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As some of you already know, one of my guest post was featured last weekend on Pro Blogger. Since then, I have received a few emails from readers asking me questions such as:

• How does it cost to guest post on ProBlogger?
• How do you pitch a post to [any] Pro Bloggers?

While I answered these questions by email, I thought all Piggy Bank Pie readers would benefit from this information.

How Much?

Let’s start with this one. So far I have published guest posts on many blogs, but especially on John Chow dot Com, ProBloggers, Blogging Tips, SEO 2.0 and Mixed Market Arts. First, I have NEVER paid to publish a guest post. Second, I would NEVER pay to guest post. Third, if you are asked to pay for a guest blogging gig, leave the room and go someplace else. I have develop friendships with a few bloggers and some recently published articles on Life Hacker and Zen Habits. None of them have paid to post. To tell you the truth, I use guest blogging to publicize this site and especially, the Writing Services. But these days, I get paid for most of my blogging gigs.

How To Pitch

Ideally, the best way to pitch a guest post is by email. If your only option is a contact form, then we’ll need to use a different strategy. Let’s talk about the email option for now.

First and foremost, before you even think about pitching a post to a top blogger, you need to write your guest post. Seriously, I cannot stress how important this is. Top bloggers are VERY busy, some of them are writing many posts a day and managing multiple blogs and web projects. So it’s important that you don’t waste their time.

Not-To-Do List

For new bloggers looking for a first guest blogging gig, here’s what you shouldn’t do when dealing with A-list blogs:

1. Question For You
Don’t email a Pro Blogger to simply ask if he or she accepts guest posts. Same for Contact Forms, don’t waste their time with this question.

2. One At A Time
Never submit a post to more than one blogger at a time. I can understand that you are hoping to see your post online as soon as possible. But that’s not how you play the game. Write a list of all the blogs that could potentially publish your post and sort them in your preferred order. Take your first pick and concentrate on this one for now.

3. Top Quality
If you don’t think you are submitting your best post ever, forget about it. Try when you are confident that you’ve got killer content on your screen.

What To Do

Before you even think of sending out your post to a Pro Blogger, show it to a blogger friend, or someone you trust that could give you a second opinion.

Now that you are ready, let’s get to the facts:

1. Email title
If for instance the title of your post is The Guest Blogger’s Guide To The Blogosphere, then use this as your email title:

Guest Post: The Guest Blogger’s Guide To The Blogosphere

This way, your email will stand out from the junk in the blogger’s inbox

2. Personalize Your Email
It’s important that the Pro Blogger feels your post was submitted to him or her personally. The reason for that is very simple, bloggers have policy for publishing content that is exclusive to their blog.

3. Cut the crap
When emailing the blogger, go straight to the point. Here’s an example:

Hello John, would you be interested in this guest post? I wrote it especially for your blog.

4. Relevant Experience
If you have previous and relevant experience, your email could take this form:

Hello John, would you be interested in this guest post? I wrote it especially for your blog

You can read one of my previous guest post on Blogging Tips.

Make sure the link points directly to your guest post.

5. Pasting Your Post
Here’s how I would recommend to embed your guest post into the email:

Hello John, would you be interested in this guest post? I wrote it especially for your blog

You can read one of my previous guest post on Blogging Tips.

Best Regards,

Patrick

piggybankpie.com

##### TITLE: The Guest Blogger’s Guide To The Blogosphere

##### STARTS:

Paste your post here between the Starts and Ends brackets.

##### ENDS

By the way, don’t tell a blogger that you are waiting for his confirmation before pitching the post to someone else. It’s not really elegant.

6. Patience
At this point you have done everything you need, now you have to wait for a reply. Even though you are anxious about getting a response, there’s very little you can do.

Professional bloggers usually reply quickly to these requests. Replying to a guest post proposal is the least they can do, even if they pass on the proposal. John Chow refused the first post I sent him because the topic was about making money online. He told me he preferred guest posts to cover blogging tips. I had absolutely no problem with that and came back with another proposal that he accepted right away.

7. Pitching Via a Contact Form
If this is your only option, here’s how to do it. Take the very same approach as described above and paste a link in the contact form inviting the blogger to read your guest post on a hidden page of your blog.

Summary

Being active as a guest blogger is one of the best thing you can do for your blog. It is very efficient to increase traffic and RSS subscribers.

Have you tried guest blogging yet? Do you have something else you would like to share?

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