The best guest post outreach templates to nail your pitch

Links are the (not so) secret ingredient for search engine optimization (SEO). But everyone involved in SEO faces the same struggle: how to secure high-quality guest posts from trusted sites? 

In this article, we describe how to write a guest post pitch, including how to get the right subject line for a guest post. We then provide some guest post email templates for websites and guest post outreach templates for blogs. 

Using our simple templates can help to supercharge your SEO outreach and power the performance of your website.

To scale your guest post and link building outreach, be sure to try Flowrite:

What is guest posting or guest blogging?

Guest posting involves creating content for someone else's website, blog, online magazine, or another medium. It could be a blog, article, listicle, or op-ed.

You can find guest posts published on:

• Magazine websites
• Online publications
• Company websites
• Blogs

The content you create is given away free for publication. The expected exchange here is a backlink to your website. The owner or publisher of the site gets high-quality content, and the reader gets to enjoy an informative article. If it works well, guest posting can be a win for everyone.

We're not going to delve too deeply into the complex and ever-changing world of SEO, but links still play an essential part in the ranking process, and guest posts are integral to most SEO strategies.

Not all links are equal. The higher the domain authority (DA) of a website, the greater the link's value. Read this article to learn more about the importance of DA in the link process.

In basic terms, a link from a global website such as Forbes will mean more to a search engine than a link from your local paper.  

Guest posting is a safe and fair SEO strategy. Buying backlinks, on the other hand, is bad news. 

Google clarifies that this is in breach of their terms and could (if discovered) result in a penalty for your site. The search engine giant also warns against "excessive link exchanges ("Link to me and I'll link to you") or partner pages exclusively for the sake of cross-linking."

So, what can you do?

Guest posting (or guest blogging) is a free and fair way of promoting you, your business, and your brand. It's also the safest and most sustainable solution to finding links.

Before we get into the details of how to write a guest post pitch, let's explore some of the best strategies for finding guest post opportunities.

How to find guest post opportunities?

The question of how to find guest post opportunities is something those new to SEO always ask. The reality is that there are numerous ways to find places to pitch your guest post ideas; you just need to be strategic about finding them. 

Firstly, start with those websites and blogs that you regularly read. As a reader, you'll understand the content that works and can (hopefully) provide it.

Here are some other ways to identify sites that accept guest posts:

• Start with the search engines – use the advanced search function on Google to identify sites in your market that offer guest post opportunities.
• Copy competitors – Check where your competitors are posting and try there.
• Use social media – Regularly searching social media feeds and results can help you identify sites requesting or accepting guest posts.
• Blogs are brilliant – While everyone wants a link from Forbes, it's not always realistic. Links from bloggers, particularly those with significant audiences and authority, can be precious. 
• Contribute to communities ­– Community sites can provide an excellent opportunity to post content and reach a ready-made audience. Just because a site doesn't have a substantial public profile, it could still positively impact your SEO. 

The reality is that identifying guest post opportunities is a numbers game. The more effort you put in, the better the outcome. 

You can also buy access to guest posting sites. The ethics of this are up to you, but Google frowns on the practice. Again, it's your business, your reputation, and your choice.

Before blasting out an email to every editor, answer these questions to qualify the opportunity and optimize your efforts: 

• Do they accept guest posts?
• Have they provided guidelines on submitting guest posts? (Have they explained what they will and won't publish, for example?)
• Are the contact details of the editor or information on how to submit requests been published?
• Is your content good enough to be published? (see our 5 fundamentals of great guest posts above) 

When reaching out to editors, always to and use their full name where possible. While finding contact details may not be quick, it's often possible with some effort (and access to LinkedIn). 

Our advice is to make an effort; it's often worth it.

What makes your content stand out? 

People's biggest mistake when pitching for guest posts is to focus on what they want and not what they're offering. 

Owners and publishers of high-profile blogs with authority understand the value of their sites, having earned that position by providing content that engages their audience. So why would they risk that by posting poor-quality content from an untrusted source?

