Quick name 1 blog you think you should pitch.

Who did you name?

Did you name popular guest post websites?

Sites like Forbes, Business Insider, Huffington Post, Mindbody Green etc?

Perhaps its because those are the sites you came across recently in your social media newsfeed.

Or because those are the sites that show up when you do a google search to find guest post websites.

Maybe your audience told you those are the sites they read.

But here is the irony guest posting on popular sites not only does not help you build your email list, it hurts you!

Why popular guest post sites kill your email list building

There are three main reasons why.

Reason #1 Long editorial cycles

Popular sites have packed content calendars. Not to mention long editorial cycles. This means anything you pitch now won’t be published until months later.

And that means long wait times between when you write the post and when audiences actually see what you have written.

A lot can change in that wait time. Your ideas may have evolved, your products may have evolved, your market may have shifted. But that guest post you submitted months ago will get published without reflecting any of this.

Reason #2 Multiple decision makers

Popular sites often have many people involved in making decisions on accepting your guest post. Even when it gets accepted new decisions can come up after your pitch that effect the list building returns for your guest post.

For example, my friend Sam realized that the popular site he was guest posting with was not linking to his site. When he asked why he got told that a decision maker he hadn’t talked to just changed their guest post linking policy:

Reason #3 Their visitors have not been trained to take action

Most popular sites have a business model driven by advertising. This means they are incentivized by the number of visitors. Not surprisingly this means they reward visitors for consuming content but not acting on it.

So even if you write the best guest post in the world for your audience on a popular site, it will get visitors but not people who then click to check out your opt-in gift or your website. Aka the list building returns of such a post will be minuscule.

Well ok, Sana, you convinced me but where should I guest post instead?

Have no fear my humble warrior. I got you.

What are the right guest post websites

The right sites for guest posting are sites whose visitors view the site as a trusted advisor. So much so that they passionately take action on whatever the site recommends.

Fortunately with some smart searching tricks, finding sites like this is very easy in almost any niche. Here is how.

How to find the right guest post websites

You can find the right guest post websites by using sharing data.

The best way to do this is to use a content prospecting tool like NinjaOutreach.

Here is how you would go about it.

Step #1: Login into NinjaOutreach

Step #2: Type your blog topic area

Eg. screen when searching for creative writing blogs

Step #3: Sort by shares

Sorting by shares gets the blog posts with most engagement on top.

Step #4: Screen for one related blog post

At this point you have tonnes of possible blogs, pick the first one your gut tells you is a fit.

Now it is your turn.

Wrap up and Next Steps

Let’s summarize. Here is what you learned:

• Why popular guest post websites do not help you build your list
• The types of guest post websites you should choose instead AND
• How to find the right guest post websites

Now it’s your turn to put it into action.