If you’re a blogger, then you are probably familiar with guest posting. You pitch an idea to another blog, they approve it, you get more backlinks, and everyone’s happy. Usually, no money exchanges hands during the process. However, that’s not always the case.
Nowadays, it’s becoming more common for blogs to offer a payment to their guest bloggers, which is fantastic news. However, other websites are taking a different approach by demanding you pay them to publish your guest posts, which is sketchy at best.
In this article, we’re going to talk about paid guest blogging and its counterpart. Then we’ll go over how to find the right guest posting opportunities for you. Let’s get to it!
What Is Paid Guest Blogging?
A lot of blogs are offering to pay guest writers for the contributions they make. That isn’t to say, of course, that you can just pitch any ideas you like and rake in a ton of money. In most cases, paid guest posting opportunities aren’t exactly lucrative.
You can easily make more with a regular freelance writing gig. However, guest posting isn’t about making money – it’s about building backlinks to your blog. That, in turn, can help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and hopefully pay off in the long term.
Even so, guest blogging basically amounts to unpaid labor. A lot of popular blogs have you go through complex editorial processes before they accept guest posts. That means, in many cases, you’ll end up spending a lot of time working in exchange for a link or two.
On top of that, if you’ve ever tried to pitch blogs before, then you know landing guest posting opportunities takes time. In my experience, most blogs won’t even answer your inquiries unless they like your website and the planets align just right. Between finding guest posting opportunities, pitching those blogs, and working on articles, the whole thing resembles a part-time job.
Even so, guest posting remains one of the best ways to build backlinks. If you find blogs that offer paid guest blogging opportunities, then you should be all over them. After all, a little money for your work is better than none at all.
Why Some Blogs Are Asking Money to Publish Your Guest Posts
For a while now, it’s been somewhat common for blogs to ask money from guest writers in exchange for publishing their articles. The thinking goes, guest posters are the ones that benefit the most from the transaction, so blogs have the ‘right’ to ask for payment.
The more saturated your blog’s niche is, the more likely you’re to run into a situation like that. After all, it’s not rare for popular blogs to get a lot of guest posting requests, which means they get to be picky.
To be fair, paying for links isn’t anything new. It’s not necessarily black-hat SEO, but it does fall in a grey area. Even now, if you look at places like Fiverr, you’ll find a lot of people offering backlinks by the dozen:
The problem with paid backlinks is quality. When you pay someone $5 to set you up with a bunch of extra links, you can be sure they’re not going to hold up under scrutiny. Search engines are pretty good when it comes to spotting low-quality backlinks, so they’re not worth your while.
Some people think it’s worth it to pay for guest writing ‘spots’ on successful blogs. The problem with that is you’re not paying for anything that’s guaranteed. Getting to guest write for even the most wildly successful website doesn’t guarantee your blog will see more traffic. That is not to say that guest posts don’t have a positive impact, but a single brick does not make a wall.
Personally, I don’t think it’s worth it to pay for the opportunity to guest post on any website. If you’re a website owner, engaging in this practice makes monetary sense, but it’s not a good look. Just like with sponsored content, if your blog’s brand is up for sale, it’s hard to build and maintain trust with your audience.
Types of Guest Blogging Opportunities You Should Look For
Whenever possible, if you can opt for paid guest blogging opportunities, do so. The trick lies in finding those, of course. Search engines are your best ally in this case, and you can often find a lot of blogs that accept guest posts with a single search:
Keep in mind – finding guest posting opportunities is all about numbers, just as pitching new clients is if you’re a freelancer. A lot of blogs get swarmed with guest posting pitches, so they don’t answer back to all of them.
The best way to approach guest blogging is to look up websites that set out very clear guidelines for them. In most cases, those types of sites will ignore proposals that don’t adhere to their guidelines, which means they filter out most requests. If you can get a list of five or ten of those blogs and send each of them individual proposals tailored around the type of content they like to publish, your odds should look great.
Most blogs that offer paid guest posting opportunities advertise that fact. However, it never hurts to ask about the potential for payment while pitching a proposal, as long as you’re polite about it. If someone gets upset over you asking if they pay for guest posts, then they’re probably a pain to deal with anyways.
Conclusion
Guest blogging is an industry standard by now. However, I’ve never been a fan of unpaid labor, which is why it makes me happy a lot of blogs are now offering to pay guest writers. The downside is that other websites are also using their clout to get money from up and coming blogs.
You might think that paying for a popular website to publish your work is worth it. However, it’s difficult to quantify the value of a backlink. Plus, most niches have plenty of blogs that are happy to receive guest contributions without trying to get money from you. All it takes is for you to learn how to find and pitch them.
Do you have any questions about how to find paid guest blogging opportunities? Let’s talk about them in the comments section below!
Image credit: Pixabay.