I hardly run a world-famous blog but feel stunned at how bloggers have no idea how to become a contributor for an established blogger.
Imagine trying to become a contributor for a world-famous blog?
As the stakes grow, so the margin for error dwindles.
Become a Contributor for a Million Fan Blog 2019
I became a contributor to the world-famous blog. PP boasts a 1 million fan community. Plus I contribute alongside celebrities like Positively Positive Shark Tank billionaire Mark Cuban, marketing legend Seth Godin, inspirational author Don Miguel Ruiz and luminaries like Jack Canfield, Ryan Holiday, Marie Forleo, Lewis Howes and Sean Stephenson.
Landing a full-time contributor account of PP was not easy but by paying laser-like attention to all critical details I was invited to write one post per month for this renowned blog.
Let's see how I did it so you see what it takes to get featured on a blog with a million fan community.Tips To Become A Contributor For A Million Fan Blog
1: I Learned from My Failure
Nobody talks about this step but if I never learned from my failed pitch I would not have landed a contributor gig.
7 years ago, I lived in Thailand. I came across a fascinating Vietnam War veteran who literally should have been dead or at best, paralyzed, after being shot through the brain during the war.
I pitched Positively Positive the guest post idea but it was rejected.Why? I had no respected blogging name at the time, having a small, fragmented following. I did not possess serious writing skills and put zero time into building relationships with the people at PP. Naturally, my weak pitch fell flat.
I learned from my mistake though. Years later, I decided to try again with a smart, effective approach.
2: I Wrote My Butt Off
The number one skill you need possess to write for a world-famous blog is to be able to write!
Do you see the contributors above? Most are published, authors. Releasing a book through a publisher requires you to be a highly-skilled, clear, confident writer. I knew that to land a gig beside these pros I had to practice writing daily.
I easily wrote millions upon millions of words over those years between my offline writing practice, blog posts, guest posts, and generous comments. Being a contributor alongside billionaires and celebrities requires you to put in a billionaire, celebrity effort.
This was step 1 in writing for a 1 million fan membership. Write for thousands and thousands of hours to become a REALLY skilled writer.
3: I Generously Built a Relationship with the Community
For weeks, I read PP posts, commented genuinely on PP posts and shared PP posts on Twitter.
The PP community noticed me and thanked me via responding to my blog comments and tweets.
If you want to get someone's attention, help them out. Add value to their life. I wrote and published 2-3 paragraph long comments on the Positively Positively blog, adding social proof and boosting engagement. I retweeted each post to my nearly 50,000 followers on Twitter.
Building this relationship based on being generous helped me stand out from thousands of pitches editors from PP see regularly. Strangers often signal danger but generous, dear friends influence you to see what they have to offer.
I reached out warm, not cold, asking to place a guest post, this time. PP made no promises but noted how if my guest post got accepted, they would place it as a community member post. Based on feedback from that post, I could be offered a contributor account.
4: I Carefully Read Each Post from 2 Months Prior to Match the Blog Tone
99.99% of bloggers get this completely wrong in their strategy to land a contributor gig to top blogs.
Thinking only about themselves, they never actually read the blog to match the pitch post tone. Billionaires and other superstars lend their celebrity and powerful clout to famous blogs but you need to perfectly match the tone of the blog by reading posts for emotional cues.
I observed posts leading off with heavy pain points, drilling home some fear or pain within the first 1-2 sentences of the post. But immediately after the pain, contributors hit on some pleasure point filled with hope. My pitch post had to encapsulate this idea if I wanted to land the post.
Here is the post: How to Break the Rules and Still Win"Eight years ago I was a horribly depressed, broke, security guard."
Here's my lead in a hook:"Today I am an island hopping pro blogger who's been featured on sites like Virgin, Forbes, Entrepreneur and Fox News."
Pain. Pleasure. Fear. Hope.
I also carefully observed liberal use of paragraphs, headers and bullet-point lists.
Guys; to land renowned features like this you need to pay strict attention to these details, being like a guest posting surgeon. If you cannot match the tone your post falls on deaf ears. But if you match the tone and practice writing daily, you position yourself to be heard.
5: I Followed All Editorial Rules
The editor advised me to follow specific rules for writing and submitting the post.
From writing a short, sweet, 600-word maximum post to deliver to their preferences, I followed every rule perfectly.
Editors sifting through thousands of submissions look for any reason to disqualify a post immediately. I guarantee you that writing a 620-word post disqualifies you and your post because you ignored the rules. You quickly realize ignorant, mindless bloggers remain in lower blogging circles and mindful, respectful bloggers move higher in blogging circles.
Follow every rule for every guest post submission to a top blog. Increase your chances of being accepted as a contributor.
6: I Took the Easiest Step aka Writing the Blog Post
Setting the table perfectly with steps 1-5 required supreme mental discipline and devout preparation.
I was 95% sure I'd become a contributor because I spent years writing millions upon millions of words, I generously build a relationship with the community over months and I used my eagle-eyes to perfectly match the blog tone. All I needed to do was write an inspiring blog post and since I had spent 20,000 hours blogging to that point, that was a piece of cake.
Step 6 is easy. Write the post.Most bloggers foolishly spend little time practicing their writing and building genuine friendships through service then desperately try to craft the perfect blog post elevator pitch, only to get rejected again and again. Why? Nobody knows who they are (no relationship-building) and they have no writing skills (no writing practice) so of course you cannot get featured alongside celebrities and billionaires as a contributor with a pauper's effort.
Anybody featured on Positively Positive and similar blogs spent 3-5 years or longer rendering generous service and practicing some specific skill for 10,000 to 20,000 hours or more.
Put in celebrity-level time and effort to perfecting your craft and even if you are not world-famous in that moment, you will become a contributor alongside world-famous celebrities.
Closing Note
You can and will land contributor gigs on top blogs if you follow these steps for years.
Quick Links:No shortcuts exist in blogging or life.
Believe in yourself.
Put in the time and effort.
The world wants to gain inspiration from your story.