Half the job of writing books is promoting them. There are many ways to promote a book, but book blogs have become increasingly influential to potential readers. One of the more visible and easier-to-break-into ways to promote a book with an influential book blogger is by guest posting on their site. And double score if they will pay you to post.
Why Guest Posting is Good for Business
Easier to Get Than a Review: When you ask a high trafficked blogger to review your book you are essentially asking someone to do a lot of work. They must read a book and then write a review. Guest-posts are the opposite. You do the work, the planning, the writing, the editing, and they get content without having to lift a finger.
You’ll Make Connections: In the process of pitching and publication, you’ll email back and forth with this blogger. Once they know you, they know you. I have gone back to bloggers I’ve done guest-posts for and they’re always willing to work with me again. Maybe that big blogger who didn’t review your first book will review your second since you’ve worked together before.
Where to Guest-Post
Not all reading focused blogs are created equal. There are a few things to consider:
Genre: Make sure the blog caters not only to readers but to readers of books like yours. A romance novel blog will not be a great place to promote science fiction. You want to connect to readers who want to read your book, not just a book. 
Up-to-datedness: You don’t want to pitch a blog that hasn’t been updated in over three months. Not only does that show that the blogger isn’t all-in, but it might mean that the blog has low readership, or the blogger isn’t promoting enough.
Traffic
You don’t want to take time writing a guest-post for a grand total of five people and so you want to make sure you’re posting on sites with high traffic. You can check the traffic of a blog by using a source like semrush.com which tracks the traffic of websites. There are also some lists that track the traffic of book bloggers – Reedsy has a good one.
Who to Pitch and Where to Look
Effective Business Ideas has a great and up-to-date list of book blogs that accept guest posts. You can find them here: The Ultimate List Of Book Blogs That Accept Guest Posts (effectivebusinessideas.com). Another spot you might look is Guestpost.com, Huge List of Blogs That Will Pay You For a Guest Post.
What Do I Write?
Book bloggers have varying ideas when it comes to guest-posts. Most bloggers will let you pitch something and as long as it fits their general niche, they’ll be okay with it. Others might assign a topic. When it comes to specifics most guest posts should be short and sweet, between 500 and 1,000 words and most bloggers like subheadings.
Topics to Consider Pitching
Anything Writing Related: Think nuts and bolts. Setting, character arcs, plot as mystery, plot as slice of life, your unique drafting process and how it works for you. Consider all those things about writing you don’t always think about all the time. Then write about them.
Anything Publishing Related: Consider your author’s journey when you pitch. Was it hard to get an agent? How did you do it? How well (or not) did you work with them? Did you go straight to a small press? Got any tips on how to work with a small press? Maybe you have some things to say about self-publishing. Book blog readers love to read about the publishing industry if you have something fresh to say about it.
A Theme or Topic in Your Book: Another route, especially with nonfiction, is to discuss an important theme in your book. You can discuss your book and include a topic that is more universal.
You, Yourself: Your life is an interesting story as well. When you’ve exhausted the above, consider your own hobbies, family, friend circles, organizations you might belong to or your profession.
The sky’s the limit!
Bio: Jessica Stilling is a Hugo nominated and two time EVVY Award winning novelist. Her literary titles include Betwixt and Between, The Beekeeper’s Daughter, The Weary God of Ancient Travelers and the upcoming novel Just so Many Places. Her fantasy titles are published under the pen name JM Stephen and include the first two books in the Pan Chronicles Series and Nod, a biblical retelling of the story of Cain and Abel. She has written for John Fox Books and The Writer Magazine. Her articles have appeared in publications like Ms. Magazine, Bust Magazine and Tor.com and she has placed short fiction in literary journals such as Wasifiri, The Warwick Review and The Hawaii Pacific Review. She currently lives in Southern Vermont where she writes for the local newspaper, The Deerfield Valley News and teaches Creative Writing at The Gotham Writers Workshop. You can check out her work at jessicastilling.com.
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