How Guest Posting Can Help You Grow Your Writing Business
Guest posting is one of the most effective ways for freelance writers to build credibility, grow their audience, and attract new clients. By writing for established blogs in your niche, you can boost your visibility and showcase your expertise – all while strengthening your writing portfolio.
In this post, we’ll walk you through:
- What guest posting is
- How it can benefit your freelance career
- How to find and pitch the right opportunities
Let’s begin!
What Is Guest Posting?
Guest posting, also known as guest blogging, is a marketing technique where writers produce content for other websites as a way to promote their own blog or business.
Guest posting shouldn’t be confused with ghostwriting. While ghostwriters create pieces that are credited under someone else’s name, the author of a guest post is credited themselves, often with a short author bio or byline.
Website owners often accept guest posts because they can offer a fresh perspective to the site’s main output, as well as increase the site’s SEO value through backlinks. In other words, guest blogging is a win-win: the host site gains valuable content, while the contributor builds visibility.
If you’re a freelance writer, guest posting can be a great way to establish your brand and secure more clients. Let’s find out how.
What Are the Benefits of Guest Posting?
While some websites may offer payment for guest posts, this isn’t always the case. But even without a monetary reward, guest posting still comes with major benefits for freelance writers. It’s one of the most accessible ways to build your reputation and grow your freelance business from the ground up.
Guest posting can help you:
- Reach a larger audience
- Increase traffic to your site
- Establish your authority on a subject
- Produce material for your portfolio
- Connect to and network with other professionals
We expand on each of these points below.
Reach a Larger Audience
Many websites that accept guest posts will already have an established brand and audience within their particular niche.
This is particularly useful if you’re new to freelance writing, as building up a reliable readership can take time – and driving traffic to a brand-new blog or portfolio often requires more than just great writing.
By writing a guest blog post, you can take advantage of the followers and subscribers an established brand already has and get your business in front of a wider audience sooner.
To make the most of this, look for sites with:
- Active comment sections or social shares on recent blog posts
- Consistent publishing schedules (e.g., new posts weekly or biweekly)
- An engaged social media presence (e.g., likes, reposts, or comments)
- Audience overlap with your niche or target clients
Even one well-placed guest post on high-traffic sites can generate long-tail keyword visibility, bringing in readers, subscribers, or potential clients weeks or even months after publication.
Increase Traffic to Your Site
One of the biggest benefits of guest posting for freelancers is increased referral traffic. This term refers to visitors to your website who click a link from another source. In this case, that’s the blog where your guest post appears.
Referral traffic is great for your business, and not just because it puts your content in front of more readers. When someone lands on your site after reading a guest post, they’re often already interested in what you do. This makes them more likely to explore your services and portfolio and then get in touch with any questions.
The more referral traffic your website gets, the more reliable and relevant your content appears to Google’s algorithms. This means guest posts don’t just bring visitors – they can also improve your search engine rankings over time. Referral traffic boosts your SEO and helps your website appear higher in search results.
To get the most from guest post traffic:
- Include a link to a specific page such as your services, portfolio, or a helpful blog post, not just your homepage.
- Focus on relevance over quantity. One well-placed link in a strong article is better than several in weak content.
- Avoid keyword stuffing or link spam (placing links on pages that regardless of context). Google, for example, has strict spam policies, and will devalue content that violates them.
A single guest post with a relevant, well-placed backlink can lead to steady traffic weeks or even months after it’s published. Done right, it acts like a long-term referral source, especially if the host blog continues to get readers and engagement.
Establish Your Authority on a Subject
Guest posting is more than just exposure; it’s your chance to show potential clients that you know your stuff.
By writing about topics you understand well, you can position yourself as a go-to expert in your niche. This is especially valuable if you’re trying to break into a specific industry – like tech, education, or finance – where authority and familiarity with sector language can set you apart.
Using a clear communication style in your post will also help establish your authority on the subject. A strong guest post should:
- Offer helpful, actionable advice
- Demonstrate a clear understanding of the audience’s challenges
- Present your insights in a tone and format that fits the host blog’s brand voice and style
If you’re writing for a niche website that’s respected in its field, even one well-written guest post can boost your credibility. And over time, multiple guest contributions across different outlets can help you build a reputation as someone who knows their field. This makes it easier to win trust and attract higher-paying clients.
Think of each guest post as a building block: the more high-quality pieces you publish, the stronger your professional profile becomes.
Produce Material for Your Portfolio
A portfolio is one of the most important tools in your freelance writing toolkit. It shows potential clients what you can do – your writing style, subject knowledge, and ability to connect with a specific audience.
But if you’re just getting started, you might not have much published work yet. That’s where guest posting comes in. Each guest post you publish becomes a concrete example of your skills. And because it’s published on someone else’s platform, it often carries more credibility than a self-published blog post.
As you build your portfolio, aim for quality over quantity. A handful of well-written, relevant guest posts is more effective than a long list of unfocused or outdated samples.
Connect to and Network with Other Professionals
Guest posting doesn’t just help you reach new readers – it can also open the door to valuable relationships with editors, content managers, other writers, and even future clients.
When you contribute to a blog, you’re getting access to a new network of industry professionals. That gives you a chance to start conversations, build your visibility, and become known in your niche.
