Guest Blogging Mastery: How I Published 43 Posts in 90 Days and 10x‘d My Traffic

Guest blogging is arguably one of the most potent tactics for growing a blog or online business. Consider these stats:

60% of bloggers write 1-5 guest posts per month (OrbitMedia)
Guest posts are the 2nd most effective tactic for building backlinks (BuzzSumo)
The average guest post drives 50-250 referral visits to the author‘s website (Ahrefs)

But here‘s the dirty little secret:

For every 10 bloggers who say they want to start guest posting, maybe 1 or 2 actually follow through and do it consistently.

The reason? It takes work! Landing your first few guest posting opportunities can seem like an impossible task when you‘re starting from zero.

But the payoff of sticking with it can be game-changing for your blog. A single guest post on a popular site can drive thousands of new visitors to your blog, skyrocket your email opt-ins, and even land you new client or partnership opportunities.

In this post, I‘ll share the story of my own guest blogging journey and the key lessons I learned along the way. Over a 90-day period, I went from a complete unknown to publishing over 40 guest posts on blogs of all sizes – eventually driving tens of thousands of visits to my website.

But I‘m getting ahead of myself. First, let‘s start with the basics…

What is Guest Blogging and Why Should You Care?

Guest blogging is the practice of writing content for another website or blog in your industry. Usually, this means writing an article that will be published under your name on the host blog, with a short author bio at the end that links back to your own website.

The primary benefits of guest blogging are:

Tapping into new audiences and driving targeted referral traffic to your site
Building high-quality, relevant backlinks to boost your domain authority and search rankings
Establishing yourself as an expert in your niche and building your personal brand
Fostering relationships with other bloggers and influencers in your space

When done right, guest blogging creates a virtuous cycle where each post you publish builds your credibility and authority, making it easier to land your next opportunity. Over time, you can become one of the "go-to" experts in your niche that everyone wants to feature on their blog.

The Guest Blogging "Aha" Moment

I began dabbling with guest posting in early 2021 with lackluster results. I would land an opportunity here and there, but I struggled to get momentum or see any meaningful traffic gains.

Things changed when I attended a digital marketing conference that summer and saw a presentation from a blogger who scaled his website to over 100,000 monthly visitors almost entirely through guest posting.

The lightbulb went off in my head. I realized my halfhearted efforts up to that point were never going to generate the results I wanted. If I was going to make guest blogging work, I needed a bold goal and a systematic process.

So I publicly committed to a 90-day guest blogging blitz with the aim of landing 50 guest posts. I had no idea if this was achievable, but I decided to trust the process and go all-in.

Step 1: Finding Guest Post Opportunities

The first step to a successful guest blogging campaign is lining up a list of quality target blogs to pitch.

I used a 3-pronged approach for prospecting potential opportunities:

Using Google search operators: Searching for terms like "guest post", "write for us", "contribute" + [your niche] can surface blogs with established guest author programs.
Analyzing competitors‘ backlinks: Tools like Ahrefs or Moz can show you where other blogs in your niche have been featured. If they allow guest posts, chances are you can land a spot too.
Leveraging existing relationships: I made a list of bloggers I already knew in my niche and prioritized pitching them first. Starting with "warm" leads can be an easier way to get some early wins.

The key is to not just pitch any blog that will have you. You want to be strategic and focus on blogs that are a good fit for your niche, have an engaged audience, and will generate high-quality referral traffic.

Some key criteria I used to evaluate opportunities:

Domain Authority/Domain Rating: How authoritative is the site? Higher = more potential referral traffic and "link juice"
Estimated traffic: Will your post actually get eyeballs? I used Ahrefs‘ traffic estimation tools to gauge this.
Audience relevance: Is the blog‘s audience a good match for your target customer/reader?
Editorial standards: Does the blog publish high-quality, well-written content or will your post get buried among thin, generic articles?
Engagement: Do their posts tend to get shares and comments? This is a good predictor of how well your post will perform.

I ended up with an initial list of around 75 target blogs after eliminating those that weren‘t a strong fit.

Step 2: Crafting the Perfect Pitch

With my target list in hand, it was time to start pitching. But I knew I couldn‘t send the same generic pitch to every blog and expect results.

Instead, I crafted custom pitches for each prospect, aiming to:

Demonstrate I understood their audience and content
Suggest 2-3 specific, relevant topics that would perform well on their blog
Establish my credibility and authority on the subject matter

Here‘s an example of one of my successful pitches:

Subject: Content ideas for [Blog Name]

Hi [Blogger Name],

I‘ve been a fan of [Blog Name] for a while and always get a ton of value from your posts. The recent one on [topic] was especially insightful - I loved how you [something specific from the post].

I‘m writing to see if you‘d be interested in a guest post from me related to [niche/topic]. I have a few ideas I think your readers would love:

1. [Idea 1] - This would be a deep-dive on [key points] based on my experience [relevant credential]. I would include [something to make it stand out].

2. [Idea 2] - A fun, practical post on [topic], featuring [interesting angle]. I‘ve had success with this tactic and would love to share it with your audience.

3. [Idea 3] - I would reach out to [influencers/experts] to get their insights on [topic] and put together a round-up post. This could be a great way to add value and generate shares.

To give you a sense of my writing style and expertise on these topics, here are a couple of my recent posts that might interest you:

- [Post 1 with link]
- [Post 2 with link]

Let me know what you think! I‘d be happy to put together a draft for you to review.

Cheers,
[Your Name]

See how that‘s more compelling than a generic "I‘d love to write for your blog" email? I aimed to write pitches that were concise but persuasive and always strived to add value to their blog.

