How NOT to Get Your Guest Post Accepted (and 3 Steps to Take Instead)

49 Comments / Blogging Tutorials, Guest Posts / By /

So, you have written your guest post and you then decide to submit it to a big blog.

You hope to get the post accepted so that you can enjoy the benefits that follow along:How To Get Your Guest Post Accepted via @BasicBlogTips

  • New subscribers to your blog

  • More traffic to your website

  • Increasing your authority in your niche

  • Spreading the word about your work

Unfortunately, your post is rejected and you feel bummed: “How did this happened? There is nothing wrong with my writing!”

Needless to say, you feel very frustrated, and you think that the blog wasn't worth of your time anyway. Or perhaps you should take a breather and have a second thought about that.

If you feel that you have been rejected for nothing, you should check these following points first before sending criticism back to the blogger who rejected your post:

Did you:

  • know what people on your target blog like to read about?

  • proofread your post?

  • check the facts?

  • read the guest posting guidelines?

  • write a post that was too promotional?

  • write a post that was too shallow?

If you checked the previous points and felt that any of these made you say, “Well, actually I didn’t,” perhaps it’s time to spend a bit more time on your written content before re-submitting it or writing another blog post with the same shortcomings.

Time to Turn Things Upside Down

To increase your chances of getting the guest post accepted, take these following steps:

1. Fix all the previous points (aka guest posting the easy way)

Let’s go through the list again and turn those “I didn’t” answers to “I did” ones:

Did you:

  • Know what people on your target blog like to read about?

This is easy. Just go to your destination blog and a look around. What kinds of posts get the most comments and shares?

On some blogs, this has been made really easy. For instance, LifeHack publishes its most popular posts’ stats on the right-hand side of the blog.

Another way is to hire some help from outsourcing providers and ask someone to do the research for you. Ask them to list, for instance, fifty latest blog post titles (with their URLs) with comment counts and social media shares.

Finally, you can always shoot an e-mail to the blog’s editor and ask what kinds of posts perform the best.

  • Proofread your post?

I perform proofreading and editing in three parts.

First, I go through the text myself and fix the obvious grammatical errors that I find.

Then, I go through the text again and read it aloud. This is a great way to make your text more readable since you are easily able to spot those sentences that don’t sound right.

Finally, I send my text for proofreading via Fiverr. Having a pair of external eyeballs on your content does wonders for it, and they can spot errors that you weren't able to see yourself.

  • Check the facts?

In one of your guest posts, if you claim that “this particular food makes you younger,” can you prove it, or is that just something you say?

Take your time to dig up some extra research that validates your statement. Otherwise, leave the claim out of your post.

There are plenty of valid and credible sources that give you more information related to your topic and your statements.

  • Read the guest posting guidelines?

I’m accepting guest posts on my blog again, but it amazes me that people don’t care to read the posting guidelines before submitting their articles to me.

Don’t get me wrong – good posts get submitted to me, too, but at times, it seems like people just closed their eyes when they were supposed to read the guidelines page.

Taking this step alone dramatically increases your chances of getting the post published!

  • Write a post that was too promotional?

Promotion isn't bad, but when there is too much of it and it’s too obvious, it becomes a nuisance.

So rather than writing just about your product, write about the solution that helps others and then have a very subtle mention about what you can offer (for instance, include it in the byline of the post).

  • Write a post that was too shallow?

5 ways to make you productive, 7 ways to feel happy…Haven’t we already seen that?

Take time to include quotes from experts, add images and add research data or Infographics. It’s time to dig up more detailed info related to your topic, and the more time you spend crafting your post, the better.

Don’t just state the obvious, go deeper, down to the source.

2. Add your own experiences

One of the best ways to improve the quality of your post is to add your own experiences to it. This gives you more credibility since you know what you are talking about.

Tell people how you felt about a particular situation and why it occurred. Also, tell others about the lessons you learned and the possible solutions that you figured out.

3. Show the action steps

Presenting a solution is fine, but you also have to show the action steps to take. This way, people can expect to get the same results as you.

The more detailed action steps you describe, the more solid your post becomes. Nothing feels better than people raving about your solution, the actions steps and how it helped them in their situation.

If necessary, add additional media to demonstrate the action steps, like a video or screenshots of an application, to show how a particular action is taken.

If you are still getting rejected…

Let’s face it – it’s still possible that your post gets rejected for whatever reason. If this occurs, you have still couple of aces up your sleeve.

First, you can offer your post to other blogs. Even if your well-written and researched post was rejected (which is highly unlikely), submit it somewhere else. Most likely, that other blog will accept it.

