We all know guest posting is one of the best ways to get your point of view and your name out there.
When you’re published, you have the opportunity to reach a whole new audience and you earn more credibility. If you do it right, you become a trusted authority, which is gold when it comes to building relationships that result in sales.
Guest posting (and booking interviews) is the cornerstone of a solid publicity plan in this new age of business.
I’m dedicated to giving you all the tools you need to pitch successfully and put yourself out there, confidently.
There are a couple things you need to know about what to pitch. What kind of ideas sell?
Back to basics tip: When you’re writing a pitch, you have to pitch an idea, not just yourself as a guest contributor.
So here are four qualities of pitchable ideas:
Specific: Turn your idea into something very specific topic-wise or niche-wise. Example: I was going to pitch an article to a career website about getting respect at work. I changed the angle just a little bit and made it more specific. I decided ultimately to pitch the article as a piece about getting respect at work if you’ve been working for the same company since you graduated college. This little tweak made the article idea unique. And the outlet was immediately interested. Trick: You can look for ideas that have been written about already, and put your own unique spin on it.
Relevant: Look to the specialty of the outlet. Here’s another opportunity for you to “steal” an idea and transform it for a specific outlet. Example: If I wanted to take my “how to get respect at work” idea and pitch it another outlet that maybe caters to moms, let’s say, I’d write something about “how to get respect at work despite having to leave at 5pm everyday to get home to put baby to be.” (We’d all like to think that moms get some dispensation at work to tend to responsibilities at home, but they don’t always. This could be the beginning of my piece!)
Timely: Look to trends in your industry. What’s happening this time of year? What’s the ongoing conversation in your world? We emit a collective groan when we start seeing those “Back to School” stories start appearing, but there’s a reason for that. We expect annual news about how to do it differently this time of year. These annual trends are predictable, so capitalize on that. Sick of the annual parade? Take a look at what’s new in your industry. Write about that, too.
Actionable: Offering an idea isn’t enough, you have to show you can teach people to implement the idea into their lives. One word. Four letters. T…I…P…S. Offer actionable advice in the form of a checklist, things to do, things not to do, words to use, words to avoid, when, where and HOW to do, whatever it is you’re writing about.
Post your next pitch idea in the comments below. Let us see how you are incorporating all four aspects of a winning pitch! Can’t wait! Be sure to come on over to the Create Content That Connects Facebook group. We’re going to be launching a pitch challenge soon. Pitching is easier with support. Let’s do it together!
