Guest blogging is a great way to establish yourself as an expert your field and can bring more traffic to your blog through search engine optimization by increasing the number of inbound links to your site.

But, only if your guest blogging pitch succeeds in getting your guest posts accepted.

I receive numerous guest blogging requests each and every day, and I'm sad to say that 99% of the pitches are a complete waste of my time to read and the potential guest blogger's time to write.

With that in mind, here are the mistakes I see made most often in guest blogging pitches and what can be done to improve those pitches.

Guest Blogging Pitch Mistakes

1. Failure to Notice “Guest Blogging” Links

   On this blog, there is a “Become a Guest Blogger” link which leads to a form, specifically constructed to help me approve guest post pitches more quickly.

   Most guest bloggers fail to look for these links, let alone use them, and therefore send their pitches by email.

   Much of my email tends to go directly to the SPAM folder, especially those with the Subject line, “Article Contribution”, which as you can see in the graphic below, remain unread.

   

   Pitches sent through my guest blogging link, have the subject line “Guest Blog Submission” and ALL of which I DO read.

2. Targeting Blogs Not Relevant to Your Topic

   As much as this blog is about business – Internet and affiliate marketing business opportunities in particular – it does NOT lend itself out to promoting Australian lending companies. One of the recent pitches I received desired a link to the site listed in the graphic below.

   Nor does this blog deal with credit cards, debt consolidation, mortgage financing, insurance policies, dating or any of a number of irrelevant topics proposed by potential guest bloggers.

   Research the blogs you target for guest posts to make sure that they deal with the specific topics relevant to both their and YOUR blog.

   

3. Write in English…

   … or in the language of the blog you are targetting.

   Here's a proposal that I received the other day. My dad was Polish, but unfortunately, I did NOT learn the language, nor do I have a blog in Polish. Duh.

   Witam!

   Przejrzałem Twoją stronę internetową i postanowiłem napisać, aby wyjaśnić kilka szczegółów dotyczących mojej możliwej sponsorowanej publikacji tutaj. Chciałbym współpracować z Tobą w postaci publikacji artykułu. Proszę o informację, jakie stawki obowiązują u Ciebie w takim przypadku.

   Z góry dziękuję za odpowiedź i pozdrawiam!

4. Using a Pre-Formatted Message

   I must assume that someone somewhere on the Internet has sold a guest blogging package with a formatted pitch, as I've received far too many with exactly the same text.

   Sorry to say that the folks who bought this package wasted their good money because the message does NOT convince any blog owner who does real business on the Internet to pay any heed to their emails.

   Here is the standard message that they send…

   

5. Adding Contacts to a List without Permission

   Adding blog owners to a list without their permission is against the law.

   When I see ‘if you don't want to receive any more emails, just click here, or “unsubscribe”, I know I've been added to a marketer's list without my permission.

   These idiots are lucky that I just delete their emails and don't report them.

   

6. Not Including the Post/Post Idea

   So, you want to guest post on my blog? Not telling me what you plan to write about merits an quick trip to the trash bin for your email.

   When you don't include a post idea, a potential blog article host can only speculate that you plan to write about sea turtles, heavy equipment or some other topic completely irrelevant to their blog.

7. Suggesting Unoriginal Topic Ideas

   This blog has been in existence in one form or another since the beginning of the century and I've written most of the content myself. Because it has a distinct theme – Internet and Affiliate Marketing – I've written numerous articles about those topics with different slants.

   When a potential guest blogger suggests article ideas such as…

   • “How to Make Money Online”;
   • “How to Make Money Online as an Affiliate Marketer”;
   • “How to Make Money Online as Blogger”

   … I know they …

   • Haven't read my basic guidelines about ‘original posts';
   • Are (duh) trying to target ‘how to make money online' as a keyword; and,
   • Don't have the savvy to post a guest article on my blog.

8. Not Including Links to Past Articles

   Any blogger who accepts guest posts on their site needs to see what you've previously written for either your own blog, or have been accepted as a guest blogger on other sites, to confirm that your writing style is up to par. Which brings me to the point…

9. Having Poor Command of the Language

   If your pitch includes grammatical or spelling errors, don't expect potential guest post sites to even respond to your idea.

10. Harassing Your Potential Hosts

    Sending a pitch once is fine, especially if it's done through proper channels.

    But repeatedly sending pitches to bloggers when they haven't responded the first or second time to your emails, is a sure way to get your emails marked as SPAM, which is really bad for your online reputation.

In summary, guest blogging is a good way to become known in your industry and build a larger audience. However, your guest blogging pitches need to be thought through carefully as part of your blogging business plan. Don't take shortcuts and respect those whom you pitch, as links from their well-known blogs may be links to your success.

Do you have comments, questions about guest blogging or experience with it? Please share by leaving a comment!

Cheers,