Creating content is the core of any online strategy. Whether you are attempting to persuade audiences or selling products, every website and blog needs content in order to attract people. Regardless of focus or niche, a poor content strategy simply leads to poor results.

Guest blogging has been a notable element of content creation for many years. Despite prognostications that it was dead, the practice remains alive and well in the present. As websites need both content and link building opportunities, it shouldn’t be shocking that this practice continues.

If you’re looking for guest posting opportunities, then continue reading to find out how you can easily locate them.

Spy on the Competition

Those seeking to earn links and make a name for themselves might be fretting over where to begin, but the easiest place is to see where your competitors are posting! With an array of tools that make scouring through your competitors’ backlinks easy, virtually anybody can start pinging servers in pursuit of guest posting opportunities. Given that your competitors have already done the long grind of finding which places accept guest posts, you’ll be able to quickly reach out to each. Likewise, being in the same niche as your competitors means the content you’re producing is likely to be received well by the sites where they’re posting.

Mine Your Associates for Opportunities

How many websites and/or brands are you currently in contact with or know somehow? Chances are good that you already have a variety of relationships with entities, whether they be within your niche, in your local community or acquaintances you met through online interaction or previously-earned backlinks. It’s definitely worth thinking of any and all industry-related and local associates you can contact for guest posting opportunities. These connections can be extremely valuable early in a brand’s development, as it makes it easier to earn those initial links.

Refine Your Search

It’s very important to optimize your hunt for guest posting opportunities. With search engines at your fingertips, using them effectively can make a huge difference. You can refine your searches by using search operators to further narrow down the possibilities. Using phrases such as “write for us”, “become a contributor” and “submit an article” are a few of the many common phrases websites use that accept guest posts. There are search utilities out there that can aggregate or scrape many queries at once to help find relevant results.

Look Through Directories

Last but not least, consider that there are directories online where you can find select guest posting opportunities currently available. Rather than pinging servers and search engines in search for individual websites and blogs, these directories can help you quickly identify a variety of contenders. While it is worth noting that some websites on these directories may not be credible, may not have meaningful reach and could even be detrimental to your website via backlinks, it is a place to start and potentially find multiple entry-level guest posting opportunities.

By putting these useful tips to work, you’ll have no trouble at all finding new and exciting guest posting opportunities. Whether you’re leveraging existing connections or making new ones, just remember that the process isn’t easy – but with a bit of hard work, it can be rewarding!