When I first started guest blogging about four years and began to have my work published on other (much higher authority) blogs, I didn’t yet have a personal brand or reputation at all.

What I did have however, was the ability to write a blog post that could tell a compelling story, draw readers in and also serve to help my host blog’s content goals. Having the growing skill of writing that you’re constantly working to improve—and the willingness to be persistent with your outreach efforts—will go a long way in helping your guest blogging campaigns succeed.

On top of that foundational writing ability, I started with pitching startups I’d either already worked with in some capacity through my day job (as a content marketer at CreativeLive) or companies that would at least be familiar with the brand of my employer.