One way to maximize your guest posting efforts is by finding high-yield outlets.
I think of high-yield outlets as fitting in one of two categories.
They either go WIDE, they reach a LOT of people.
Or they go DEEP, they reach a smaller but more specific subset of people who will deeply resonate with your message.
How to find outlets that go wide: Look for outlets that syndicate their content.
This means they have content partnerships with other entities so your piece could find life beyond the original post.
It’s important because you are going to spend a lot of time writing high quality pitches. This will require work and research. So incorporating this syndication search into your research you can maximize your efforts.
You can figure this out by looking at the bylines and seeing if they indicate the content was originally published on a different site.
Here’s a screenshot from one of my favorite sites, The Muse. You probably can’t see the byline for the “10 Reasons…” article, but it is from Inc. Magazine. This means they probably have a content-sharing agreement. Inc. probably chooses content from The Muse to publish on their site, just as The Muse has chosen this piece to use on their property.
How to find outlets that go deep: This involves some internal work. Get super specific. And, look to your own life at the niches to which you’re relevant.
If you’re a former soccer player who is now teaching cooking classes, focusing on the fact that you’re a former athlete will help your brand. And, it will also help you break away from the clutter of cooking class teachers pitching guest posts to major culinary websites.
If you take your former-athlete status and pitch an audience-relevant story to one of the best websites for soccer players, then you have something.
Getting super specific has an almost magical effect. It makes you more relevant to more of the right people, despite the fact that it seems like you’re narrowing the field. A guide for soccer players on what to eat before a game is better than a guide for any athlete on what to eat before a game, is better than guide for any old Joe on what to eat before…well, whatever old Joe is doing.
Getting specific about your audience will inspire ideas and it will make your content more useful to the audience.
Check back at this article for more ideas on how to pitch more powerfully. Or get in touch with me to schedule your Pitching Power Hour where we’ll talk about how you, specifically, can get in touch with more of the right people.
