Publish a Free Guest Post
How to Publish a Free Guest Post on Recommended.top
Hi there! Thanks for your interest in writing a guest post for Recommended.top. We’re glad you’re here.
Our many monthly visitors are always looking for more brilliant contributors to join our ranks.
If you have exceptional writing skills and would like to share your expertise with our large audience of visitors and business owners, we’d love to hear from you.
Please take some time to review this entire page — it should answer any questions you have about what kind of content we’re looking for and how the submission process works.
Also, we value your pitch, but due to the volume of requests we receive, we cannot respond to all submissions.
Is it Free?
Yes, it is free! All we ask in return is a backlink to our site.
The backlink may be to any page of our site, including to your guest post page.
The Essentials for Every Post We Publish
Successful guest post contributions are comprehensive, data-driven, and write interesting posts that teach our readers something new. While we tend to skew toward content about business & money, gaming, and relationships tactics, that’s not all we talk about.
We’re also interested in publishing any topic that professionals care about, which includes things like onboarding, team development, career building, job hunting, writing, design, math, and larger internet trends, among other things.
We also look for a few things in everything we publish:
- Original concepts, compelling arguments, and high-quality writing. We will not republish anything that’s been published elsewhere.
- The guest post reflects the writing style/tone of our site. We aim to be casual, yet helpful, and typically we stay away from buzzwords and jargon.
- Proper attribution of data, quotations, and outside content referenced in the article. Note: All data should have originated within the last two years.
- The Internet is built on links. We expect that you insert in your guest post a few links to your company’s website (Note: This includes your website homepage, blog, pricing page, etc …) in the body of the guest post. All our links are do-follow.
- Link to other posts on Recommended.top in your guest post. For example, if you’re writing a piece on relationships, find an article on Recommended.top to link to.
What We Won’t Accept
There are some things we simply can’t accept:
- Anything that may be construed as a link-building scheme.
- Anything that’s too promotional for your company or organization.
- Anything that’s offensive or inaccurate.
- Anything that’s overly critical of individuals or companies — this is not a site to air grievances.
What we ask in return
Publishing a guest post on Recommended.top is free. We don’t accept payment for publishing your guest post. Don’t even ask.
The only thing we want in return for publishing your guest post is a do-follow backlink to our site. You can link from your site to our homepage or to any other page of our site, you can even backlink to your guest post page on our site after it is published.
Your backlink will have to stay there forever as we keep your guest post with its links forever. We run a weekly check of all backlinks to our site with the Backlink Monitor plugin.
If you only want a link insertion
If you are not interested in publishing a guest post on Recommended.top website and all you want is a link insertion, you can add your link here »
What are the Benefits of Guest Posting?
It would have been a crime to write this post and not to mention the main benefits of guest blogging. At the end of the day, you aren’t writing articles for 3rd party websites just because you have the time to do so. Although you may want to sound like a philanthropist when pitching articles, deep down in your soul, you are expecting something in return, whether it’s some nice referral traffic or a boost in your brand’s exposure.
Here are 10 main benefits of guest blogging for other websites:
- Reach a wider audience: Contributing your work to external websites would mean that more people will see your work. Imagine this, if you get your guest post published on Forbes, 10s or even 100s of thousands of people would read your article, and if the subject is directly correlated with what you do, people will come back for more (often directly to your website).
- Generate quality referral traffic: Quality guest posts that get seen and read by 1000s of people are likely to generate a ton of quality, targeted referral traffic. You know where this can lead to. Yes, more exposure and more sales.
- Build long-lasting relationships: If you’re not one of those people who guest post just for links, you are likely to publish multiple articles on a single blog. This, in return, will tighten up the relationship with the owner of the blog and may lead to further partnerships.
- Become an influencer: Being featured on authoritative websites and blogs would make you an influencer in the eyes of your potential audience. People would look up to you as an expert in your niche, and will often cite your words as the words of “The Almighty”.
- Build up your social media presence: Wondering how to build up your social following? Guest posting is the way to go. For instance, when someone shares your article, you would often get tagged and mentioned.
- Increase the authority of your website: People are more likely to trust and buy from a brand that has a powerful web presence. If your product gets a decent review from The Next Web, would people have more confidence in purchasing that product of you? Sure thing.
