We all know about getting a cold call.
It’s early evening. You’re just sitting down to dinner – and then the damn phone rings. Someone you’ve never heard of asks you to buy something, or to complete a survey.
How do you respond?
I reckon you might be tempted to cut short the call.
The same applies to guest blogging. If a blogger has never heard of you, it’s much more difficult to get him or her to respond to your pitch than if your name is familiar.
Before you offer your guest post, take the time to get your name in front of the blogger. The bigger the blog, the more important this is. If you want to write for well-known blogs, it’s a good idea to spend at least four weeks on this connection campaign. Here are the steps:
1. Subscribe to the blog by RSS
If you subscribe by RSS, you’ll see as soon as a new post is published. Whereas if you just subscribe by email, there is a delay before you get notified.
2. Comment on every blog post
To ensure your comment gets noticed, aim at being one of the first ten commenters. (This is why you need to know as soon as a post appears.) Make sure you post thoughtful comments that add to the post topic, or pose good questions. If you want your comment to stand out, make it longer than other comments. On Goodlife ZEN, I once got such an interesting comment that I contacted the commenter and suggested he write a guest post. Yes, all it took was just one great (and long) comment.
3. Join the conversation on social media
Once you’ve found where the blogger hangs out on social media, join the conversation. Ask questions on Twitter, post to the Facebook fan page, reply to conversations. Make sure your contributions are valuable.
4. Ask the blogger for an interview
This step is optional but it’s a top notch way to be sure the blogger knows your name. Although he or she may decline your request, s/he will still be flattered and remember you when it comes pitch time.
After spending some weeks commenting and interacting on social media, you’ll know the blog well, and will be recognized as a top commenter. Write a friendly email telling the blogger why he or she is an inspiration, and that you would love to interview them for your blog. Don’t worry if you don’t get an answer. Remember, this is all about getting your name and blog in front of the blogger.
5. Write a great pitch
That’s the last step in the campaign. Many bloggers make it the first step and are then surprised that their pitches aren’t successful.
You may think that these connecting steps will take too much work. But in reality, a campaign like this will make it much more likely that your pitch is accepted.
Once you land a successful guest post, you’re likely to get more opportunities on the same blog. And not only that, one guest post can lead to others because you can include a link to a published guest post in your next pitches.
If you’ve studied the last two modules carefully, you’ve laid the groundwork for a successful guest blogging campaign. In Module 3 you’ll learn professional tips to craft your pitches and to write the posts themselves.
Author: Mary Jaksch