A step-by-step checklist to ensure your guest posts get accepted and deliver maximum SEO & branding value.

1. Pre-Research Checklist

✔ Identify Your Goal

☐ Build backlinks

☐ Increase traffic

☐ Establish authority

☐ Generate leads

☐ Build partnerships

✔ Find the Right Websites

☐ Relevant to your niche

☐ Active blog with recent posts

☐ Legitimate organic traffic (check via Ahrefs/Semrush)

☐ Good domain reputation

☐ Real authorship and editorial standards

☐ Engagement (comments, shares, newsletter activity)

✔ Analyze Content Requirements

☐ Understand their writing tone

☐ Identify top-performing content

☐ Review their guest post guidelines

☐ Check formatting style (H2, H3, bullets, length)

☐ Review their linking policy

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2. Pitch Preparation Checklist

✔ Warm Up Before Pitching

☐ Follow the site on social media

☐ Engage with their posts for 1–2 weeks

☐ Comment meaningfully and share their content

☐ Join their newsletter/community

✔ Create a High-Quality Pitch

☐ Personalized intro (no templates)

☐ Show familiarity with their content

☐ Offer 2–4 unique topic ideas

☐ Demonstrate expertise

☐ Provide links to your best articles

☐ Keep it short and respectful

☐ End with a simple call-to-action

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3. Writing Checklist

✔ Content Quality

☐ 100% original, value-driven content

☐ Experience-based insights (E-E-A-T)

☐ Zero AI-generated generic fluff

☐ Includes stats, examples, steps, tips

☐ Meets or exceeds the website’s content standards

☐ Has a clear reader takeaway

✔ SEO & Structure

☐ Keyword naturally integrated

☐ Strong introduction and conclusion

☐ Short, readable paragraphs

☐ Proper H2/H3 hierarchy

☐ Includes visuals (if allowed)

☐ External stats properly sourced

✔ Links (Very Important)

☐ Add 1–2 natural, editorial links to your site

☐ Include helpful external links

☐ Avoid keyword-stuffed anchor text

☐ Ensure links make contextual sense

✔ Formatting

☐ Grammarly score 95+

☐ No spelling/grammar errors

☐ High readability score

☐ Consistent tone

☐ Matches host website’s formatting style

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4. Submission Checklist

✔ Before Sending

☐ Recheck guidelines

☐ Convert document to preferred format (Google Docs/Word)

☐ Enable link sharing

☐ Add author bio (short + professional)

☐ Provide headshot (if required)

✔ After Submission

☐ Send a polite message with the article

☐ Offer revisions if needed

☐ Wait patiently (don’t spam editors)

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5. Post-Publication Checklist

✔ Once Published

☐ Share the article on LinkedIn / X / Facebook

☐ Add to your portfolio

☐ Link it from your website

☐ Include it in newsletters

☐ Thank the publisher publicly (great for relationships)

✔ Track Performance

☐ Backlink indexed

☐ Referral traffic

☐ Keyword ranking improvements

☐ Domain authority/visibility changes

☐ New leads/sales generated

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6. Long-Term Guest Posting Strategy Checklist

✔ Relationship Building

☐ Engage with editors regularly

☐ Offer future content topics

☐ Collaborate on joint content (roundups, interviews, etc.)

✔ Content Planning

☐ Maintain a list of target websites

☐ Track which sites accept/reject

☐ Create a quarterly guest posting calendar

✔ Quality Control

☐ Ensure each guest post offers unique perspectives

☐ Avoid posting similar articles across multiple sites

☐ Maintain voice, credibility, and originality