- Become more confident: Imagine getting featured in Forbes, Wired, Inc, and Entrepreneur? That would definitely tell you something about the quality of your writing and your expertise.
- Increase exposure & brand awareness: Similarly to increasing the authority of your website, guest posting can expose your brand to a much broader audience.
- Inbound links (backlinks): Should I really explain this point? Okay, you can also get a quality, powerful backlink from your guest post and your profile bio. The vast majority of sites will allow you to add a link or two in your byline, which usually appears at the bottom of every post.
- Build an email list: An influx of referral traffic to your website can lead to a growth of your mailing list. If, and only if you can convert that traffic to your regular subscribers.
The Dos and Don’ts of Guest Posting
Although there are numerous benefits of contributing content and being a guest blogger, you should plan your journey carefully when deciding to utilize this strategy. All great things come with pitfalls.
Let us go over the dos and don’ts of guest posting.
Dos:
- Do read the guidelines: Different blogs have different requirements for contributors and guest bloggers. Some may only accept posts that are less than 600 words; others may only accept articles if you are a known individual in your niche. Hence, always check the guidelines on a case-by-case basis. By the way, we like long and invested guest posts.
- Do create exceptional content: No reputable blog would accept a poorly written post, especially from a guest blogger. Do your background work, support your claims, provide arguments, check your grammar and spelling mistakes. No one is perfect, but if your article is terrible, it will not get featured. Simple as that.
- Do show your expertise & experience: Ideally, you would only want to blog on subjects that you have an in-depth knowledge of. So, if you know your niche well enough and have sufficient knowledge of the topic – show it!
- Do write for the audience: Don’t go wild with professional jargon if you are writing for a small business blog. The audience would not understand a word. Instead, tailor your content for the audience of that blog.
- Do create original content: Only write unique content that has never been published on other websites/blogs (even your own). If your post is accepted, you should still avoid republishing that guest post.
- Do find out what works best: Identify what type of content does best on that blog. Is it top-10 lists or in-depth guides? You can evaluate that by the number of shares and comments a post has gained.
- Do craft a perfect byline: In order to present yourself in an appealing way, you need to write a decent profile bio. Do include your notable achievements and previous contributions.
Don’ts:
- Don’t be spammy: Don’t send mass emails to 100s of blogs at the same time asking for guest posting opportunities.
- Don’t spin articles: Spun articles are so damn easy to spot. They are terrible and don’t read well.
- Don’t use the same article: Avoid posting the same article over and over again. If you are serious about quality guest blogging, you should only post a single guest post on a single website.
- Don’t make guest blogging your only link-building strategy: The primary reason why Matt Cutts has declared the death of guest posting is due to it being treated as a go-to place for easy links.
- Don’t post on spammy and low-quality websites: You would want to avoid spammy websites at all costs. Not only they can damage your reputation as a writer, but also get your website in trouble with Google.
- Don’t stuff your article with links: Editors are picky. It will take them no more than a minute to identify a self-promotional link. Unless it’s necessary to include a link (perhaps you are citing someone), don’t stuff them in. If you wish to have a link back to your website – use the byline.
- Don’t accept poor guest posts (for blog owners): If you don’t want to look sketchy – don’t be sketchy! Only accept quality guest posts that can potentially bring value to your readers.
10 Tips for Guest Posting Success
Once you get the gig, here are 10 tips that will help you write an awesome guest post that will get you invited back.
1. Write for Their Audience
I said this before, but it’s important enough for me to say again: know who the blogger’s target audience is and write directly to them.
Every successful book speaks directly to readers’ pains, problems, and needs. The same goes for every successful guest post.
You’re not writing into the void. If you were, you might as well just write in a diary.
When your content provides value to the blog owner’s audience, they will give you their attention (and your content will resonate much more powerfully).
2. Align with Their Brand
Every Author has a brand. Your brand tells readers, “Here’s what I have to offer, and here’s how it can help you.”
In order to create the strongest brand possible, you need to know who your audience is, what your message is, and what you have expertise in—all the things that went into your outreach message!
Just like every Author has a brand, so does every blogger. They have a specific audience, message, and expertise. They have a certain tone, angle, and way of approaching ideas.
The best guest posts are the ones that align the Author’s brand with the blogger’s brand. In other words, your content should help them expand their message.
