5 Rules for Writing Your First Guest Blog Post

Last updated on 2 April 2025

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So you’re looking at writing your first guest blog post! Amazing! Guest posting on other people’s blogs is a great way to showcase your experience, build your own brand, and get your name out there into the world. It’s one way to bring more traffic to your site, as well, and it’s an opportunity to make connections with other bloggers and even make new friends!

But writing your first guest post can be a little daunting! What do you write? How do you know what to include and what to leave out? Are there any rules you need to be aware of?!

Asking these questions is a great start, trust me. Writing a guest post is much like writing your first blog post; while there aren’t really any rules to guest post, there are some things that you’ll want to take into account (so we’ve called them rules so they seem more legit haha!) so that you can write the best guest post you can. We’re going to take a look 5 ‘rules’ for writing your first guest post, and I’ve thrown in a bonus one, too!

Here are 5 rules for writing your first guest blog post

1. Research your host’s blog
2. Write for humans, not for search engines
3. Think about the length of the post
4. Try to include one takeaway for your readers
5. Don’t forget the end credits
6. Bonus!

Research your host’s blog

Before you even start writing a blog post, do a little bit of research on your host’s blog. Make sure that what you’re thinking of writing (especially if you haven’t pitched it to them yet) isn’t going to just double up the information already on their blog post.

Equally as important, we don’t want our blog posts to be out of context or niche for our host. When you’re writing your first guest blog post, become familiar with the blog that your post is going to be sitting on. You wouldn’t write about home-schooling your children on This Splendid Shambles, for example. That’s not one of the topics that I cover here. but you might write about travel tips for visiting San Francisco, as travel is one of my main topics.

Write for humans, not for search engines

Another step to think about before your start writing, is asking yourself, “Why am I writing this post? Why would someone care enough to click on my link and read my post?”

While writing in the hopes that you’ll rank on Google is a good goal to have, you have to remember that the clicks on Google are made by humans. This means everything we write here on our blogs – whether you be writing on your own blog, or you’re guest posting on someone else’s – needs to be written with actual people in mind.

If you want to get more people to click on your guest post links and read your content, you need to make sure that your post is valuable to people. That way, they’ll want to read your work and share it with their friends. And if your content is getting lots of clicks on your host’s blog, they might even have you guest post for them again!

Think about the length of the guest post

The host for your guest post might have a certain requirement (if you want to want to guest post on This Splendid Shambles, the requirement is 800 words), but if there is no specific word count needed, then think about the kind of post you’re writing and match your word count to suit.

If your post is too short, then you might not be providing readers with enough information, and they’ll head off to find a more detailed blog post to answer their questions. But if it’s too long and it’s not properly structured, then they might get tired of scrolling to find the answer they want.

If your blog post is quite long (over 1500 words), the key to making sure people stay on the blog post is by breaking it up into shorter paragraphs so there’s more white space, and also making sure your headings are appropriate. People need to be able to quickly scan down a blog post and get the points they want.

If you’re having trouble knowing where to begin, ask yourself, “What is the one most valuable thing I could tell my readers about this topic?” Then, build your post around that one thing.

Try to include one takeaway for readers

Every blog post you write is going to need to have a key takeaway for your readers. When you’re writing your first guest blog post, this is still super important.

The main thing I want you to take away from this blog post is tips for writing your first guest blog post. That’s the main goal. I want you to step away from your laptop, computer, or phone with a few things that you can take with you when you’re writing.  I’m not going to suddenly start talking about content creation or email marketing. That’s not the point of this post.

If you’re trying to fit too many ideas and things into your guest post, then not only is your host or editor going to need to cull out some of your words, but your readers are going to get confused as to what you’re telling them. Keep it simple, with one or two main points for each blog post.

Don’t forget the end credits

And by ‘end credits’ I mean a few things.

1. Your conclusion

It’s always good to have a conclusion of some kind, no matter what type of blog post you’re writing. It could either be a wrap-up or a summary of the content in the blog post, or if could be your final thoughts on XYZ.

2. Thanking the host

While not also necessarily – and it will depend on a few things such as whether you’re a guest post or a ghostwriter, or if there’s a certain style that your host prefers when it comes to guest posts – it’s often nice to thank your host for having you. A wee sentence at the end that says something along the lines of ‘thank you, Anjali, for having me. I’ve really enjoyed writing this blog post about XYZ, and I hope that it has been helpful.’

3. Share your links

If appropriate and your host has allowed it (usually allowed when it comes to writing guest posts), remember to add your links. This might be to your own blog, your social media accounts, LinkedIn etc. You might even be asked to provide an Author Bio and a photo so that the host can create a bio at the end of the post for you.

Bonus: Have fun with your guest post

Throwing in this bonus because I actually think it’s really important! Writing your first guest blog post can be scary! You’re putting yourself out there, your post will be read by a new audience of people, and your writing is out there in a different sphere. But I want you to have fun!

Guest posting is a great way to meet new people, connect with other bloggers, and even get more traffic back to your blog. You should enjoy the process of writing for someone else’s blog, and if it’s really feeling like a chore and you’re not enjoying it, you don’t have to do it again.

Writing your first guest blog post will be easy when you have these tips!

Remember that guest posting for the first time on someone’s blog can be a little nerve-wracking, but after a few times, you’ll be a pro! These 5 rules for writing your first guest blog post are just a guideline to help you get started. But they are good tips and tricks to keep up your sleeve!

Have you ever guest-posted on someone’s blog? What was the experience like? Pop your comments below!