

If you’ve got a wishy-washy suggestion as to what they can do with your information, they’re probably not going to be sold on you. Really convince them that using your piece is good for them, their publication, and their readers.

The same person that had a great subject line also seemed to know something about CTAs. This clearly wasn’t their first pitch. It was successful because it outlined next steps, concrete details, and left the ball in my court.

Avoid generic, vague language. Try to stand out, be confident, and be original. Give them active next steps. That’s the recipe for a powerful and irresistible call-to-action.

Avoid The Sales-y Bullsh*t

This isn’t a spam email or an UpWorthy article, so don’t start by telling them what they think, how they feel, or using that emotional clickbait-y language that everyone loves these days. Start with facts, context, and the meat of your message, rather than some out-of-place generalization:

My reaction to this: Don’t tell me what I’m frustrated by! My opinion is my own, so starting off by telling me how I feel isn’t going to win you any points. Show instead that based on something I’ve written, it seems that I may be interested in x, y or z.

If your pitch reads like some cookie cutter junk mail addressed to “Occupant” or sounds like those awful late night infomercials that try to convince you that no one can pour from a jug of milk without the SpoutAssist 1000, you’re not going to land that guest post. Period.

Everyone – and that obviously includes editors – can smell salesy language and tactics a mile away. You’re trying to close the deal. It’s a sales letter in many ways. So sell.

Show That You’ve Done Your Homework

It’s okay to be flattering, especially—really, only—if it’s genuine.

This pitch works because it’s engaging, specific, and helpful. It’s also short, but doesn’t miss an opportunity to compliment. You don’t need to gush to make them feel appreciated—it’s just a matter of saying, “Hey, I like what you’re doing.”

(via Flickr.com)

Sending It

Make sure that you target one person at the site or publication, not five. If you do that, you’re just going to diminish your chances of getting it published. Either multiple people are going to assume someone else is handling it, or it’s going to get lost in the noise.

One pitch. One recipient.

If you pick one person, even if they’re the wrong person, they may ultimately send you to a person or department that’s better equipped to handle it.

Send it to a Name, Not a Title

Don’t address it to  “Dear Editor” or “To Whom It May Concern”. That’s the hallmark of the form pitch or lazy writer. If you can’t be bothered to track down the right name, I can guarantee they won’t be bothered to read any further.

Instead, use “Dear [Name]”. This gives you a chance to be specific, reference specific pieces of their work, and do extra homework to make it feel more personal.

And lest we forget, if you were following the other instructions, you’ll have already reached out to this same person on social media, and they should recognize your name at least remotely by now.

Follow Up

Follow up makes people nervous. You don’t want to be pushy, but you also know that inboxes can get stuffed. The Radicati Group predicts that we’ll be receiving an average of 94 business emails each day by 2018. Stuff can and does fall through the cracks.

Is there a professional protocol on exact days or hours? Honestly, it just depends.

For a little bit of clarity, check out this excerpt from the 2018 Writer’s Market:

Writer’s Market recommends reaching out at least three or four times before giving up. People are busy. Don’t spam them every day, but wait an appropriate amount of time between emails, and it’s okay to follow up more than once.

Kat Boogaard suggests waiting at least a week, and ideally just under two weeks, before following-up. Others may advise earlier or later. The key is to follow the site’s guidelines if they exist, and use your best judgment and common sense if they don’t.

Rejected? Repeat.

Don’t stop if you get rejected from somewhere. It doesn’t mean you had a bad piece, it means your pitch didn’t work for a wide variety of possible reasons. Maybe it wasn’t the right fit for that place, or it was the wrong time for that piece, or you caught the editor on a bad month—but maybe there’s another similar site that’s waiting for a piece like yours.

And don’t forget that a rejection from a particular site doesn’t mean they’re rejecting you, the writer. They didn’t want that one idea for whatever reason. Your next one may be exactly what they need next month.

Outreach is tough, whether it’s pitching a new piece or trying to create new contacts. Either way, you can’t be let down by the occasional – or even frequent – “no thanks.” Find the positives (at least they wrote back!), and remember that rejection is a big part of pitching. No one, no matter how good, reels in the big fish each and every time. There’s always “the one that got away.”

Shape your pitch to meet the next publication’s style and people, and try again. Eventually, you’re going to have the right bait in the right place at the right time, and that first one breaks you into a whole slew of new opportunities. One published piece on a major publication makes getting the next one that much easier, and the next one even easier. It’s a snowball effect.

Another great resource is Guest Post, a website devoted to providing you with the tools and resources to get on your dream site.

What about you? Have you tried pitching to the big guys yet? What advice would you share with those thinking of taking the plunge? Share your thoughts in the comments below: