
Sana Choudary
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Part #2
How to get your online headquarters ready for pitching
The other day I was talking to my friend Tim about his business.
Tim is a fitness coach, actively trying to sell more of his online fitness programs.
Since I believe guest posting is the quickest way to build an email list that buys, I asked Tim if he had started guest posting.
He said no and then he asked:

Ok we weren’t actually doing yoga on a beach during this conversation. But in my imagination… 🙂
"Don't I need a lot more content on my blog before I can guest post?"
“Why do you think you need content on your site first to guest post?” I asked.
“Well if I have enough content, influencers I’d reach out to would realize my work is good and is likely to provide enough value to their audiences,” said Tim.
Tim’s reasoning is sound. But it comes from the flawed assumption that influencers assess your guest post fit by reading your blog in-depth.
The reality is very different.
Most influencers will never read your blog
I mean place yourself in their shoes for a second.
Imagine that you are a popular and busy influencer.
Would you have the time to go read the blog of everyone who pitches you a guest post?
Probably not.
The truth is influencers try to assess the fit of the guest post based on what is written in the pitch.
In the situations where they do visit your site, they are most likely only looking at your home or about page.
But before you go polish up those pages up check out the four critical areas influencers are assessing on those pages, so you know exactly what, you need to improve.
Pro-tip: What should you do when your online headquarters is not a website? What if it is a podcast, Youtube channel, Facebook page or group? Apply the ideas coming up to the description sections of the online headquarters you do have. For example, for a business Facebook page, these would be your cover image, about section, story etc.What influencers are looking for when they visit your online headquarters
When influencers visit your online headquarters, they are trying to assess how well you fit with them in four different areas.
① Who you help
The first thing most influencers try to assess is who you help. Specifically if you help the same people they do. Or at least, help some subset of the people they help.
Questions to answer to make who you help crystal clear
Here are some questions to ask and answer to make sure that when influencers visit who you help is crystal clear to them:
② What problems you solve
The second thing influencers try to assess when they visit your online headquarters is what problems you help your audience with.
Questions to answer to make what you help with crystal clear
Here are some questions to ask and answer to make sure that when influencers visit what problems you help with are crystal clear to them:
③ How you help your audience
The third thing influencers look for is how you help your audience.
Questions to answer to make how you help crystal clear
Here are some questions to ask and answer to make sure that when influencers visit how you help your audience are crystal clear to them:
Let's bring it together with an example of my guest posts. The method I use to help my audience grow their email lists is guest posting. Since most influencers I pitch to don’t usually cover guest posting, the fit is usually obvious.
I say usually obvious because it can all go south if you aren’t a match for the next and final criteria.
④ Your values
The fourth area influencers try to understand are your values.
Specifically, they are trying to confirm that you don’t have any of their deal breakers.
For example here is what it was for one influencer I guest posted with recently:

So of course this influencer won’t be taking any guest posts from people who only care about making money at any expense possible. If that is you, you shouldn’t bother pitching that influencer.
Questions to answer to make your values crystal clear
Here are some questions to ask and answer to make sure that when influencers visit your values are crystal clear to them:
Your Action steps
Influencers may only spend a few seconds on your online headquarters to assess fit.
You wouldn’t want to lose a guest post opportunity simply because the possible fit wasn’t immediately clear to them, would you? So take a few minutes to make sure it is.
Want my free 4-day checklist to help remind you of the specific actions to take to get your online headquarters ready?
Click here to download your checklist.

Don't Have Time to Read the Entire Guide Right Now?
How about you download the entire 32,000 word guide as a PDF so you can read and execute it in your own time?
