Guest Post Outreach: How to Easily Secure Dozens of Guest Posts

Guest posting has been a staple strategy for as long as link building has been around.

It’s simple, scalable, and effective.

And, with the advent of ChatGPT, producing content has never been easier.

So, the main challenge of guest posting is the outreach part: both prospecting and pitching.

In this article, we’ll be looking at:

• Two of the most effective ways to do guest post outreach that have netted us over a hundred of guest posts over the past 3 years
• How to check your prospects’ sites for keyword gaps to quickly come up with guest posting topics

Let’s get right into it.

Link building cheat sheet

Gain access to the 3-step strategy we use to earn over 86 high-quality backlinks each month.

Download for free

The Benefits of Guest Posting

But before we delve into finding guest posting opportunities, let’s look at what makes it such a long-lasting strategy.

First up, websites that accept guest posts usually advertise it with a “write for us” page.

But, even if they don’t, chances are the website might still be up for your contribution with the right approach, which we’ll be discussing further below.

Most people write guest posts for the sweet backlink in the author’s bio.

But what if we told you every guest post can net you not just one, but upwards of 10 backlinks from different websites?

That’s right.

You can use your upcoming guest posts to collect links for your link building partners and set up safe, 3-way link exchanges.

Some websites allow a single link in the content, others – 3, 5, or more.

And while they typically limit you with a single link to your own website, this usually doesn’t apply to other external links to reputable websites.

In fact, most guest posting websites encourage you to link to other resources.

So, by spending an hour or two writing a quick guest post, not only will you be building credibility within your niche, you’ll also be generating a whole bunch of quality links along the way.

Now, onto the nitty-gritty of guest posting outreach.

Guest Post Outreach Strategy 1 – Look for “Write for Us” Pages

The first approach to finding guest posting opportunities is very straightforward.

All it takes is Google search with a single search operator: “intitle:”write for us””.

This tells the search engine to only pull pages that have “Write for us” in the blog name.

Then, simply add your niche keyword, and it’ll find relevant websites that are actively seeking out guest contributors.

For example, if your niche is SEO, just type in ‘intitle:”write for us” + SEO’ into the search bar, and voila – a list of every website in your niche that has a write for us page.

To find even more results, we recommend experimenting with the search string, also running searches with “intitle:become a contributor”, “intitle:become a guest author/” “intitle:”guest blogger guidelines”, etc.

Most of the time, these pages will have an email address ready for you to ping or a form that’s just begging for your pitch.

Go ahead and bookmark he potential targets that catch your eye for outreach (or add them to a Google Sheet).

Pro tip: avoid pages that advertise themselves as a paid “guest posting service”. All of your guest post collaborations should be natural and free of charge. Additionally, we encourage you to conduct your own outreach versus hiring a blogger outreach service/link building service.

Now, if you’re thinking, “But wait, isn’t there a tool to speed this process up?” – you’d be right.

Respona’s dedicated guest post outreach campaign template will help you automate the entire process – from prospecting to finding contact information and even personalization.

To use it, simply fill out two fields: the general topics that you’d like to write about, and a recent example of your writing.

The first field will be used to set up your search strings while the second will be pulled straight into your outreach email sequence.

When ready, click “Use this template” and you’ll be brought in to the campaign editor.

The neat thing here is Respona’s already ahead of the game with an email outreach sequence lined up for you, but don’t forget to add your personal flair – we’re talking spam checks, unsubscribe links, and nudging that follow-up timing to just-right.

One more thing we recommend doing is adding an AI variable – the Icebreaker.

It’s more than just a simple “first_name” – it’s an actual, AI-powered variable that will generate a unique personalization for every single guest post opportunity in your campaign.

Respona comes with 2 AI variables by default – the Icebreaker, and a “P.S”, but you’re also more than welcome to create your own, custom AI variables and modify your prompts.

Here’s the full guest post outreach template:

At the end, let’s also add an unsubscribe link to provide our prospects with an easy way to opt out of further communications if they’re not up for a collaboration.

When ready, click over to the next step – finding guest blogging opportunities.

Respona will automatically apply the search operators mentioning the most common “write for us” page title variations along with your target keywords, and run several Google queries, at the same time.

Click “Continue”, and set some additional SEO filters to only pull websites that meet your criteria.

Click “Continue” again and you’ll see that the contact search is already set up for you. Respona will automatically seek out the content and SEO managers of websites that you want to get links from.

In the next setting, you can provide additional guidelines for your AI variables.

We like ours to use short, choppy sentences with minimal use of commas, and keep the reading level at around 5-th grade.

After all, emails are meant for quick communications, nobody likes a novel in their inbox.

And, of course, not all of our recipients might be native English speakers.

Last but not least, let’s enable the last option and turn the campaign into a recurring one.

Respona will then automatically re-run the search every few weeks and keep our campaign topped up with fresh opportunities in case a new website publishes a “write for us” page.