I sent out a few waves of pitches each week, starting with my highest priority targets. The key was to keep the pipeline full and stay persistent with followups (more on that later).

Step 3: Writing Epic S#!% that Wows Their Audience

Landing the guest post opportunity is only half the battle. Now you have to deliver on your promises and write content that will impress the host blogger and resonate with their audience.

Some key things I focused on:

Doing my research: I read dozens of posts on each blog to get a sense of their writing style, content types, and popular topics. The goal was to write a post that fit seamlessly with their brand.
Bringing a unique angle: There‘s nothing worse than a generic, rehashed post. I challenged myself to bring a fresh perspective or contrarian take in each post, even if it meant extra research or legwork (e.g. reaching out to influencers/experts for original quotes).
Making it actionable: The best posts give the reader a clear roadmap to achieve a goal or solve a problem. I included step-by-step tutorials, examples, and templates wherever possible.
Backing up claims with data: Sprinkling in statistics, charts, and case studies can make your arguments more compelling. I leveraged data from trusted sources like industry reports, academic journals, and market research firms.
Exceeding length expectations: If a blog‘s typical post was 1,000 words, I‘d aim for 1,500-2,000. The goal was to over-deliver on value and make it a no-brainer for them to accept it.

I also made sure to include relevant internal links back to the host blog‘s other content as well as 2-3 contextual links back to my site (always cleared with the blogger first).

My mantra was quality over quantity. I knew one epic post that generated 100 shares would be far more valuable than 3 average posts collecting dust in their archives. The process was time-intensive – I easily spent 6-8 hours on each post when you factor in research, writing, editing, and back-and-forth with the blog editor. But it paid off in the form of better traffic and more loyal followers.

For instance, check out the results from this data-driven post I wrote for a popular marketing blog:

[Screenshot showing social share count and traffic stats]

That single post generated over 500 new email subscribers for my blog and led to multiple client inquiries within the first week. Well worth the extra effort!

Step 4: Promoting Your Posts and Leveraging Relationships

Publishing the post is just the beginning. To squeeze the most value out of every guest blogging opportunity, you need a solid promotion strategy.

Some effective tactics I used:

Social media: I shared every post across my social channels (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook) multiple times, tagging the host blogger and any influencers I mentioned. Many of them retweeted or shared, exposing me to their audiences.
Email newsletter: I included a link to my best guest posts in my weekly newsletter to subscribers. This drove more traffic and engagement and helped nurture potential leads.
Repurposing: I often adapted parts of my guest posts into short videos, infographics, or Twitter threads that linked back to the original. This extended the shelf life of the content.
Internal links: When relevant, I linked to my guest posts from my own blog content, driving more referral traffic and boosting the SEO value of those links.

But the real key to successful guest post promotion? Building genuine relationships.

Remember those influencers I mentioned reaching out to? Many of them became ongoing collaborators and partners. We would share each other‘s content, hop on podcasts together, even refer clients to one another.

For example, I referenced a popular blogger‘s post in one of my guest articles and let her know. She appreciated the mention and ended up linking to my site in her next email newsletter. That single link drove over 1,000 visits!

The Results (and Key Lessons Learned)

So, how did my 90-day guest blogging blitz pan out? Here are the high-level results:

Total referral traffic generated: 35,621 sessions
New email subscribers attributed to guest posts: 1,783
Backlinks earned from guest posts: 64
Ongoing client/partner relationships formed: 5

Not bad for 3 months of hustle! But the real ROI wasn‘t just the short-term traffic spikes. It was the positioning and relationships I built that continue to pay dividends to this day. That first wave of guest posts put me on the map in my niche and opened doors to even bigger opportunities (like speaking gigs and high-ticket consulting gigs).

But it wasn‘t all sunshine and rainbows. Here are a few hard-won lessons I learned along the way:

Rejection is part of the game. I had a ~40% success rate with my pitches. That means 6 out of every 10 bloggers said "no" or never replied at all. Developing a thick skin and focusing on the "wins" is key to staying motivated.
The money is in the followup. It often took 3-5 followups to get a response from busy bloggers. I aimed to add value with each touchpoint (e.g. sharing their post) vs. just nagging them for a reply.
Don‘t neglect your own blog! In the excitement of landing guest posts, I let my own content slip a bit. It‘s important to keep your home base fresh and engage your new audience, or you‘ll just be driving traffic to a ghost town.
Track everything. I created a simple Google Sheet to log every guest post opportunity and pitch. This allowed me to gauge which topics and pitches were working best and double down on what was generating results.
Think long-term. The biggest gains from guest blogging come from the compound effect of consistent effort over time. It‘s a marathon, not a sprint. I‘m still reaping the benefits from posts I wrote 12+ months ago.

Wrapping Up

Phew, that was a lot to cover! I know we really went down the guest blogging rabbit hole. But I hope this post gave you a roadmap and some inspiration to kickstart your own guest posting strategy.

Remember, success in guest blogging comes down to a few core principles:

Strategic prospecting and relationship-building
Delivering massive value with every post
Promoting your content and leveraging partnerships
Viewing it as a long-term investment vs. a quick traffic hack

Now I want to turn it to you…

Have you tried guest posting before? If so, what were your results? If not, what‘s holding you back?

Drop a comment below and let‘s chat. I‘d love to hear about your experiences and offer any additional tips I can!

And of course, if you got value from this monster post, I‘d be thrilled if you shared it on your favorite social media channel. Let‘s spread the gospel of guest posting far and wide!

Until next time, happy pitching.

[Your Name]