Tips to Attract Guest Bloggers to Write for Your Website

attract guest bloggers

This post was significantly updated in June 2025 to reflect new information. An archived version from 2015 is available for reference here.

Scroll through any analytics dashboard and a pattern leaps out: blogs that weather every algorithm tweak tend to share one traitโ€”fresh, highโ€‘trust voices.

Orbitโ€ฏMediaโ€™s 2024 Blogger Survey found that highโ€‘traffic sites are twice as likely to publish outside contributors as lowโ€‘traffic peers.

The logic is simple: when readers see a spectrum of expertise, they stay longer, subscribe faster, and recommend more widely.

Yet inviting guest writers isnโ€™t a numbers game; itโ€™s an act of curation.

A generic โ€œWrite for Usโ€ page often attracts linkโ€‘farm pitches, while genuinely talented creators quietly bookmarkโ€”and then skipโ€”blogs whose guidelines feel transactional.

Below is a repeatable, humanโ€‘first process for attracting contributors who grow your authority instead of diluting it.

Think of the steps as a collaboration flywheel.

Each cycleโ€”clarify, invite, onboard, amplifyโ€”makes the next one smoother, until guests become informal ambassadors who pitch you before you even ask.

Stepโ€ฏ1โ€‚Articulate a mission, not just a topic list 

Before you write guidelines or DM anyone, crystallize the story a guest will help you advance.

Readers reward purposeโ€‘driven publishing: when a blog showcases multiple contributors who speak with a unified editorial voice, trust rises and engagement deepens.

  1. Draft a oneโ€‘sentence editorial promise. My litmus test is simple: if a new visitor canโ€™t state why your site exists after three quick scrolls, your pitch will land flat.

  2. Match content gaps to that promise. Audit analytics and comment threads for unresolved questions. Each gap becomes an open seat at your editorial table.

  3. Publish the promise. Pin it atop your guidelines so potential contributors selfโ€‘select. Clarity repels irrelevant pitches and magnetizes aligned ones.

Quick example: Picture a midโ€‘size sustainability blog that rewrites its masthead to say, โ€œWe help solo creators build climateโ€‘positive businesses.โ€ Almost immediately, irrelevant fintech pitches fade away, while climate accountants and ecoโ€‘designers start raising their hands to contribute.

Stepโ€ฏ2โ€‚Curate a contributor wishlist

Broadcasting โ€œWe accept guest posts!โ€ is an open invitation to spam.

Instead, build a targeted list of 20โ€“30 creators whose expertise enriches your promise.

  • Mine microโ€‘communities. LinkedIn newsletter authors, Substack columnists, and niche podcast guests often have loyalโ€”but siloedโ€”audiences. Theyโ€™re hungry for new distribution without the noise of bigger platforms.

  • Score on three axes: subject authority, writing craft, and audience engagement style (Q&A, deepโ€‘dive essays, data visualizations).

  • Track conversations. A simple Airtable Kanbanโ€”Interested โ†’ Pitched โ†’ Draft โ†’ Publishedโ€”prevents promising leads from slipping through the cracks.

Reflection prompt: โ€œWhose voice would deepen our narrative, not merely extend word count?โ€

Stepโ€ฏ3โ€‚Craft a humanโ€‘centered outreach sequence

Forget oneโ€‘sizeโ€‘fitsโ€‘all templates.

Guest writing is partnership, not procurement.

  1. Lead with relevance, not flattery. Reference a recent insight the creator shared and connect it to an identified gap. โ€œYour Substack piece on async collaboration solved half the puzzle our readers raised in last monthโ€™s surveyโ€ฆโ€

  2. Showcase mutual benefit. According to OptinMonsterโ€™s 2024 Trust Barometer, blogs with multiโ€‘author bylines are perceived as 60โ€ฏ% more credible. Offer tangible incentives: inclusion in your newsletter, a clip for their media kit, or reciprocal podcast time.