Your guest post should fit the tone of the blog. If the site is written from a light-hearted, humorous perspective, don’t jump into the conversation with a dense academic guest post.
All of us have multiple sides. We can be funny at times and somber at others. You would never go to a funeral and start cracking jokes (or at least, most people wouldn’t). You would behave in a way suitable to the context.
When you write guest posts, think about the context. What’s your best foot to put forward on that particular site?
You should always be yourself. But being yourself doesn’t exempt you from also being intentional about how you align with the blog’s brand.
3. Align with Their Blog Format
Any guest post you write should align with the blog’s typical format.
In some cases, the site owners will give you explicit guest posting guidelines. Break your post into 3 sections. Include 5 internal links. Here’s how to enter the information into WordPress.
Whatever they tell you, follow it.
Your objective as a guest poster is to fulfill everyone’s needs: yours, the blogger’s, and the audience’s. That means you should listen when the blogger—who is an expert in their audience—tells you what to do and not to do.
You should also be aware of any unspoken norms. For example, every blog has a characteristic writing style. You don’t have to mimic it, but don’t stand out like a sore thumb.
Or, if the blogger doesn’t give you a word limit, don’t take it as an opportunity to write a 10,000-word essay. Match their average post size.
Try to be consistent and respectful with your contributions. That’s the best way to build a lasting relationship with a blogger and get invited back!
4. Provide Actionable Content
Don’t just give readers the 10,000-foot view of your topic. Give them something that’s actually tangible and actionable. Give them something they can walk away from the article with and do.
What’s more likely to stick in your mind? Some large idea you encountered? Or a brilliant nugget of wisdom that you use on a daily basis?
The more practical value your readers can take away from your article, the more frequently they’ll think of you. Every time they use your tactics to hook a new client, write an effective email, or whatever else you’re teaching them, you’ll be top of mind.
They’re much more likely to seek you out and follow you if you can give them a concrete reminder of how your knowledge can change their lives.
5. It’s Not About You
It’s great that you’ve published a book, but your post should never be about your book.
You’re not there to say, “Hi, I’m so-and-so, and this is my book. Buy it.” You’re not even there to necessarily mention your book. You’re there to provide content that is so educational, interesting, or meaningful that readers immediately want to click through to your website and learn more about you.
Then you can sell your book, online course, products, or whatever else you want to sell.
Guest posts are one of the best examples of content marketing.
Content marketing is a type of marketing that involves creating online materials like articles, blog posts, social media posts, etc. that don’t explicitly promote a brand but still spark a person’s interest in your products or services.
The key to great content marketing is that it shouldn’t feel like marketing. It should feel like useful, actionable content.
Yes, you’re writing guest posts for publicity, but remember that providing value to readers is the best form of publicity you can get. The more value you provide, the more readers will want to connect with you.
No one wants to read articles that sound spammy or self-promotional. An overt sales pitch is always a turn-off.
Remember: lead with value, and follow up with your byline. I’m the author of this book, and you can learn more at my website.
6. Include a Killer Byline
Now it’s about you!
You’re going to get one opportunity to say what you’re about and give people a call to action (CTA), so make sure you get it right. Spend time coming up with a great byline.
Your byline includes 2 components:
- the choicest tidbit about who you are
- where readers can find out more (your CTA)
Your tidbit is not necessarily your most prestigious achievement, although it may be.
Consider the audience and think, What’s going to make this specific group of people want to click through? Will they be impressed by your graduate degree? The value of your company? How many people you’ve helped through your consulting work? The names of other publications you’ve written for? Your status as a public speaker?
Whatever you choose, make sure it speaks directly to your audience.
If you’re stuck, I recommend looking back at your Author bio and narrowing it down to the best pieces.
Your CTA should be the best place readers can reach you.
Ask yourself, Assuming I’ve nailed the first impression, what do I want my second impression to be? That’s where your CTA link should lead. Are you on Twitter all the time? Link there. Do you have a great website? Link there. Do you have your own blog? Link there.
You should also make sure that you have a great Author photo. It should be a high-quality, professional photo that conveys the tone of your guest post.
If you’re speaking to entrepreneurs, you might choose a more formal Author photo. If you’re speaking to aspiring comedians, you might choose something more light-hearted.
