Guest blogging is a useful tactic to get your content published and build yourself a name in the digital marketing industry.
But before pitching anything to a blog editor, you need to know exactly what kind of content they are after.
That’s guest blogging 101.
Their areas of interest and their editorial standards will help you decide what content to offer them.
To help you save time on assessing your “targets”, I made a list of the 35 most popular digital marketing media that accept guest posts with quick tips about what content they prefer and how to approach them.
So, what posts do they usually publish?
What Type of Content About Digital Marketing Usually Gets Published
From what I’ve seen over the years working in digital marketing, most of the posts fall under one of the following categories (if we don’t consider news):
‘Nothing New’
This type of content is not necessarily of little value or involves plagiarism.
Roundups, reviews, summaries – they all belong to this tier and add up value to initial materials, however, the majority of content is just the retelling of the same old story.
The only thing that differentiates such posts from one another is how well they are written in terms of style and structure.
So, if you need to publish a story on a not-so-fresh topic, pay special attention to the way it’s written.
A Fresh Perspective / An Expert Opinion on the Subject
If you find an expert ready to give you a quote for a “nothing new” post, it increases its chances of being accepted to a top-tier media.
Case Studies
Nothing grabs as much attention as a personal story.
In fact, there are media that specialize in posting case studies mainly because of their high engagement potential.
If it also contains a unique strategy, a new approach or angle, it has really good chances of being accepted by a prestigious blog.
I don’t prefer writing about something that I’ve already read/written about before, which is why I often go with this option.
This type of content is hard to create but easy to pitch.
Given that it’s well written, illustrative, and provides interesting conclusions, it has a pretty high chance of being accepted by a top-tier media.
Choose Your Content Wisely
Any content you decide to create should be of the highest quality possible. So pick wisely.
But if, for example, you can’t invest too much time in a research or do not have enough information for a compelling case study, it’s totally all right.
A nice roundup or an informative infographic will always be appreciated.
What really matters is how well it’s executed and how it fits the blog’s area of interest.
Below you will find the list of the popular digital marketing blogs and a few tips on how to pitch your story to them.
35 Blogs That Accept Guest Posts About Digital Marketing
Review their line-up and suggest a topic based on what the invited speakers are going to talk about.
You can also ask a speaker to participate in the creation of your content (e.g., give you a quote).
These guys write about technical SEO like crawl budgets and site speed optimization.
So if you know a thing in technical SEO, then this is a great place to pitch your post to.
Emma Labrador will be the right person to talk about a guest post contribution.
In-depth how-tos that share practical advice.
Ryte prioritizes reader’s value, so the post you submit should cover the topic comprehensively.
SEMrush is a comprehensive toolkit for digital marketers, but they also have a popular blog where they (and many of their guest authors) write about search, PPC, digital PR, and everything digital marketing.
SEMrush has pretty strict editorial guidelines, which is convenient since you don’t have to wait for clarifications to start working on a post.
You can submit your post directly on their site, but I recommend to connect with their blog editor before sending your post.
As one of the most popular blogs in digital marketing, Moz prefers original content with a unique perspective and obvious value to the reader.
That’s why they favor how-tos, research, and case studies.
If you have enough resources, then a research will be your winning horse.
6. Business 2 Community
Business2Community likes things that are newsworthy.
For instance, your thoughts on a new Twitter feature or an update to Facebook Ads.
They always ask to share the previous samples of your work, so be ready to provide a portfolio.
SERPstat is growing their community, so they will be interested in materials that will help them connect with other influencers.
Posts with the quotes from experts will be favored here.
For your collaboration to be mutually beneficial, you’ll have to be willing to give something in return.
For example, help the guys with their social media, pay attention to what they share.
Only after that it makes sense to start pitching.
Also, don’t forget to check their blog’s guidelines.
HubSpot is not so easy to approach, so unleash your creativity.
For example, create a video with your pitch and run ads on HubSpot employees on Facebook.
10. Blogging Wizard
Guides and how-tos should work.
For example, topics like “How to speed up your SEO with PPC” can often be seen there.
Adam Connell will be the right person to talk about your next guest contribution.
Ahrefs has a popular blog, so they are selective about what they publish.
That means 100 percent original copy, unique strategies, and practical angles.
If you’re a fan of the tool, your chances of being accepted are even higher.
Cold pitching will hardly get you a spot on their editorial calendar.
