If you have a passion for writing then guest posting might be an option for you. When you write a guest post, you are able to use words to express your creative opinions and real life moments. Submitting a guest post can be a lot of work, so you want to ensure that your work will ultimately be published before going through the necessary workload to submit. Daily Mom has taken the guesswork out of submitting a guest post and will lay out research backed tips and tricks to help you write a guest post that gets published.
WHAT IS A GUEST POST?
Although some may believe that guest posting is reserved for freelance writers, bloggers and authors, that isn’t the case at all. Anyone can guest post. Writing an article for national exposure can be a great success tool for your small business as well as an amazing outlet for an exhausted parent. Although you don’t have to be a world renowned author, you do have to have a way with words. Some of our most popular articles are simple to do posts that walk parents through normal day to day challenges. From How to Deep Clean Your Dyson Vacuum to 7 Ways to Overcome Poop Withholding, these are a few examples of informational posts from members of our writing team. Simple knowledge of grammar as well as the ability to spell check will also go a long way also.
RESEARCH BEFORE YOU WRITE
Step away from the keyboard. No, really. Stop. Before you reach out to submit a guest post it is important to research the brand, publication or site that you are interested in being published on.
Things to think about include:
- Who are the readers?
- What is the target demographic?
- Are articles written in first person? Third person?
- Are published articles of an informational nature or more inspirational and personal?
- Do you need to submit your own accompanying photographs or will they be added for you?
- What is the word requirement?
- Are backlinks allowed?
- Do you need to submit a byline or bio?
If you are submitting an article, you will want to research your ideal post site in advance. If you have creative ideas on feeding your family healthy meal options, then you wouldn’t want to pitch your article to a car dealership. Likewise, if you have tips and tricks for road tripping with an infant you wouldn’t want to pitch your article to a recipe-heavy mom blog. Make sense? Know the content of the publication you are submitting a guest post to. It will save everyone time in the end.
BE ORGANIZED, THOROUGH, AND PREPARED
To each their own when it comes to writing styles and approaches. Although everyone should harness their craft as it feels natural, there are systematic ways that can help a writer feel organized, thorough and prepared when submitting a guest post. Just as your third grade English teacher had you create topics and main ideas, informational posts can be wildly successful when thought about in a logical way. Be sure to stay organized on the central theme of the article and not stray too far from the topic at any point. Each of your main ideas should support your topic and be related in content and connection. The only exception to this is heartfelt cry-while-you-write moments where you are filled with angst, emotion and drive. Then, and only then, is it okay to let your heart steer the keyboard.
THE LOGISTICS
When submitting a guest post, there are many factors that influence the timeline in which the article will be published. Although guest posts are a wonderful way to include new content and write on specifics that may not otherwise be covered, such posts are not a replacement of the typical team writing within a publication. Many factors are considered when putting a guest post onto an editorial calendar to be published. This may require patience on the part of the guest poster.
CHECK, CHECK, CHECK. THEN RECHECK.
The reality is that guest posts need to be near perfect upon submission. If a publication or site needs to spend too many man hours editing work, it is easier to instead reply with a “Thanks for submitting, but…” email. If you do not want to receive such a response, advanced due diligence in checking your work can go a long way.
DAILY MOM GUEST POST CHECKLIST
- Is your title clear on what the article is about? While unique phrases and the use of alliteration is catchy, your title is what indicates to a reader if they should spend their precious moments reading the article you published. Give them a reason to NEED to read on.
- Are you doing this for money, fame or fortune? If one of those three things are at the top of your driving force to write for Daily Mom, you should probably rethink your motivation. Daily Mom does not currently offer financial contribution for published articles. We do, however, reach thousands of readers through our subscription lists and social media.
- Is your article consistent? When writing a guest post for Daily Mom, know that our articles are written in third person. That means that all sentences and paragraphs should pair well with one another and be succinct.
- DM reserves the right to discontinue a guest post at any time throughout the process, though all reasonable requests and timeframes will be honored.
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