Click “Run automation”.

As soon as you start it, Respona will do three things at the same time:

1. Find guest blogging opportunities for you
2. Find contact information associated with these websites
3. Personalize your emails with AI (as long as you have used AI variables)

As soon as results are found, they will start populating your screen in real time.

You don’t need to wait for the whole automation to finish – once at least some results are found, you can move right on to the next step – review & launch.

Here, all variables will be populated – both regular and AI.

All you really need to do is review each email to make sure everything looks good.

But, despite the power of artificial intelligence, we still recommend giving your emails a personal brushup.

Additionally, Respona pulls LinkedIn profiles of your prospects, which provides you with another touchpoint to further increase the success rate of your campaign.

Before sending any emails, Respona will also perform a few pre-launch checks to make sure you’re not trying to reach out to anybody that’s on your unsubscribe list (or anyone that you have recently contacted), as well as triple-check your emails for empty placeholders.

From here on, all that’s left for you to do is monitor Responses and write your guest posts!

While we can’t help you with the actual content creation, Respona’s shared Inbox will bring all of your inboxes into a single interface, so you no longer need to juggle several tabs just to check your emails every day.

Speaking of several inboxes, we recommend running your campaigns from multiple sender emails set to a reasonably low daily email limit (15-45/day).

This will help you maintain high email health while not missing out on any volume.

Let’s move on to the second guest blogger outreach strategy, which is less reliant on cold email outreach and leverages existing partnerships.

Guest Post Outreach Strategy 2 – Keyword Gap Pitch

Picture this: You’ve found a site that’s like a hidden gem, no ‘write for us’ sign, but trust me, that doesn’t mean they’re not game for a good guest post.

What we like to do is wrap up a link collaboration, and afterwards pitch a guest blog to our partner with the keyword gap pitch.

This is where you’ll need the help of an SEO tool like Semrush or Ahrefs.

Plop your prospect’s website into the Keyword Gap tool of either Semrush or Ahrefs.

We prefer Semrush because it auto-picks their competitors for you. With Ahrefs, you’ll have to find them yourself.

Then, hit “Compare” and navigate to the “Missing” tab.

Here, you’ll find all of the keywords that your prospect’s competitors are currently ranking for, but they are not.

Pick a few and come up with several article ideas that would help them plug that content hole.

Then, write your pitch!

In it, make sure to include a screenshot of the missing keywords as a proof that you’ve done your research.

Here’s an example of an email template that has landed us dozens upon dozens of guest posts on sites that didn’t openly advertise that they are open to guest posts:

Now, why does this approach work so well?

First off, you’re dishing out value on a silver platter.

You’ve done your homework, you’ve found the gaps, and you’re ready to fill them with quality content that’s got SEO juice.

All of these things are solutions for your prospect, not just a plain old “Hey, I’d love to write for you!” – we’re all tired of these pitches.

Also, with a smart keyword gap pitch you’ll often be able to completely skip the queue that plagues websites with “Write for us” pages and get your guest blog post published within a few days rather than weeks or even months.

The keyword gap strategy is our favorite guest post outreach strategy out of the two simply because of how effective it is, and it eliminates the need for separate guest posting outreach efforts, allowing us to leverage existing link collaborations and turn each one of them into a guest posting opportunity.

Link building cheat sheet

Gain access to the 3-step strategy we use to earn over 86 high-quality backlinks each month.

Download for free

Now Over to You

So, there you have it – two of the most effective guest post outreach strategies that have netted us over a hundred guest posts over the course of the past 3 years.

Need help with your own guest posting outreach?

Don’t hesitate to start your 14-day free trial with Respona to see how we can help.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is guest post outreach?

Guest post outreach is a content marketing strategy revolving around the process of contacting bloggers or website owners to propose writing content for their site. This is often done as a way to build relationships, increase your website’s exposure, and gain backlinks for SEO purposes.

How do I find websites to guest post on?

Start by researching blogs in your niche with active audiences and content relevant to your expertise. Utilize search engines by typing in keywords related to your niche followed by phrases like “write for us” or “guest post”, or use social media and networking to identify opportunities.

What should I include in my guest post pitch?

Your pitch should be concise and personalized, indicating that you’ve read their content. Include a brief introduction, why you’re a good fit for their target audience, a few topic ideas with an outline, and your writing samples or a link to your portfolio.

How do I write a guest post that gets accepted?

Understand the host blog’s theme and audience, ensuring your content is relevant and adds value. Craft high-quality, unique, and well-researched content that aligns with the host’s guidelines and style. Engaging headlines, a strong introduction, and actionable content will improve your acceptance rate.

Can guest posting help improve my SEO?

Yes, guest posting can help with SEO by generating high-quality backlinks to your website, which can improve domain authority. However, ensure you focus on writing valuable content for reputable sites, as search engines like Google have grown adept at identifying and penalizing low-quality or spammy link-building tactics.