With a blog like this, you’ll have to build a relationship first, starting with commenting, running discussions on their Facebook group – Ahrefs Insider.
Mention is a tool for tracking brand mentions, so everything link building is the right direction to take.
You can find a lot of info in their guest posting guidelines.
Instead of writing to a generic email, you can connect with Mention editor directly on Twitter or LinkedIn.
13. Search Engine People
What They Want
Search Engine People is an agency that specializes in SEO, PPC, and other areas of digital marketing, so their blog covers a little bit of everything in the industry.
You can submit your post directly on the page with their editorial guidelines.
To grasp their attention, you have to make sure your post stands out: a catchy title, clear structure, and brainstorm a good topic.
14. Jeff Bullas’s Blog
What They Want
Jeff Bullas is interested in 100 percent original material that won’t involve any self-promotion.
Also, in the guidelines, they recommend pitching a minimum of three topics.
This increases the odds that you’ll be accepted because there are more chances they will like one of your ideas.
To stand out and increase your chances of receiving a response of “yes, we’re interested in your topic”, I recommend brainstorming creative titles.
For instance, one of their posts is titled “How To Jazz Up Your Emails With Rich Media (Inspiration From Brands That Are Nailing It)” which perfectly describes my idea of using creativity in your post subject line.
15. Shane Barker
Shane Barker’s blog is about digital marketing, with a focus on SEO and influencer marketing.
If written well, a post on anything around these topics should be a good fit.
Barker does regular roundups, this might be your chance to get in.
BuzzSumo specializes in content marketing, but you can try to squeeze in with an intersection between content marketing and SEO.
Link building is also a working topic.
Susan Moller, BuzzSumo’s blog editor, runs a lovely group on Facebook.
However, it’s for ladies only.
If you manage to get it, you can try to get in touch and validate a post idea.
SEO and SMM and how they work together.
SEO for WordPress will also be a good fit.
The blog has guidelines.
As a tool for outreach, Pitchbox writes about link building and outreach tactics.
Pitchbox is interested in link building, so you’ll have to find a new angle to the old topic.
Also, they really care about the quality of the writing, so don’t bother pitching anything that isn’t really exciting.
Since Oribi is a tool for interpretation of Google Analytics’ data, topics around data analysis and SEO should work.
If your topic fits into their area of interest, you’re halfway there.
Oribi’s blog is not as unapproachable as big media – they guys are responsive on Twitter, so you can always contact them to clarify their demands.
20. SEO Hacker
SEO Hacker’s primary audience are upcoming SEO specialists, so your post should be practical and insightful, but easy to grasp.
As it is with other media, for them to pay attention to you, you need to pay attention to them.
For example, follow their founder on Twitter or ask for his quote.
Tidio is an award-winning chatbot software.
Their blog covers all topics related to ecommerce, customer service, live chat and chatbots, and so on.
If you open their blog feed then you notice that they are in love with how-to style posts.
In fact, they write about this on their contributor guideline page.
Tidio prefers case studies, make sure to include any examples in your guest post.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to your fellow marketers for data or examples if you don’t have them at hand.
Mangools offers a powerful set of SEO tools that include keyword research, backlink and competitor analysis, and even position tracker.
Among the best content types, you could go and pitch them step-by-step guides and case studies.
Have your or your client’s site significantly increased organic traffic?
If the answer is yes then that’s the right story to write about for the Mangools blog.
Don’t forget to check their blog guidelines to gain a better understanding of what they’re looking for.
The best person to chat about your possible contribution will be Maros Kortis.
Initially, CXL was solely about CRO topics but that time has passed.
Currently, they write about literally anything that helps businesses reach better results.
You need to remember that CXL only accepts extremely well-written content that goes over 2,000 words.
Find more details in the CXL blog guidelines and send your pitch directly to Derek Gleason.
Linkody blog is looking for posts within an SEO niche.
If SEO is your bread and butter then you should definitely consider this blog.
Also, they want quite lengthy posts that go over 2,000 words.
Learn more about Linkody contributor guidelines on this page.
Since they’re a link building tool then going with a topic related to building links will help your pitch stand out.
25. Compose.ly
Compose.ly features posts that cover all kinds of content marketing topics.
Starting from content creation and promotion and ending up with copywriting and SEO tips.
This blog allows to pitch posts that start from 1,000 words.
Here’s a link to their write for us page.
Website Promoter blog allows writing about quite a big range of topics.