Your photo should fit your Author’s brand.
7. Consider a Landing Page
Instead of sending readers directly to your homepage, consider sending them to a landing page on your website with a specific offer. That way, you can immediately provide them with even more value and get them into your sales funnel.
For example, your landing page could offer a free PDF of your book or a free chapter in exchange for a visitor’s email address.
Or, you could emphasize that subscribers to your newsletter receive actionable tips on a monthly basis.
Or, you could offer a free mini-course that, eventually, might persuade visitors to purchase your full digital course.
The more value you can provide to readers, the more likely they are to keep following you. Your guest post should be an appetizer, and whatever you serve next should keep people at the dinner table wanting more.
8. Include Internal SEO Links
Bloggers will love you even more if you can help them improve their SEO. One way to do that is to include internal links to content that’s already on the site.
Internal links not only connect the content on the site but also give search engines an idea of the site’s structure. That helps establish a hierarchy, giving the most important posts more link value.
When you include internal links, it also invites visitors to go on a deep dive into the blog. That inevitably improves the blog’s metrics.
Think of it this way. One of your Twitter followers has never heard of the blog you’re guest posting for. They click your link to read your content, and along the way, they find a link to another interesting idea.
So, they click it. Then, in that post, they see another internal link they find interesting.
Now they’re deep in that blog’s ecosystem, and they’re much more likely to subscribe. This is pure gold for a blogger since they’re also always looking to build their following.
Backlinks (when a link takes you to another website) can be helpful for SEO, too, but chances are, if you’re a guest poster, you don’t know which sites will benefit the blogger the most.
Including internal links is a simple but effective way to provide value for the site owner.
9. Provide All the Images the Blogger Needs
When bloggers provide you with a guest blogging spot, don’t make them do extra work. Give them a ready-made post with everything they need.
That includes images.
Your images should be high-quality, professional images; no low-quality screenshots, off-kilter iPhone photos, or blurry, low-resolution photographs.
It’s even better if you can avoid stock images. No blogger wants to feature the same image that’s appeared on thousands of other websites. They want their content to stand out.
Your images should also be appropriately sized and compressed. You need a high-quality photo, but you also need a photo that will load quickly. If you don’t know what the ideal resolution or size is, check with the blogger.
Finally, create an appropriate name for the file. Don’t give it a generic title like “myphoto.jpg” or “maninsuit.jpg.”
Think about how the name of the image can impact the site’s SEO. For example, if your post is about how to create an effective meeting agenda, and your photo features people in a conference room, you’ll probably want the word “meeting” in the photo’s title.
10. Be Yourself
You want to fit in with the style, tone, and content of the blog you’re writing for. That’s the key to keeping any influencer or blogger happy.
But you also want to stand out. You want to make an impression on readers that encourages them to seek you out. The best way to do that is to be your authentic self.
Be mindful and respectful of the blog’s norms and conventions. But don’t drown yourself out.
You’re a guest poster, not a ghostwriter. The reason the blogger chose you over all the other possible guest posters is that you have a unique solution, expertise, or story to share.
Fit in but make sure you don’t lose yourself in the process. Authenticity will go a long way when it comes to creating effective guest posts.
Some Guest blogging are paid and some are free. If you choose Paid Guest Posts, your website traffic will be gone double, triple, and also increase your website DA PA. Those sites will also rank your keyword ranking on search engines. If you choose free guest posting, then you will get less traffic on your website.
Here are the seven best ways to find guest blogging opportunities to get your list started:
- Google Search Operators. …
- Prolific Guest Bloggers. …
- Competitor Backlinks. …
- Social Searches. …
- Target Guest Post Sites. …
- Buy Them (from a trusted vendor) …
- Join (+ contribute) to online communities.
What Google does allow are guest posts and syndicated posts that “inform users, educate another site’s audience or bring awareness to your cause or company.” Google goes on to explain other article writing and distribution practices that are against its guidelines.
Fast forward to 2024, guest blogging is still very much alive. In fact, even more, people are now using it to draw links and increase website traffic. An SEO industry survey was done last March 2022 placed guest posting as the third most popular SEO tactic.”
Guest blogging is when you invite someone from outside of your company to write a blog that will be published on your website. The writer will usually work in the same industry as the organization or be an expert on the subjects done with that organization.
