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How to Create the Perfect Blogging Email Campaign

http://womenwinningonline.com/create-perfect-email-campaign/

You Can’t Do It All

http://womenwinningonline.com/you-cant-do-it-all/

5 Things I Learned from Two Dead Blogs

http://womenwinningonline.com/5-things-i-learned-from-2-dead-blogs/

Thank you for your consideration! I look forward to hearing from you!

Take Care,

Jen

Two More Examples of Great Guest Pitches

I don’t advertise that I allow guest posts on my blog, Women Winning Online. Yet I have had two guest posts to date on the blog. Both pitches were excellent, but it was more than just the pitches that won me over. The two guest posters became my friends first. I knew I could trust them with my readers, my most important people. I also knew they are good writers based off of their content on their blogs.

Emily McGee of The Adaptable Career, first became a client of mine when she purchased Find Your Tribe Online. She also took time to comment in my group, share my posts, comment on my posts in other groups, and compliment my course. I totally felt courted! After all that she emailed me and pitched (and wrote) an awesome guest post.

Here is the pitch email Emily sent me:

Hi Jen,

Do you allow guest posts at WWO? I have an idea for a post that I think the WWO tribe would love, so I can send you a pitch/outline if you’re open to guest posts.

xo,

Emily

Hi Emily,

I haven’t been yet but I love your writing style and the way you engage with me and others online so yes! Please send me your pitch. Thank you for asking!

Jen

Hi Jen,

You made my day! Thanks for the compliment and for considering a guest post.

Here’s what I was thinking:

Like you and your audience, I’m a mama and a blogger trying to squeeze the most out of every day. Since I specialize in time management, I thought I could share time management lessons I’ve learned, plus a key takeaway for each lesson.

Potential title: 15 Time Management Lessons I Learned in My First Year of Blogging
1. Done is better than perfect.
-perfection is just procrastination with a positive spin
-Takeaway: Set a deadline for every task and stick to it!

2. There’s never a “right” time to do anything.
-just like having a baby, which I did last year too
-Takeaway: take the plunge, you’ll figure it out

3. Keep your goal front and center.
-when there are a million different things you could do, it helps you focus your efforts by setting a clear goal and keeping it some place where you see it constantly
-Takeaway: write down your goal on a note card and hang it up over your desk

4. Say no as often as possible.
-There will always be tons of “opportunities,” for guest posting, for promoting in FB group promo threads, for collaborations, for new courses, but your time is limited-Takeaway: learn to prioritize

5. There are no short cuts.
-I tried to save time or be more productive by following other blogger’s advice instead of doing the things I needed to do to reach my goal.
-Takeaway: stop looking for shortcuts and do the work that will get results.

6. Energy management matters just as much as time management.
-you’ll get much more done if you do the hard work at a time when you have the most energy.
-Takeaway: Figure out when you have the most energy and prioritize working at that time.

7. Be realistic about how much time you have for your blog/biz.
-started tracking my time, not spending as much time as I thought on my blog, so my expectations
-Takeaway:Your goal has to match how much time you have available.

8. Get used to feeling like you never have enough time.
-In other jobs this would stress me out, but when you have your own business, it’s a reality. It means you’re driven.
-Takeaway: It’s normal to feel overwhelmed, try to turn that into a positive thing, like motivation.

9. Busy is not the same as productive.
-When you’re busy, you’re working on the wrong things
-Takeaway: make sure that every single thing you work on is getting you closer to your goal

10. Naps are productive (really!).
-Research shows that taking breaks, and even naps during the work day can rejuvenate you and increase your productivity.
-Takeaway: Rest is good for you. Don’t push through fatigue, the quality of your work will suffer

11. Limit input to maximize output.
-I get more done when I have less stimulus coming in. So now I don’t watch any tv or movies and take 1 week off each month from social media, which gives me the time and mental space for my own work.
-Takeaway: What distractions or mental clutter can you eliminate from your life?

12. Momentum matters most.
-You’re more motivated to keep working when you’re able to see some progress and cross things off your to do list.
-Takeaway: Don’t overschedule yourself. Write an achievable goal, make a plan you can stick to. Creating positive habits and experiences around your blog will motivate you to continue.

13. There’s such a thing as overplanning.
-Without a plan, you waste a lot of time. But overplanning can also waste time.
-Takeaway: Find a healthy balance.

14. Carbs are not your friend.
-Don’t worry, I’m not pushing some strange diet. But this summer I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and put on a regimented diet that included a lot more fat and protein and much fewer carbs than I was used to. And even though I was in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy, I had so much more energy than normal. Since having the baby I’ve stuck with higher protein meals and snacks and I continue to have a lot more energy throughout the day.

-Takeaway: If you’re trying to be more productive make sure your lifestyle choices are supporting you.

15. Sometimes you need to hustle, and sometimes you need to coast.
-Personal anecdote about hustle vs. taking a step back.
-Takeaway: Hard work and showing up every day are important, but it’s also okay to take it slow when you need to.

It will be pretty long, but I think you also like to share long, juicy posts for readers. If you’d prefer something shorter, I could cut it back to 10 things.

