The Ultimate Guide to Guest Posting for Travel Bloggers

Get noticed.

Did you know…

Guest posting is a proven method for improving your website’s traffic and search engine rankings?

Probably.

But it’s also one of the least understood and poorly executed methods for generating traffic.

Many bloggers don’t follow the three simple steps to success with guest posting… and quit before they see results.

But if you do it smart… keep at it… and write your ass off… you’ll start to see results.

I should know.

Take a look at the screenshot in Google:

972 and counting…

972 pages from guest posting!

Now I can’t say all of these results are relevant  (there may be another Adam Costa guest posting out there) but I do know that I’ve posted on hundreds of blogs.

During this process I learned a lot. And guess what? It all boils down to three simple steps which are…

1. Prospect

There are three reasons to post on someone else’s blog: build your credibility, increase traffic and improve your site’s authority to rank better in the search engines.

But of course, not all websites are created equal. Some will deliver more traffic than others will, while others provide greater SEO benefits.

So how do you find the best blogs?

To do this you will need two tools: the SEO Toolbar and SEOMoz toolbar.

They’re both free Firefox plug-ins, which is incredible considering how much time it will save you.

Here’s the SEO toolbar:

SeoBook Toolbar

The SEO Toolbar will give you an estimate of a site’s traffic (monthly uniques, above).

Don’t take this number too seriously, however, as they’re notoriously low.

I’ve found multiplying this number by three usually gets you close to the real number. For example, if the toolbar says 10,000 monthly uniques, it probably receives closer to 30,000 or more.

For this reason, I don’t like posting on sites that have less than 10,000 page views per month. Remember, you will only a very small percentage of site visitors will click-through to visit your site, which is why you need to go after high-traffic blogs.

The next is to measure how authoritative a website is to Google. The SEOMoz Toolbar measures a domain’s authority (DA) on a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being the highest.

You can see it here:

SEOMoz Toolbar

Keep in mind the scale is logarithmic, which means it’s easier to go from 20 to 30 than it is to go from 70 to 80.

Most smaller travel blogs have a domain authority (DA) between 30 and 50, where bigger dogs like Nomadic Matt, Gary Arndt and Vagabondish are in the 60s.

I prefer to post on websites with a domain authority of at least 50, though if you’re starting out you can go as low as 40. However, if you like a site and it seems like it’s making progress in terms of traffic, links, etc… by all means pitch them. You can always grow together.

Let’s use Vagabondish as an example. Here’s what I see:

Oh goodie…

We see here Vagabondish has a domain authority (DA) of 64, and receives 30,000 unique visitors each month. Of course, the real traffic number is much, much higher (I’d estimate around 150,000).

This means a well written guest post will land me valuable traffic and links for SEO value. It’s no wonder I’ve posted on this site several times.

Not sure where to find travel blogs?

• Here’s a list of 150 travel blogs.
• Here’s the Technorati Top 100 blogs (general) and travel section.
• Some lower ranked ones are also here and here.

That should get you started.

Next, I highly suggest you create a spreadsheet and include the following:

• Domain (e.g. www.trekity.com)
• Domain Authority
• Contact Info (either email, phone or contact form URL)
• Date contacted
• Date post was submitted
• URL of your guest post once it’s published

2. Pitch

Now that you’ve compiled a list of travel blogs, it’s time to create a killer pitch.

Sending a cold e-mail is the hardest way to get accepted, though it does work. Depending on your pitch, expect anywhere from 5-20% success (professional linkbuilders get around 50% in some cases).

If possible, try to start a conversation with the blogger beforehand.

For example, if you notice a typo on their blog, send an e-mail pointing it out. When they respond, you have an opening to suggest a great idea for an article (though this still may be too soon).

Another way to engage bloggers are through comments. Leave thoughtful comments and bloggers will take notice will (by the way, I love comments!).

A third option is to engage them on Twitter, Facebook… whatever.

So how do you word your pitch?

The following is a template that I’ve used with some degree of success. Keep in mind you do need to personalize it:

Hello NAME,

First off, your post/tweet on TOPIC was hilarious/awesome/perfect. I really like [enter a point or two here which relates to their content].

And it got me thinking.

You see, my name is YOUR NAME and I’d love to contribute to WEBSITE NAME.

