by Anne R. Allen
Guest blogging is still one of the best free book marketing strategies. Even though blogging has lost some of its luster, visits to some well-chosen blogs can get your book and name in front of a lot of eyeballs, and jumpstart your sales. But in order to land that guest blogging spot, you need to learn to write a professional query that treats the blogger with respect. And how to be a good guest.
If you’re a blogger, you know how many guest post queries land in our inboxes every week that auto-reject. Often they want to use your blog to promote wildly inappropriate topics. Or they want to insert links to gambling or porn sites. But every so often I get a great one, and it makes my day.
Tips For Querying a Blogger
1) Read the guidelines!
If a blogger only wants cozy mysteries, don’t pitch a horror novel. Or a gritty police procedural. Or sci-fi—unless it’s set in a bakery in a small town in the Alpha Centauri system.
2) Read several blog posts to determine tone.
Look at what’s usually published on that blog. If it’s full of jokes and funny asides, don’t send something that sounds like a college essay. The tone of some blogs is upbeat and light hearted and others are “just-the-facts-ma’am.” Your query should show you know what tone to use.
3) Write your own query!!
I have had way too many bad experiences with publicists or other representatives of authors. So as of this week, I will not accept any guest post queries from third parties.
4) Don’t mass-query.
Personalize each query. Be honest and friendly with the blogger and don’t act like an AI bot. If your query sounds generic and is obviously sent to dozens of bloggers, a blogger will have no reason to trust you. After all, you’re asking to take over their blog for the day or the week or whatever.
5) Send several potential topics for a guest post.
Even though you might be the world’s greatest expert in dressmaking in medieval Bavaria, the blogger may have just run a post about a dressmaker in medieval Bavaria. Pitch some alternative topics.
6) Make your bio short and to the point.
The blogger wants to know your credentials, and also something interesting about you, especially if you’re pitching an interview. But don’t go overboard with the self-promotion. Brevity is the soul of wit and all that.
7) Don’t forget your clips!
We don’t need to clip them out of journals anymore, but we need to provide links to other blogposts or articles we’ve written. Preferably on a similar subject.
If You Land a Guest Blogging Spot or Interview
8) Keep up with deadlines.
If a blogger wants to see your copy by such and such a date, send it on that day or before. Otherwise, your spot may go to somebody waiting in the wings.
9) Send all you book data!
If you’re guest posting to promote a book, tell the blogger the title of that book. Also, send the book cover art, a couple of blurbs, and the links to your buy pages where readers can buy that book. (I know that seems like a no-brainer, but you’d be amazed at how many guests—or their publicists—fail to do that.)
10) Show up!
I’ve given guest spots to two different authors this summer who have ghosted me. They were both represented by publicists. Maybe the publicists fell down on the job, or maybe the authors didn’t know how dangerous it is to piss off a blogger. (We tend to remember names. 🙂 ) This is why I’m writing this at the last minute, and it’s shorter than usual. Yet another guest blogger ghosted me. Grrrr.
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I’m going through some unpleasant health issues right now, so I could use some guests to help out this summer. Especially since Ruth has had to step away from the blog because of her own health issues. My preference is to hear from blog readers. If you read this blog and would like me to spotlight one of your books—or publishing services, like cover design or editing, read the guidelines on the page labeled “Guest Bloggers” and send me a pitch. I’d love to hear from you!
For more on guest blogging see my post on Guest Blogging is the Best Free Publicity for Writers
by Anne R. Allen (@annerallen, @annerallen.bsky.social) July 12, 2026
What about you, scriveners? Have you guest posted on blogs? Bloggers, do you welcome guests on your blog? What has been your experience?
BOOK OF THE WEEK
SO MUCH FOR BUCKINGHAM: Camilla mystery #5
This comic novel — which takes its title from the most famous Shakespearean quote that Shakespeare never wrote — explores how easy it is to perpetrate a character assassination whether by a great playwright or a gang of online trolls.
Camilla makes the mistake of responding to an online review of one of her etiquette guides and sets off a chain of events that leads to arson, attempted rape and murder.
And there’s a cat.
“Laughs and social commentary abound in this global adventure. Camilla Randall, a down-on-her luck-socialite-turned-etiquette-expert, takes on review cyberbullies while her friend Plantagenet hunts down the ghost of Richard III. Anne R. Allen has given us a hilarious satire that pokes fun at some dark topics. And we get a mini refresher course in English history to boot.”–Maggie King
Available in ebook from:
Amazon Kobo Nook Smashwords Googleplay
Available in paper from:
AmazonUS AmazonUK Barnes & Noble
Audiobook from Audible and iTunes
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featured image: Creative Canvas Shop for Pixabay
As for me, I have my own way to Rock — That’s the way I Roll.
Funny, I have not pitched podcasters but recently a few have wanted me as a guest. Problem is, I have never done a Zoom call and most want me to do a Zoom call instead of a regular telephone interview, of which I did around 50 to 100 years ago for radio interviews.
I say this as a self-published writer who has written 20 books and has sold well over 1,125,000 copies of my books, I have 3 books that are true international bestsellers — ones that have each sold at least 100,000 copies in the print edition. My books have been published in 22 languages in 29 countries.
