Throughout my entire career as a content marketer, I’ve received my fair share of guest posting rejections. I’ve also landed a lot of big wins. Through it all, I’ve learned that while rejection does indeed come with the territory, there are also some things you can do to boost your chances of getting accepted and published.

For example:

Find the right blogs to pitch

Pitching to everyone doesn’t necessarily guarantee higher rates of access. In fact, from my experience, the more targeted your list, the better. Your goal should be to find blogs that are relevant to the topic that you want to write about. Don’t just Google for “blogs that accept guest posts.” While they probably do accept guest posts, imagine all the other content marketers who had the same idea and Googled the same thing you did. At best, they’re probably fielding hundreds of similar pitches every day.

Write following your target publication’s guidelines

Once you do find a publication you want to write a guest blog for, make sure you understand exactly what their requirements are. Some publications will require you to write about specific topics, others will restrict you to a certain number of words. Some may want you to follow a particular format and guidelines. Whatever it is, make sure you find out what their guest posting requirements are and follow them closely.

Spend extra time crafting your headlines

Just because your guest post got accepted for publication on a high-authority website doesn’t necessarily guarantee that people will click on it and read it. You still want to do everything you can to encourage readers to open your post and read what you have to say. That’s why you have to make sure you create a catchy headline for it.

Proofread your work

Writing guest posts isn’t simply about building up your backlinks. You want your article to be well researched, easy to read, informative, and relevant. You have the chance to get more brand exposure through your guest post, so you want to make sure you’re putting your best foot forward. That includes making sure your post is free from careless little typos.

Tailor your work for every publication you’re writing for

Don’t ever write a post and then try to find a publication that will take it. Publications want guest posts that are serious about creating exclusive, high-quality material for their sites, not just content marketers who are trying to build as many backlinks for their sites as possible. Customize your pitches and your content to every publication you reach out to if you want to boost your chances of getting published.

One Last Thing…

When you do get published, be sure to help promote your article and the host site by sharing on your social media, engaging with readers in the comment section, and writing a short promotional post for it on your blog.

Hope my answer helps! If you have additional questions, please feel free to message me via Twitter or LinkedIn or leave a comment below.