Here’s a few ideas I have for a relevant guest post:

POST IDEA #1

• BULLET #1
• BULLET #2
• BULLET #3

POST IDEA #2

• BULLET #1
• BULLET #2
• BULLET #3

POST IDEA #3

• BULLET #1
• BULLET #2
• BULLET #3

Qualifications

I’m [INSERT QUALIFICATIONS AND LINKS TO OTHER POSTS YOU’VE WRITTEN]

If you’re interested, I am happy to write something during the next week and send it to you - or if you have another topic you’d like to see covered, I am more than happy to write that as well.

To make things easy for you, I’ll submit the finished article in HTML with images, so all you’ll have to do is copy, paste, and publish.I appreciate your time and hope to hear from you.

NAME

EMAIL

PHONE/SKYPE

YOUR WEBSITE

Short, sweet and to the point.

Be sure to include three ideas specific to the blog’s audience. This way the blogger can choose which appeals to them (it also shifts their thinking from “Yes or No?” to “Which One?”.

After you send your pitch, give them a few days to respond. If they don’t, politely follow up once… and only once. The following template works well…

Hi,

Would you be interested in a guest post? I emailed you the other day with three guest post topics.

Here they are again:

• Topic 1
• Topic 2
• Topic 3

Let me know which one you like and I’ll submit a draft for your review. If you have any other topics you’d like covered, please let me know.

Speak soon,

NAME

EMAIL

PHONE/SKYPE

YOUR WEBSITE

Using this strategy, you should expect at least 10% of the bloggers to accept your guest post. I know… 10% seems low, and it is… but it gets easier as you build credibility.

Now the next step is to…

3. Produce

Ready to write your post? The first thing you should do is write the headline. This forces you to state – in as few words as possible – what your article will be about.

Feeling stuck? Here’s 101 headlines for travel blogs. Choose one and get started.

Now you need to write the article.

Most guest posts are between 500 – 700 words which – if done properly – can be completed in less than an hour. Writing faster (without sacrificing quality) is an important skill.

In addition to speed, here are…

8 Tips for Writing Great Guest Posts

1. Link to other pages on the blog within your post. For example, if you’re writing about Rome, link to other articles on Rome.
2. Mention the blogger’s name in a positive light. It makes both of you look good.
3. Take Hemingway’s advice. “Write drunk, edit sober” the man once said. What he really meant (in my opinion) is to write a first draft, then ruthlessly slash out the nasty bits.
4. Add a unique spin. “The Atheist’s Guide to European Churches” sounds more intriguing than “Europe’s Best Churches.”
5. Invite discussion. Openly asking for comments – and replying to them – helps increase your exposure on the blog.
6. Include pictures. Gary Arndt calls it “travel porn”… where people pick up travel guides just for the pictures. Why not put them in your post?
7. Use the (10 + 2) *5 technique. Write for ten minutes, stop for two. Repeat five times. Done.
8. Link to other prominent bloggers. This makes it easier for you to pitch them down the road.

4. Promote

Once your guest post goes live, let everyone know about it.

• Tweet the post (and re-tweet the blog’s tweet)
• Like it on Facebook
• Bookmark it
• Link to it in other guest posts (but only if relevant!)
• Comment on other related blog posts
• Mention it in forums
• Record yourself reading the post, publish on video and audio sites

Better still, use Pixelpipe to spread content through various social networks with push button ease.

And here’s a neat trick: when your post goes live, use Twitter Search to find who is retweeting your post and follow them. Chances are some of them at least will follow you back.

4 Tips for Effective Guest Posting

1. Batch them together. When we launched Trekity, we lined up over 30 guest posts to go live during our first week (UPDATE: It became 51 posts which went live on the same day. You can read the whole case study here). This creates what the military calls a “Force Multiplier” which yields results greater than its individual parts.
2. Link to important pages on your site. Choose your most valuable pages and link to them instead of just your homepage.
3. Use compelling anchor text. Anchor text – the words you use to link to your site - helps improve your search engine rankings. Therefore, don’t link your website’s name; instead, use a term you’d like to rank for (e.g. “Italy travel tips”).
4. Follow up with the blogger. Thank them for the opportunity, and build the relationship further. You could promote each other’s content and/or products, conduct interviews and maybe have them guest post for you next time.

What You Need to Do Next

Leave a comment below. If you have any questions about guest posting, I’m happy to help.

Oh yeah, don’t forget to share this post!