  3. Limit friction. Provide a concise briefโ€”headline idea, target word count, SEO intent, preferred callโ€‘toโ€‘action. Close with a clear question: โ€œWould the first week of July suit your schedule?โ€

Hot tip: Batch record 60โ€‘second Loom intros. A faceโ€‘toโ€‘face invite feels personal yet scales effortlessly.

Stepโ€ฏ4โ€‚Formalize expectations with a contributor charter

Lengthy โ€œGuest Post Rulesโ€ pages read like legalese.

Replace them with a oneโ€‘page charter anyone can skim in two minutes.

  • Editorial guardrails. Tone, citation style, subheading cadence (every 4โ€“6 paragraphs), and image specs (1600โ€ฏร—โ€ฏ840โ€ฏpxโ€”mobileโ€‘friendly, brandโ€‘consistent).

  • Ethics & originality. Zero tolerance for AIโ€‘scraped or recycled content. Explain your plagiarism check process, and require primaryโ€‘source links.

  • Feedback loop. Promise edit notes within five business days and set a twoโ€‘week publication window once revisions are done.

Why so explicit? Seasoned freelancers often rank unclear briefs as their single biggest frustrationโ€”and itโ€™s a key reason they decide not to pitch the same site again.

Solve it once, reap loyalty for years.

See Also

Stepโ€ฏ5โ€‚Onboard like a coโ€‘author, not a vendor

Once the draft arrives:

  1. Voice alignment pass. Instead of silent edits, record a quick Loom explaining tonal tweaks. Writers learn your brand melody faster when they hear it.

  2. Transparent factโ€‘check. Tag questionable stats; link examples of acceptable sourcing (Pew, Gartner, primary data).

  3. Coโ€‘launch assets. Supply social snippets, pullโ€‘quote graphics, and a UTMโ€‘tagged URL. Make it painless for the author to share.

Realโ€‘world win: In one recent collaboration, supplying the guest author with a readyโ€‘made LinkedIn carousel alongside the published post noticeably lifted clickโ€‘through and social shares compared with earlier guest pieces.

Stepโ€ฏ6โ€‚Close the loop with metrics that matter

Social reach is fickle; shared data cements partnership.

  • Engaged traffic. Compare timeโ€‘onโ€‘page and newsletter optโ€‘ins from guest posts versus staff articles. Itโ€™s not the spike, itโ€™s the stickiness.

  • Referral depth. Track how many users arrive via the authorโ€™s promo and then read at least two additional pages.

  • Relationship momentum. Note which contributors pitch followโ€‘ups, invite you in return, or reference the collaboration publicly.

Monthly snapshots take ten minutes to prepare and spark bigger joint projectsโ€”panel events, research reports, even coโ€‘branded courses.

Common pitfalls that repel great writers

  1. Open calls with no guardrails. Attracts linkโ€‘farm promoters, repels experts.

  2. Exposureโ€‘only compensation. Offer something of tangible valueโ€”analytics, crossโ€‘posting, or at minimum a detailed case study they can cite.

  3. Slow, silent edits. A twoโ€‘week vacuum between submission and feedback drains enthusiasm.

  4. Backlink baitโ€‘andโ€‘switch. Removing doโ€‘follow links postโ€‘publication erodes goodwill faster than any algorithm change.

  5. Oneโ€‘andโ€‘done mindset. Treating contributors as disposable makes your invite look like a hitโ€‘andโ€‘run tactic.

Closing insight: collaboration as shared authorship

A decade ago, guest posting was shorthand for โ€œcheap backlinks.โ€

In 2025 itโ€™s a referendum on editorial integrity. Each outside voice you feature either tightens your narrative thread or frays it.

Audit your pipeline this week. Ask this core question:

โ€œDoes every new contributor deepen our story or simply fill a calendar slot?โ€

Choose depth. Document the process.

Your blog will become not just a publication, but a collective of trusted perspectives capable of outlasting any algorithm shift.

Picture of Justin Brown

Justin Brown

Justin Brown is an entrepreneur and thought leader in personal development and digital media, with a foundation in education from The London School of Economics and The Australian National University. His deep insights are shared on his YouTube channel, JustinBrownVids, offering a rich blend of guidance on living a meaningful and purposeful life.

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