You could literally pitch anything that talks about digital marketing including growth hacking, brand management.
You contribute posts on PPC, SEO, Email Marketing and even offline marketing topics.
Where to contribute?
Funnel Overload is looking for topics that cover social media marketing, growth hacking, lead generation, content marketing, SEO, and marketing automation.
Your best bet will be going with a listicle post that features some tools or how-to-style pieces of content.
Funnel Overload has a very detailed “Write for us” page.
Make sure you go through the requirements: the blog accepts posts of over 2,000 words and are unique and have never been published before.
You can also write directly to Adam Connell.
Chanty is an Al-powered chatbot that helps you stay connected with your team and work more efficiently.
Based on their blog guidelines, you need to be ready to pitch them a topic that will be connected to communication, collaboration, or productivity.
Basically, if you’ve had a chance to improve your team productivity then Chanty will be the right place to tell this story.
Chanty has a separate page to send your pitches before you invest your time to write the whole post.
Pitch them an option of 2-3 titles before you contribute.
The blog accepts texts of 1,000 to 2,000 words length.
Pay attention to the tone of voice of already published pieces and read the writer’s guidelines thoroughly.
You can also contact Anastasia Matveyeva directly.
Prowly is a PR software that helps you improve your brand’s media coverage.
On their blog, they write about all things related to digital PR, including tips on building media lists, writing press releases, and making inbound PR happens.
If you want to be among Prowly authors, start by reading the guidelines.
Prowly has an option to pitch your title and outline before you write, which I find very handy.
Overall they accept articles between 1,000 and 2,500 words, they ask authors to include pictures and infographics.
The guidelines page also outlines the topics which are in priority, the page is updated so check before you pitch.
If you have any doubts contact Magdalena Wosińska.
Postfity is a social media scheduler for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
The target audience is small businesses.
So, the main point of interest is how to do social media marketing on Facebook/ Instagram/ Twitter/ LinkedIn better – faster, cheaper, with better results (ROI, engagement, organic reach).
The blog has strict rules of what exactly to do to get published.
Follow the step by step instructions on the Guest Rules Page. You have to start with pitching the title first directly to Emilia.
DigitalNovas is a blog that covers topics around digital marketing, SEO, or freelancing.
You are welcome to send pitches with post ideas about blogging, copywriting, content creation, content marketing, influencer marketing, and social media.
Pitch 3 to 5 ideas of the future posts before you write.
Follow the instructions outlined on the page Write for us.
Userpilot helps clients to improve user adoption and engagement.
The product helps to build contextual product experiences based on conditions such as user persona or stage of the journey.
Your best bet will be any title around UX, product growth or customer success case studies.
Go through recently published posts to understand the topics that have recently been accepted.
Contact Emilia Korczynska directly.
What They Want Contact
Pigeon provides clients with omnichannel marketing automation tools.
The service gives ecommerce marketers access to solutions they need for customer acquisitions and retention.
So any topics related to retail, growing sales, ecommerce personalization and analytics, retargeting are points of interest for the blog.
If you have any case studies or tips on how to grow the business in fashion, travel, food and groceries verticals – feel free to reach out at the Write for us page.
The minimum requirements are 1,000 words length, 1-3 links to relevant resources and examples.
33. SEO Butler
SEO Butler provides SEO services for your marketing needs, which includes content writing, press releases, guest posts to name a few.
The blog covers topics around search engine optimization and digital marketing.
The best way to contribute to the SEO Butler blog is to reach out to Sean Shuter.
ReferralCandy is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) that allows any ecommerce store to create a referral program.
The company customers can share a referral link with their friends, and for every new purchase, both the customer and their friend receive rewards – discounts, cash, or special gifts.
The audience of their blog is tech-savvy ecommerce owners and entrepreneurs – so if you have any topic for them feel free to reach out.
Pitch 3 – 5 ideas of a future article before you write.
The pitch should include the title and an abstract that outlines the text.
Reach out to emails listed on the Guest Post Guidelines page or contact Eleanor Tay.
CandyBar is a rewards program for store owners.
The CandyBar blog covers the loyalty program tips and tricks for small and medium-size businesses.
So if you have any case studies around bringing customers back to the stores for the second and third time – feel free to reach out.
CandyBar is a sister project to ReferralCandy – similar tips are working for the blog. Pitch your idea before you write and reach out to Eleanor Tay.
Featured Image: Created by author, April 2019
All screenshots taken by author, April 2019