Guest Post Pitch Email Templates That Work
Backlinks are a pillar of effective search engine optimization (SEO) and guest posting is one of the most popular methods of obtaining new backlinks. While it sounds simple, securing guest post placements consistently can be a daunting task for those without experience under their belt.
In this article, we’ll go over the fundamentals of guest posting, including benefits and how to run a successful email outreach campaign to secure guest posts. At the end, we’ve included effective guest post pitch email templates you can steal. If you already know the basics, feel free to scroll to the end and get started on your next campaign!
What is guest posting?
Put simply, guest posts are articles you or your team writes that are posted on other websites. Usually people will target websites in the same niche or industry so that there is contextual relevance in the eyes of readers and Google’s bots. The primary goal of guest posting is to earn backlinks to your website for SEO purposes.
If you run an email marketing agency, websites that might accept guest posts from you might include marketing blogs, technology blogs or business blogs that also share entrepreneurial or business advice. Subject matter experts are positioned extremely well to leverage guest posting, as they have unique insight and expertise about their field to share that publishers might not have previously covered in-depth.
Finding guest post opportunities may come naturally to some, but for those who struggle to find websites that accept guest posts, we recommend using SEO software like ahrefs or Semrush. The easiest way to use these tools to find guest post opportunities is by looking at your competitors’ backlinks, assessing which of their links came from guest posts.
3 Benefits of Guest Posting
Build Relationships with Industry Leaders
When you contribute an article to another website, you're putting yourself out there as an expert in your field. This helps you build relationships with other industry leaders and can open up opportunities for future collaboration.
Backlink Building
In order for your website to rank highly in search engine results pages (SERPs), it's important to have high-quality backlinks from other websites. Guest posting is an excellent way to generate these types of links.
Referral Traffic
If you're able to contribute an article to a popular website in your industry, you'll be exposed to a whole new audience. This can help you attract new readers and customers to your website.
Guest Post Outreach
Before pitching guest post ideas to a website, it’s important to do your research. First, you’ll want to check if they’ve published guest posts in the past. The quickest way to check this is to look for a “Write for Us” page since this means they have an editorial process in place to accept guest posts.
The next thing you should do is make sure they haven’t already written about the exact topic you want to write about. No one wants to publish about the same topic more than once, as this can be considered keyword cannibalization, which is bad for SEO. It’s best to pitch topics that are complementary to existing content, empowering their content library as a valuable addition for their readership.
After you’ve figured out who you want to write for and what you want to write, the next step is to find and collect contact information. While this can be done using automation software or email finder tools like Hunter, there’s no need to overcomplicate this step of the guest post pitch process. You can find contact emails looking at target websites or checking the About tab of their Facebook Page. If they’re a reputable website, it’s likely they have at least one public email address for you to get in touch with.
Finally, you’ll want to use an email outreach tool like Instantly to send out your pitch to all your target websites. Email outreach platforms will save you a lot of time and money, while improving your deliverability, avoiding spam folders and increasing open rates.
3 Guest Post Pitch Email Templates
If You’re 100% Sure They Accept Guest Posts
Okay, so let me paint the picture here. You’ve discovered a guest author bio on a recent blog post or maybe a website has a dedicated “Write for Us” page. Either way, you absolutely know they accept guest posts. Now all you have to do is write a pitch they vibe with and your content will be on its way to be published on their site.
Subject Line: Guest Post Pitch: The Ultimate Guide to {{nicheTopic}}
Hey {{firstName}},
How confident are your readers in their {{nicheTopic}} skills? Our specialists can help improve their competency.
We’d love to publish a guide on your site as an exclusive, revealing some of our most effective tactics that anyone can put to use.
Let me know if this is something your readers would benefit from, hope to hear from you either way.
Sincerely,
If Maybe They Accept Guest Posts
When it’s not clear that a website accepts guest posts or not, it never hurts to ask. While this may seem like it’s too direct, this is a winning subject line that has been proven to secure hundreds of guest posts.
Subject Line: Does {{companyName}} accept guest blogs?
Hey {{firstName}},
I'm Chris Tweten, a Canadian growth marketer. I do SEO for SaaS companies.
I was hoping I could submit a guest blog on {{nicheTopic}}.
This would include:
{{TopicSuggestion1}}
{{TopicSuggestion2}}
{{TopicSuggestion3}}
Let me know if this works for you and I'll get started on a draft!
Cheers.
Pitching a Complimentary Guest Topic
As we went over earlier, guest post pitches are far more likely to be accepted if they complement existing content. In many cases, these are topics that the publisher might have already considered writing about so it’s less work on their end to just publish your blog instead.
Subject Line: Thought Leadership on {{nicheTopic}}
Hey {{firstName}},
I'm Chris Tweten, a Canadian growth marketer. I do SEO for SaaS companies.
I’m not sure if {{companyName}} accepts guest posts, but if you do, I have a great resource that would be a perfect fit for your audience.
Not only is it a logical next step from your guide on {{nicheTopic}}, but it adds value to it and helps position you as an industry leader.
If you’re interested, just let me know and I’ll send over a draft for your review.
Thanks in advance!
Key Takeaways
Guest posting is one of the most powerful approaches to backlink building because it brings qualified traffic to your website, positions you as a thought leader and helps you build relationships in your industry.