Before I began accepting online freelance writing work, I spent about a year working on my own blog, scaz.to, creating regular content on SEO, social media, and everything else related to making money online. By the time I signed up for a freelancing site, I was a seasoned writer with a wealth of experience and knowledge of everything going on the internet.
This fantastic qualification assisted me in landing almost every job (3 out of 4) that I pitched on Elance. Some contractors even contacted me directly via email to hire me. Simply mentioning my background and website on the profile was enough to get me invited to a slew of interviews every week.
Establishing your background and reputation is, without a doubt, one of the most important aspects of beginning a successful freelancing career. Of course, you could have figured it out on your own.
My website and the experience I gained working on blogs and articles undoubtedly aided me in obtaining a large number of clients. You can also use the same technique to attract more clients. The best part is that you don’t have to spend years developing your own blog to show your clients because there are already a plethora of well-established websites that allow you to publish your articles for free.
What Is Guest Blogging?
Guest blogging is simply a way to gain free publicity and recognition for your work. You write an article for a website, and in exchange, they will publish it for free with an author byline that includes links to your website and social media pages. Here’s how the process works:
- You contact a reputable blog, such as Mashable or Entrepreneur.com, that accepts guest posts.
- Pitch your idea for a fantastic blog post for them to publish on their site.
- Once you’ve received their approval, send your article with an author byline that describes what you do and links to your social media profiles.
The Quick Sprout blog has a comprehensive guide to guest blogging. It will help you understand what you can accomplish by writing for other blogs, how to write a guest post, and pitching to a website.
Many bloggers use guest blogging to increase traffic to their websites and build backlinks to boost their search engine rankings. However, freelancers can use guest blogging to boost their reputation and gain more clients by showcasing their skills.
How it Helps to Build Your Reputation
In exchange for sharing your expertise on these websites, you will not only receive a flood of traffic to your social media pages or personal website, but you will also be able to improve your online reputation. So the next time a client asks to see your previous work, simply send them a link to your Mashable article, which will blow their mind.
Most freelancers who pitch for jobs on sites like Upwork and Freelancer.com lack relevant experience or evidence of their work. This, of course, leads to decreased confidence and lower pricing rates.
If you can take the time to publish at least three or four guest articles on reputable websites, you will have a huge advantage over the rest of the cheap freelancers who are just waiting for clients to fall out of the sky.
Remember to include an eye-catching bio that describes your skills, profession, and where people can hire you. If you have a personal website, include a link to it. Some websites include a photo of the contributor with their publication, so send them a great photo to go with your article as well.
Even millionaire entrepreneurs like Richard Branson, Mark Cuban, Bill Gates, and Neil Patel, believe it or not, frequently publish guest posts on popular websites to gain more exposure for their businesses and products. So why not use the same strategy to double your earnings?
According to research, writing on a regular basis can improve your creativity, ability to think, and personality. As a freelance writer, I can personally attest to this because I still enjoy working as a writer.
How to Get Approved by A Great Website
It will be difficult to get approved by these popular websites because they receive these requests on a daily basis. The key is to keep your pitch brief and to pitch a unique article idea that they won’t be able to resist.
More importantly, don’t send emails to these sites like a machine. Make it personal. If possible, find the name of the person in charge and address them by their first name. Every week, I receive over a dozen guest blogging requests for my freshinfos.com website, and I ignore the majority of them because some emails sound too robotic. As if they’d sent the same email to 100 different websites. Don’t make the same error.
Here are a few excellent websites that welcome guest posts.
- Mashable
- Entrepreneur.com
- Inc.com
- Huffington Post
- Read Write Web
- Copy Blogger
- Social Media Examiner
- Web Design Ledger
- Shout Me Loud
- Write to Done
Do you require more sites to publish guest posts? Here’s a list of over 300 websites where you can guest post all year. This list includes sites from a variety of categories, allowing you to select one that is more relevant to your line of work.
As you might expect, the editors at these sites are among the busiest people on the internet. Every day, they receive hundreds of emails, the majority of which they ignore in order to save time. So, to get their attention, create a great title and a pitch for your suggestion.
Be bold and courageous, write your name in digital ink on the World Wide Web, and wait for the clients to start pouring in. Don’t stop at one article; keep publishing more and more content to increase traffic and your reputation.