Here’s how to turn a guest post into a networking opportunity:
- Engage with the host: Thank the editor or content manager after publication. Stay in touch and offer to contribute again if the opportunity arises.
- Join the conversation: Share your post on social media, respond to comments, and tag the blog where appropriate. It shows professionalism and helps others in the industry notice you.
- Connect with contributors and readers: If the blog features other writers, comment on their work or connect with them on LinkedIn. Small gestures can lead to referrals, collaborations, or guest invites down the line.
Over time, these relationships can lead to more than just exposure. They can result in repeat writing opportunities, testimonial quotes, or referrals to paying clients. Some of the best freelance gigs start with a simple connection made through a single guest post.
How To Start Guest Posting
We’ve established that guest posting can help grow your freelance business in a number of ways. Now it’s time to walk through the steps to get started.
Set Your Goals
Before you start pitching, it helps to know what you’re trying to achieve.
Your goals might include:
- Improving your website’s search visibility
- Attracting more referral traffic
- Boosting conversion rates
- Growing your social media audience
- Adding high-quality work to your portfolio
Be as specific as possible. A good rule of thumb is to make your goals SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
For example:
“Publish one guest post per month for the next three months to build my portfolio and pitch higher-paying clients.”
“Get one guest post published on a blog my target clients follow within the next 6 weeks, so I can add it to my portfolio.”
“Write a guest post with a link to my services page and track 50 new visitors from it over the next four weeks.”
These kinds of goals will guide where you pitch, how you position your expertise, and what success looks like.
Find Opportunities
Once you’ve set your goals, it’s time to find the right blogs to pitch. The key word here is right – not just any site that accepts guest posts, but one that aligns with your niche, your values, and your goals.
Start by searching Google using terms like “write for us,” “submit guest post,” or “guest contributor guidelines” along with keywords from your niche. You can also browse curated lists (e.g., 100+ Quality Guest Posting Sites), check where other freelance writers are publishing (such as by searching their bylines or checking their portfolios), or explore hashtags like #guestpost and #writeforus on platforms like Bluesky or LinkedIn.
Once you’ve built an initial list, take time to evaluate each opportunity. One post on a well-chosen site can do far more for your visibility than a handful of links on low-quality sites.
Look for blogs that:
- Cover topics relevant to your skills or industry
- Have an audience that overlaps with your ideal clients or readers
- Post regularly and show signs of engagement (e.g., comments, shares, backlinks)
- Maintain editorial standards that reflect well on contributors
To help assess a site’s visibility and SEO potential, you can use tools like MozBar to check domain authority, SimilarWeb for traffic estimates, or Ahrefs to review backlink profiles.
As you continue on your search, trust your instincts. If a site hasn’t been updated in months, features low-effort content, or seems flooded with spammy links, it’s probably not worth your time. Look for quality, not just a publishing slot.
Pitch Your Ideas
Once you’ve narrowed down your list of target blogs, it’s time to reach out with a pitch. This is where many freelance writers hesitate, but a good pitch doesn’t have to be long or complicated. It just needs to be relevant, respectful, and clear about the value you’re offering.
Start by doing a little research:
- Read several of the blog’s recent posts to understand the tone, format, and audience.
- Make sure your idea hasn’t already been covered. If it has, consider how you can offer a fresh angle.
- Check their contributor or submission guidelines, if available.
- Note whether they prefer fully written drafts, topic pitches, or outlines.
Once you’re confident your idea is a good fit, write a short, personalized email that includes:
- A proposed headline, plus 1–2 alternate titles
- A brief explanation of the article idea and why it’s a good fit for their audience
- A short bio that highlights your experience in the topic
- Links to a couple of writing samples (especially if they’re relevant in tone or subject)
Always double-check that you’re sending your pitch to the right person. Look for editor names on the “About” or “Team” page, or if guidelines suggest a shared inbox, use the one provided.
Here’s a simple, professional pitch email you can adapt:
Subject: Guest Post Idea: “[Article Title]”
Hi [Editor’s Name],
I’m a freelance writer specializing in [niche/topic], and I’d love to contribute a guest post to [blog name]. I have an idea for an article called “[Article Title],” which aligns with your content on [describe the type of content the blog typically shares].
I’ve included a short outline below and linked to two writing samples in a similar style. A bit about me: I work with [type of clients you serve] to [describe what your content does for the audience] and [describe the benefit for businesses or brands].
Let me know if this sounds like a good fit. I’d be happy to adjust the angle based on your needs.
Best,
[Your Name]
If you don’t hear back within a week or so, it’s perfectly fine to send a short follow-up. Editors are busy, and polite persistence often pays off.
Not every pitch will get a yes, and that’s okay. Treat each one as practice. Over time, you’ll get faster, more confident, and better at spotting the blogs that are truly worth your time.
From Guest Posts to Paying Clients
If you’re looking to take your freelance writing career to the next level, we can help.
Our Becoming A Freelance Writer course covers everything from researching and writing content to building your business and finding clients. With expert-written modules, one-on-one tutor feedback, and the opportunity to get your work published, you’ll build the confidence and credibility you need to thrive as a freelance writer.
Want to try it out risk-free? Grab two free lessons today!
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