Let me know what you think,

Emily

Wow! Talk about a great pitch. She gave me the outline of the post and everything. I knew it would be a hit with my readers and it sure was! You can check out the post here: http://womenwinningonline.com/15-time-management-lessons-i-learned-in-my-first-year-of-blogging/

Deborah Fingerlow of Riding the Dime, found me through another blogging friend, got to know me on Facebook Live, and purchased Find Your Tribe Online only after some lengthy emails between the two of us. What was really cool is that Deborah and I became friends before she ever purchased my course. She was skeptical because she didn’t know me. So instead of trying to say “just buy it” or blow her off, I took the opportunity to get to know her and be her friend. And as I told her, and I will tell you, I did this because I was looking for a friend and not a sale. If she wouldn’t have purchased FYTO, I still would have continued the friendship because I value relationships over sales. 🙂

It was through this communication that I also began to trust Deborah. It is a two way street! When Deborah sent me her excellent guest post pitch I said yes without even thinking about it!

Here is the pitch Deborah sent me:

Hey Jen,

Any chance you ever use guest posters?  Here’s why I ask.

As a newbie, the blog up and running is fabulous.  And then I fell target to a series of self-inflicted wounds:  Facebook, Google Analytics, Instagram, course creation, growing my list, updating/creating a linked in profile.  The list is never-ending.  Like popular magazines touting one weight loss strategy after another with the promise that this one will make the difference.

Doing everything is a choice.  A crazy one, but a choice.  Doing nothing is also a choice.  Also crazy.

I remember my daughter’s Kung Fu master instructing her that “good practice makes perfect.”  The same holds true here.  Good practice is not 100 things.  It may be two, it may be ten.  The question comes down to this:  how many balls can I juggle?  Don’t forget the family provides just as many as the business.

I am living proof that old dogs can learn new tricks, but we all have our own learning curves.  We all have those things we don’t get.  And we all have those things that come so easily we can’t see why it’s a problem for anyone.

As a huge fan of reaching out and connecting, I’ve learned the first person we need to connect with is ourselves.  We need to accept ourselves with grace and move forward.  I have two sister beagles and walking them together is near impossible.  They know how to get a rise out of each other.  They tumble.  They wrestle.  And moving forward is difficult.  Same thing happens if we don’t connect with ourselves.

If you’d ever like someone to share such a post, I’m your gal.  🙂

Best,
Deborah

Deborah is an amazing writer and has the way of drawing me in with her words. I knew her guest post would do the same and it sure did. My readers loved this one! You can check it out here: http://womenwinningonline.com/be-true-to-you/

Both women had different ways of getting to know me and I respected both and see them as friends now. Each relationship took about 2 weeks-30 days to build. Not long at all to build that trust! Talk about a win-win!

Bad Pitches

On the flip side there are bad guest posting pitches and I have seen my fair share. Typically pitches that are bad are really about the blogger pitching and not the host blogger’s audience. Basically they are self-centered pitches. Or they are pitches where you can tell the person hasn’t done the research at all. They pitch a post that has nothing to do with the host blogger’s audience.

Here’s an example of a bad pitch I received:

Hi!

Its Blogger Name and I thought it would be fun to let you know we created an infographic called: 8 Beginning Blogger Mistakes to Avoid

If you are open to it, we would love to publish it on your blog. I could also write you a unique intro to accompany the infographic. 🙂

Either way, I’d love to send it your way. Let me know if you’d like to check it out.

All the best and much success,
Blogger Name

Okay so what is wrong with this pitch? A lot! First of all I had no idea who the blogger was. It was a random message from my contact form on my website. Next it was all about her and her infographic. No reason why it would help my audience and nothing indicated that she even knew my audience at all. This pitch turned me off and I did not respond to her.

If you want to increase your chances of getting your guest pitch accepted do the work, do the research, and be professional in your pitch. Get to know the host blogger and be their friend. Not to get something from them, but to build a relationship. Blogging is more fun when we can collaborate and help each other out!

Key Things to Include in a Guest Post Pitch

First make sure the blogger doesn’t have any requirements for guest post submissions. Some of them will ask for specific subject lines or forms to fill out. You want to follow their requirements to a “T” to show you respect them.

Then after that, this is the formula I follow for guest posts:

Subject: Your next guest poster? or Can I guest post for you?

Email:

➡Intro:

Hi First Name,

➡Compliment:

Start with a compliment to show them you read their blog and enjoy it.

I am a reader of your blog and have to say I love __________ about it! One post that really stood out for me was ______ and here’s why _________.

➡Pitch Introduction:

One-to-two line opening about the subject I want to write about. If I am writing about email marketing for example I will write about why it’s an important topic.

➡Topic Pitch:

Here are 3 subjects I would like to write about. I give them three headlines to choose from. The headlines help drive interest I think.

➡Writing samples:

Then I always include 3 writing samples. One about the topic, one personal, and one popular post.

➡Close:

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you!

This pitch is professional, to the point, and shows that you know what you are talking about. When you write in this way you are showing the influencer that you take your writing or interviews seriously and are good at what you do. A pitch like this is more likely to get accepted which is half the battle when it comes to guest posting and podcasting!