Guest Post Guidelines to Help You Make Money Posting Other People’s Articles
In this article, learn how to make money posting guest posts and what guest posting guidelines writers should follow.
One way to monetize your site is by accepting paid guest posts, but is it safe?
Is Guest Posting Safe for SEO?
Google and other search engines might penalize sites that accept guest posts from specific authors or include outgoing links to certain sites. But, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t allow guest posts, it’s just important to have some guidelines for the types of articles you are willing to post.
There are many high-authority blogs and sites that allow guest posts. This includes HuffPost and the New York Times. Some of these articles are not high quality and may even contain spammy links.
When you accept guest posts, make sure they follow the theme of your site and benefit your audience. For your site, you want engaging and educational content that also builds trust and authority.
Here are Guest Posting Guidelines for Sites That Accept Guest Posts
Be True to Your Niche
Let the writer or guest posting service which topics you accept on your site.
For example, on this site, I accept guest posts as long as they are relevant to owning a business, technology, finances, making money, side hustles, marketing, organization, lifestyle, Austin, Texas, and a few other categories.
Keep a Consistent Tone
Is your tone formal and educational or informal and casual? When I respond to guest post requests, I make sure to requests that all submissions must be in an informal, conversational tone.
Only Accept Posts with Good Grammar
I know how hard it is to learn a second language and I appreciate those who are trying to communicate professionally in a non-native language. But, I do not view contributed posts as a learning opportunity. All submissions must be in fluent, native English with good grammar. I have spent too much time in the past correcting grammar mistakes and rewording articles.
Articles Should be Around 1000 Words Long
You don’t want a guest post to be too long or too short. I find the sweet spot to be around 1000 – 1500 words. There are lots of websites that accept guest posts under 1000 words. In fact, if you’re just starting out monetizing your site this way, you may want to open up guidelines to include guest posts under 1000 words.
Request Search Engine Optimized Blog Posts
The writer should know SEO basics and optimize the post with keywords in titles, headings, and main content.
All Content Must Be Original
Be sure that you only accept original content that is not syndicated, or even worse, stolen. All quotes must be cited and linked.
This includes images. If a writer includes images in the submitted post, be sure you have the rights to publish the image.
Guest Blog Post Should Have Do-Follow or No-Follow Link
Determine if you will only accept no-follow links or if you are open to allowing any do-follow links.
For the most part, guest posting services and writers want at least one do-follow link in each article. If you aren’t sure of the difference between the types of links and want to learn more about the risks involved, check out What Type of Links Should I Insert in Sponsored Posts?
No matter whether you accept no-follow or do-follow links, check out the links ahead of time. Make sure the outgoing links lead to authoritative, non-spammy sites.
Include Internal Links
Blog posts should always have internal links (links to other pages on your site). If you require a certain number of internal links for each post, disclose that upfront.
How Much Can You Charge for a Guest Post?
Rates for guest posts are all over the board. There are so many factors. Services will pay more to a host with higher domain authority.
For paid guest posts on my previous site, I got paid anywhere from $25 – $250 per post.
NobsMarketPlace has some pricing ideas for different scenarios.
As an example, if you have a domain authority of 30+ and 10,000 – 100,000 monthly pageviews, you can charge an $80 – $150 publishing fee.
Example of a Reply Emails for Guest Posting Requests
Example 1
Hi! Thanks for contacting (Blog Name).
We accept guest posts on our site as long as it is original and relevant to the theme (theme). We charge ($x) for a contributed post with a disclosure at the top that it is a guest post or collaborative post. Outgoing links to gambling, drugs, etc are not accepted. All posts must be in fluent, native English and in an informal, conversational tone. The article must also be SEO-friendly. If you would like to continue or have any questions please let me know. Thanks
Example 2 (from Wordstream)
Here’s what we want!
- Sufficient length: 1,500 words minimum
- Short intro: ~150 words. Introduce your topic and then tell the reader what the post will cover.
- High quality: original, actionable, organized, and accurate!
- Readability: headers, subheaders, short paragraphs
- Images every 2-300 words: As much as possible. It may be harder with some topics, so don’t force it.
- NO STOCK IMAGES. Images should add value! (An occasional meme is okay.)
- Use screenshots, graphs, charts, visuals, images from our existing posts, etc.
- If an image is from another site, hyperlink to the source via “Image source” anchor text under each image.
- Wordstream links: 3 links to existing and relevant WORDSTREAM posts (the WordStream and LOCALiQ blogs are separate).
- Backlinks: no more than 3 per post
- Short bio: 1-3 sentences, can include links to your website or social accounts.
Here’s what we DON’T want!
- Thin content that demonstrates a lack of depth of knowledge on a topic.
- Fluff: redundant, filler words, uses many words to say little.
- Overly promotional content.
- Previously published or sponsored content.
- Stock images! (Worth mentioning again.)
Websites that Accept Guest Posts
If you are a brand or business looking for a list of websites that accept guest posts in 2022, please contact me. I have a large network of bloggers and websites that are open to guest posts and promoting sponsored content, including my own.
Rachel K. Belkin, M.Ed is an Austin, Texas blogger, entrepreneur, speaker, freelance writer, and educator. After selling her lifestyle blog for six figures in 2021, she teaches business, blogging, and influencer marketing strategies that helped her build her business on part-time hours. Bylines include MSN, Associated Press, HuffPost, Medium, NewsBreak, and Hometalk. She has been featured on KXAN, Studio 512, Fox 7 Austin, CBS Austin, and other news and media outlets.
