Got roasted by a webmaster for my 'guest post' pitch

I sent a guest post idea to a tech blog owner, and he replied, 'This reads like you copied the first three lines from an SEO guide and called it a day.' He was right. I was using a super generic template I found online. After that, I started making each pitch about a specific problem I solved for a client, like fixing a 40% drop in traffic for a local bakery. Way better results now. Anyone else get called out on their outreach and have to change their whole approach?

3 comments

3 Comments

piperb931mo ago

Oof, yeah, that's the worst kind of wake-up call. I got a reply once that just said "lol no" and it stung. I started putting a link to a quick, ugly Google Doc in my pitches that just outlined the main points, like a real problem and the steps to fix it. Made it feel less like a copy-paste job.

julia_lee1mo ago

That's a smart move, but @piperb93, I'd worry it still looks too polished.

nathana481mo agoMost Upvoted

Totally get the ugly doc idea, it shows you did the homework without looking like a slick sales page. I started adding a single, super specific question at the end of mine, something that proves I read their actual website. Makes it impossible to reply with just "lol no" because they have to at least think about the answer.