You’re likely no stranger to writing content for your blog. As you adapt to a writing schedule that works for you, take your content creation strategy one step further by submitting guest posts to other blogs.

After all, when it comes to the Internet, the wider your digital footprint, the better. And regularly contributing content to blogs you admire (and whose audiences align with your own) is an effective way to expand your readership, increase your personal brand recognition and showcase your knowledge and expertise.

Before you submit your guest post, however, it helps to make sure you’ve covered all of your blogging bases. The devil’s in the details, right? And that’s never truer than when it comes to blogging. Just consider the following 4 tips your guest blogging checklist:

Include Your Bio

Whether it’s at the end of your post, included in the email or added as a second attachment, don’t forget your bio. Keep it short—3 to 4 sentences should be sufficient. And in addition to telling the blog audience about yourself, be sure to include links to pertinent websites, too, including your About page, social profiles, etc.

Link It Up

As someone who edits a large amount of guest blog content (and prepares content for other sites, too), including links is one of the most helpful things you can do when submitting a post. Don’t go crazy—instead, aim for 3 to 5 links and make sure you’ve included one in the first sentence. When you’re searching for relevant links, don’t forget to go to the site that’s hosting your guest blog and search for a related post or two that would make for good back links.

A Picture’s Worth…

Keep in mind that when you’re guest blogging, the less work you can make for the blog owner, the better. If possible, when submitting your post include a primary photo (and any relevant screenshots). Another tip? Don’t mail it in on your images and for sure don’t swipe them from somewhere on the Web. Just because they’re on the Internet doesn’t mean you can use them. So when it comes to images, make sure they are good ones. The V3 team tends to steer clear of cheesy stock art—instead, we use tools like Compfight to find images that are relevant but entertaining. Just don’t forget to include a photo credit and accompanying image link either in the body of the blog or in your email.

Follow The Rules

Before you submit your post, take a quick cruise through the site to see if any submission guidelines are available. Some sites, for example, may prefer that you submit your post in HTML format or follow other specifications including a minimum word count, etc. The editor or site owner may relay this information to you once your pitch has been accepted, but if not, it doesn’t hurt to see if those details are available elsewhere. Again, it’s all about doing your homework first and minimizing the work for the person who’s gracious enough to feature your work.

Of course, when it comes to the actual blog content, you’ll want to make sure that the tone and subject matter aligns with the blog to which you’re submitting. You’ve likely had some sort of communication with the site editor or business owner so you’re not blindly submitting content. This helps get your relationship off to a good start and hopefully paves the way for future guest posting opportunities.

And another tip? When your post goes live, be sure to pop back to the site and respond to any comments as they’re posted. And don’t forget to share the post, too!

I’d love to hear more from the guest contributors out there. What else do you do before submitting a blog?

Image via Raygun