When assessing your pitch, website owners and editors are looking for five things from your content. Your content must be: 

1. Relevant – Your content must be interesting for the audience and offer value. Bu value, we mean information or insight they couldn't get elsewhere.
2. Accurate – No spelling mistakes, grammar errors, or factual problems that could cause the publisher problems. Issues could include criticizing businesses or brands by name.
3. Timely – Relevant content is timely content. Pitch ideas for posts that will generate interest and capture traffic. Think less about what you want and more about what others are searching for.
4. Informative – If you're expecting someone to read your content, make it enjoyable. Explain what information and insight you're providing, and establish why you're the person to provide it. 
5. Original – Any post you pitch must be 100% original and exclusive. Once it's placed, you can't use it again (including posting on your site). This is critical at protecting any SEO gains and the sites of anyone who publishes your content. 

These fundamental principles form the basis of any approach. You don't need to go into massive detail in each post, but you should tick as many of these boxes as possible – it's easier than you think. 

Let's look at how this works in practice.

How to write a guest post pitch

There are no hard and fast rules about approaching blog owners for guest blogging, but your guest post email pitch should follow good email etiquette. We outline a relevant guest post email formal below. 

Before all that, you'll need to ensure that the recipient chooses to open your email – and that means having a great subject line for a guest post. Let's look at these two crucial aspects of every guest post email in greater detail. 

Subject line for a guest post 

A guest post email subject must be clear about what you're offering. Some guides recommend you lead with "Guest post request" and leave it at that. But we think you should go further.

Give a little flavor of what your post or pitch is about. A question is always great because editors (like all of us) want to know the answer. Think about the fundamentals of great posts – relevant, timely, informative – and include those in your guest post email pitch, too.

We introduce some examples below, but here are a few ideas for suitable guest post subject lines:

• Guest post pitch: 10 essential actions for 2022
• Guest post request: Are you doing enough for 2022?
• Do your readers know enough about tax? (possible guest post)
• Do you accept guest posts? Experienced writers & great content

Guest post email format

If you've written a business email before, then this should all be familiar. Your guest post email must include:

• Engaging subject line
• Appropriate introduction and opening
• Information about your post
• Contact details
• Sign-off

Rigid rules govern how to write a professional email, including opening and ending business correspondence), but you have greater freedom here. The purpose of the email is to generate interest and kick-off communication, so feel free to introduce a bit of personality into your pitches. 

We've already written about the importance of email tone of voice, so that's a great place to start. 

Here is a selection of guest email templates you could use.

Guest post outreach templates 

These guest post outreach email templates cover three situations you're likely to encounter:

1. A website that you know is accepting guest posts
2. A website you're contracting with a request
3. A blog

1. A website that's accepting guest posts

So, we already know this website is accepting guest posts; now, you need to ensure yours is top of the pile! We use the email guest post pitch subject line to grab attention and the email body to establish trust, relevancy, and authority.

2. A speculative approach for a guest post

In some cases, if it's not clear that a website is accepting guest posts, it's still worth reaching out. In this example, we set out clearly what you're asking, then provide a little teaser about your post. Here's an example.

3. Pitching a guest post to a blog

Blogs are usually owned, managed, and run by passionate individuals who take pride in what they've created. When contacting a blogger with a guest post pitch, take the time to make it personal, and show some appreciation for what they've achieved. It should be easy to find out whom you're messaging, so use the full name where possible.  Here's an example of pitching a guest post to a blog.

Flowrite's smart template for guest post pitch

If you follow our best practices and examples, writing a guest post email pitch shouldn't be too hard.

The guest post pitch email templates introduced in this blog post provide you with a starting point to build upon and manually personalize your approach to guest blogging. However, there's an even easier – and faster – way.

‍Flowrite is an AI-powered writing tool that turns your instructions into ready-to-send emails and messages that are personalized. See the example below on how our intelligent guest post outreach template can help you save time.

We hope these guest post email templates will help you improve your pitches to have more success with guest post outreach.

We know that writing guest post emails isn't just tough on the mind; it's time-consuming too, which is why Flowrite can help.

Our tool can help you transform your guest post ideas into clear and compelling guest post email pitches that any site owner, editor, or blogger will love to receive and read.