Also, you can always publish the post on your own blog. Since you have the piece of content ready, you can leverage it there. Just make sure you promote it properly so that others know about it.

Finally, your post can be the beginning of something new. What about writing more related to that topic and turning it into a report, e-book or even an auto-responder series? Or it could even be the start of a paid product!

Seriously consider these steps, as they are very realistic alternatives. Just don’t let the rejected post stop you!

Conclusion

A rejected post can trigger two kinds of feelings: you can be let down and feel like a victim, or you can take your posts to another level.

As a general rule of the thumb, the more time you spend on research and adding value to your post, the higher the likelihood of it being accepted. In addition, you get to enjoy the benefits that the accepted posts brings.

Over to you: How do you make sure your posts gets accepted on other blogs?

49 thoughts on “How NOT to Get Your Guest Post Accepted (and 3 Steps to Take Instead)”

  1. Kurt Frankenberg

    Timo!

    Thank you for an informative post. It’s coming at just the right time because I have never yet written a guest post, but am looking for the right fit for me to add my thoughts.

    I have a question (actually questionS) , because I am looking not only to start guest posting to create value on other’s blogs… I also want to open up MY blog for guest posting.

    Q: Why did you STOP accepting guest posts?

    Q2: What has changed that has made you decide to start again?

    Q3: Do you have any advice for me as to what to look for, and look OUT for in a guest?

    I know that some of question (3) is answered in this post itself. But if you have anything to add, I am all ears. Having developed a bit of a network now (still buildin though), I think it’s time to start sharing my venue as well as my thoughts a bit. Get the synergy going.

    Thanks for the post, sorry to write ya a novel 😉

    Keep Stepping,

    Kurt

    1. Timo Kiander

      Hi Kurt!

      Thank you 🙂

      Here are the answers to your questions:

      > Q: Why did you STOP accepting guest posts?

      The quality of posts wasn’t something I hoped for. Also, it seemed that people submitted posts without reading the guidelines first.

      > Q2: What has changed that has made you decide to start again?

      Well, I rewrote my guidelines page and I realized that I could give guest posting another try. Besides, I’m more than happy to publish content which serves my target audience.

      > Q3: Do you have any advice for me as to what to look for, and look OUT for in a guest?

      The most important one is to read the guidelines carefully and write what the blogger asked for. In fact, sometimes you could go the extra mile and provide content which goes well beyond the quality that the blogger expected.

      I have done this couple of times (and I hope to do it all the time from now on) and it has left a great impression to the blogger. For instance, once I wrote about how to improve your productivity with Gmail Labs and I also included screenshots as well.

      Cheers,
      Timo

  2. Ryan Biddulph

    I submitted a guest post to a major league blog recently. The author noted specifically how he digs how I note my experiences. Super key point and dead on post.

  3. Juan

    Great points! Especially the last one. A rejected guest post does not necessarily mean that it was a bad post, it may just mean that it wasn’t the right one for that specific blog.

  5. Ashley

    Hi Ileane, as someone who is guest posting a lot more lately, I find these tips very useful. Of course I try to make sure that I never have the “I didn’t” parts, but it happens. We have to be on the ball and provide only the best stuff we have as guest posts. It always pays off in the end – more readers, more shares and more people finding out about us.

    1. Timo Kiander

      Hi Ashley!

      I agree!

      Just create a checklist of all those points I mentioned (+ add your own ones to that list) and make sure to go that list before submitting a guest post.

      Cheers,
      Timo

  6. Emmanuel

    Many do ask me why I don’t engage in guest posting. It’s something I’m not all that interested in simply because of the fear of it being rejected! But the point Juan made with respect to ‘A rejected guest post does not necessarily mean that it was a bad post, it may just mean that it wasn’t the right one for that specific blog.’ has somehow changed my perception.

    1. Timo Kiander

      Hi Emmanuel!

      So true … try not to see it as a failure. Try to see it as as a post which wasn’t a good fit for that particular blog.

      This has happened to me many times and my posts have been accepted elsewhere.

      Cheers,
      Timo

  7. Dean Saliba

    I noticed that you did not mention about contacting the blog owner to inquire what was wrong with the post, I have always made a point of asking people who reject my work to offer some constructive feedback so that I can improve, if you are polite most of them will oblige. 🙂

  8. Edson Hale

    I think the main reason of guest post rejection is not reading the guest post guidelines given by a blog. Usually we first write a post then search the appropriate blog to submit it. We should go other way round by first reading the guidelines and then writing the one most fit for our targetted blog.

  9. Reginald

    For me, I practice these:
    1. Read the T&C given
    2. Submit the first draft (informing the editor that it is a draft and awaiting for their feedback)
    3. Get back the revised copy and modify accordingly to their request.

