How to guest-blog on personal finance or investments, Part I: Your approach

Some financial advisors wonder if they can crank out a steady flow of compelling blog posts week after week. Before you make the commitment, consider testing your abilities by writing for other people’s personal finance or investment blogs.

Some blogs publish their submission guidelines, so you know exactly how to apply to be a guest blogger. Others don’t. But there’s a simple process you can follow to propose a guest role.

Step 1. Study the blog to figure out its audience and topical focus.

Step 2. Come up with a topic. Your description of your topic should identify the main point you’re trying to make and why readers will care about it. In “How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A 5-Week Teleclass for Financial Advisors,” you’ll get help developing a strong topic.

Step 3. Email the blogger to suggest a guest post. A strong proposal will include the following:

     a. Your understanding of the host blogger’s audience and focus

     b. Your topic and why it will appeal to the blog’s audience

     c. A brief bio to establish your credibility

    d. Your contact information

It isn’t necessary to send your completed blog post right away. In fact, I think it’s better not to send it unless requested by the blog’s owner submission guidelines.

A proposal lets the blog owner give you suggestions about how to adapt your idea to their needs. If you enroll in “How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A 5-Week Teleclass for Financial Advisors,” you’ll get my personalized feedback on your draft inquiry for guest blogging.

Financial advisors, you will get names of blogs that accept investment and personal finance guest posts in Part II of “How to guest-blog on personal finance or investments.”

Related posts

• How to guest-blog on personal finance or investments, Part II: Blogs that accept posts from financial advisors
• Which blogging platform should I use?
• Tip for organizing information in your blog posts and articles
• My best posts for financial advisors who blog

This post was updated on June 11, 2011, and April 26, 2020.