I rely on word-of-mouth advertising for a lot of my promotion. Check out this video which I had nothing to do with. This increased my ebook sales of my “The Joy of Not Working” by several hundred copies and earned me over $3,000 extra.
“The Joy of Not Working” Explained in 14 Minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpyBO9QnAYs
Note that this guy Richard in the United Kingdom has 36,400 subscribers on YouTube and this particular video about “The Joy of Not Working” has now had over 82,000 views.
I just completed the 25th Anniversary Updated Edition of “How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free” (now over 475,000 copies sold and published in 11 languages) that will be released by Simon & Schuster on September 29.
Weirdly, in the last week, a gentleman in Hawaii reached out to me wanting to do a Webinar about my book, not knowing that I was bringing out a new edition. This guy runs one FB retirement group with over 400,000 members and another side group with 20,000 members.
Talk about synchronicity: I had alreadly booked a trip to Hawaii for early December. We are going to do a 50 miniute webinar in his elaborate studio.
But he wants to do a Zoom call with me to know me better.
Guess I will have to relent and learn how to use Zoom.
One last note: I have included a topic, “Not Writing a Book Can Be More Difficult than Writing One” in the new edition of HTRHW&F. It is 5 pages. I will send it to you so you can decide whether you want to use all of it or part of it as a blog post.
Ernie–I’m with you on the video podcasts. Now that I’m in my 70s, I have a great face for radio. 🙂 Obviously your direct marketing strategy has worked remarkably well for you, and you’ve been targeting the right demographic. Zoom can be fun, once you get the hang of it. You’ll probably enjoy the interview.
I’ve already got four formal pitches for guest posts from this post. If you want to pitch me something, read the guidelines and send me a pitch. I like the idea of not writing a book being harder than writing one.
Sorry to hear about yours and Ruth’s health problems, Anne! Unfortunately for us boomers, it goes with the territory.
Sheesh, I can’t believe two writers ghosted you. That’s rude, disrespectful, and unprofessional.
In nearly 40 years of writing, I’ve never missed a deadline. In fact, magazine editors used to call me for emergency articles when another writer dropped the ball b/c they knew I always delivered.
Guesting on your blog is an honor I’ve enjoyed several times. I’ll shoot you a few ideas.
Meanwhile, take care of yourself. Your readers need you.
Debbie–I’ve never been ghosted before this summer, but now it seems epidemic. Maybe their publicists over booked them and forgot to mention it. It’s good to be the reliable one editors can count on. You get more gigs that way. We’ve certainly enjoyed your guest posts here, so do send another pitch.
Anne, this is so on the mark! I am absolutely bewildered by the number of people who ask me to host them, who have obviously never read any of my books or my blog posts. I’m all about humour, as you know. This happened recently: I asked why they wanted on my blog in particular; they said: “because someone told me you get a lot of traffic.” ARGH! It’s very much like the strangers who thrust manuscripts in your face at signings, insisting that you read and blurb their book, without even buying one of yours. I want to say my mother’s saying, “Were you born in a barn?”
Melodie–“Because you get a lot of traffic” is not a reassuring reason to host an unknown writer. 🙂 They just don’t get it. And God forbid they should buy one of your books–or even read your blog. Grrr.
Hey Anne,
Another fine post. Here’s hoping some regular readers step up with exciting things to say. Looking forward to it.
CS–I’m already getting some good pitches, so I think we’ll be having some fun guests this summer.
So sorry that happened to you, Anne, and about your health issues. I think I’ve been reading your blog since you started it, so I recall the hiatus you had to take for health reasons once before. As for the ghosting (so unprofessional) I do wonder about AI bots, or the overuse of AI by publicists.
Sounds like you’ll be set with guest bloggers, but I do have a question about that in general. I have a author newsletter, and am about to start a blog. But I’ve never been a guest on a podcast or done a guest blog (although I did do a short radio interview which I had fun with, and I’ve co-presented a couple of workshops). But the workshops weren’t recorded, and I don’t have a direct link to the radio interview. How do I handle the request for “clips?”
Debra–Thanks for being such a loyal reader! If you don’t have any articles or print interviews to link to, don’t worry about it. Clips are good because they show your writing style and present you as a publishing professional. A link to your radio interview, if available, will help show that too. I’m so happy to hear you’re starting a blog. Everybody seems to be dropping their blogs and moving to Substack these days, but you lose a lot of discoverability that way.
Quite the interesting post: the topic is guest bloggers, dos and don’ts; written by a blogger who got ghosted by two potential guest bloggers for their blog.
Rule #1, which is along the lines of never getting on your food server’s bad side, never annoy a popular blogger/writer. You just may find yourself a topic at the proverbial water cooler.
I guest blogged only once about 14 years ago and I didn’t do a very good job at it. You live and learn, and become mature enough not to fake it.
I actually had a pitch idea while reading your post, so I may give it some thought. Here’s to you making through your minor medical detours with flying colors.
GB–Yes, you don’t want to piss off a blogger. We talk to each other. 🙂 I got a bunch of great pitches today, but pitch away. I have spots in late November and December left.
Hi Anne. I hope all will be right soon enough. I have no doubts you’ll have plenty of pitches. Get well soon. 🧡
Debby–Thanks! I’ve had a whole bunch of great pitches today. Now I’m booked through mid-November.