    I know my way is always long but it does help quite a bit especially when it comes to getting approved.

    Just my 2 cents.

    Reginald

  10. hiren

    Hi Timo
    nice article guest post is nice way to get backlink from high PR site and also best way to increase website traffic thanks for sharing its very helpful with me.

  12. Zenelia

    hey…nice post…really a good lesson to learn and definitely when a post gets rejected , it hits the victim and its not an easy thing to get over it and take it to the next level..but surely this kind of article will help a lot..as when we realize where we are missing we respond fastly..so its a nice post to enhance ourselves and to put on the complete efforts on our posts…
    Nice write up..like it..(Y)

    Thanks for sharing

    Keep Posting

    1. Timo Kiander

      Hi Zenelia!

      Thanks!

      Yep, it’s not the end of the world if your post gets rejected … You can publish it elsewhere or even repurpose the content.

      Cheers,
      Timo

  13. Maria

    Nowadays everyone wants to do guest post on authority blogs and get backlinks from these guest posts to get good traffic and quality backlinks but usually people neglect these shared points. Before 6 years i started guest posting and i got some approvals but after some time i left this practice because i realized that the content writer i hired is not creative and intellectual therefore i didn’t want to waste my money and time on guest posting.

    1. Timo Kiander

      Hi Maria!

      So hired someone writing the guest posts for you?

      I guess the biggest impact comes when you write the posts yourself – so that you can show your expertise and gain authority that way.

      Cheers,
      Timo

  14. Navid Moazzez

    Hi Timo,

    This is great post with some valuable tips, thanks for sharing! I need to start guest blogging very soon, and all this information will be of a lot of help for me. Thanks!

    All the best,
    Navid

  16. Maddy

    Hi Timo Kiander
    Honestly speaking i haven’t yet tried for a guest post but i was searching for how to write a best quality post. You post is not only a guide but a moral booster for me. As now i know what to do for maximum results before even start writing guest posts.

    Thanks for sharing

  17. Tom Southern

    Really like this post Timo, especially your advice to “Know what people on your target blog like to read about?”. This is such an important part of your guest blogging research because the more your target blog’s readers feel inspired to comment and add to what you’ve written, the more likely they are to want to know what else you have to say. And visit your own blog.

  18. Mi Muba

    from the very beginning we try to be published in high ranking blogs; we should move up gradually first trying our luck in low PR blogs and then making people realize our worth we should try to write guest post for high PR blogs.

    1. Timo Kiander

      Hi Mi!

      I guess what matters even more than a page rank that the audience is your target audience and that a blog has a decent following.

      Cheers,
      Timo

  19. Rohan Mod

    exactly because google monitors the language and grammar of article so it is better to check the guest posts before publish.thanks for sharing these tips with us.

    1. Timo Kiander

      Hi Rohan!

      Sure. It’s also important because it shows you are spending enough time of finalizing the post. It’s so much easier to get your post published again, if it’s “polished”.

      Cheers,
      Timo

  20. Ankur Upadhyay

    I am still very new to blogging. I will like to Guest Post after establishing my blog. These tips are very handy for newbie bloggers like me. Thanks for sharing..

    1. Timo Kiander

      Hi Ankur!

      Sure, guest blogging is very important – especially when you are starting out.

      I suggest that you spend more time on blogging on other blogs than on your own especially in the beginning. That’s how you are going to get visitors to your blog (by using guest posting).

      Cheers,
      Timo

  21. Babanature

    Hello Timo,
    This is indeed one lovely nice piece of writing. i indeed did love the read :).
    Most bloggers who submit guest post nowadays, do not do it with the sole aim of winning readership and getting traffic back to their blog or site. I do believe that guest blog should be done from the heart, write as if it is your blog.

    Nice article Timo. Do have your self a nice week…

  22. Alex Dumpfree

    Nice tips. Personally I faced guest post rejection a few times while they are grammatically full proof. Now I have to think over this fact before posting. Thanks for sharing this thought.

  23. suryabhan

    hey
    Timo
    i have never write any guest post and no idea about it so thanks for the tips but what are the benefits that will our blog get by writing a guest post.

    1. Timo Kiander

      Hi Suryabhan!

      Well, you are able to show your expertise to other audiences, you get targeted traffic to your landing page which will grow your e-mail list. It’s also a great way to create relationships with other bloggers.

      So, many benefits and you should definitely consider starting guest posting!

      Cheers,
      Timo

      1. suryabhan

        hey Timo
        thanks for such warm reply and also for your great explanation about guest post benefits now i really got the point.

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