Are you looking to guest post on a health or fitness website? As a writer or blogger, it’s not always easy to get your articles accepted. Wellness is a crowded niche and most website owners receive tonnes of pitches everyday. So, how can you beat the odds?
In this article – we share 10 tips for writing health and fitness guest posts (that actually get published by website editors).
We’re a specialist fitness marketing agency with 15+ years of industry experience, so we know first-hand what works (and what doesn’t!). We’ve helped gyms, fitness studios, and personal trainers to successfully promote their businesses online, so our digital marketing strategies are tried and tested.
There are lots of reasons to guest post on another website…
- It can help to build your authority in the fitness industry and position you as a credible expert.
- Guest posting also provides backlinks which help with SEO and web marketing.
- It can drive new visitors to your own site and is especially helpful if you’ve just started a new blog.
- If you’re an aspiring copywriter, then it’ll help build your portfolio and improve your fitness blog writing skills.
- Guest posting can even generate leads, sales and revenue when done strategically.
But it’s a crowded market. We receive several emails everyday from people wanting to guest post on our website.
But we only accept a couple a year, because we’re really picky about the content we publish. And so are many other fitness websites.
The good news is, we also know what makes a really good guest article. So, if you’ve found a fitness website that accepts guest posts, then here are some tips on health and fitness blog writing…
Learn which fitness marketing strategies produce the best results (so you can focus on what actually works).
#1 – Check the guidelines
Before you begin creating your article, review the website’s guidelines to ensure it’s the kind of content they’re after. This may sound basic but most pitches we receive haven’t read ours…
- What subjects are they interested in?
- Is there a specific word count?
- Will they accept email attachments or do you need to paste the content into an email?
If you fail to follow their guidelines, they’ll likely reject your submission without hesitation. Even a quick skim of their ‘about page’ and menu headers will tell you what kind of content they’re interested in.
So, to maximise your chances of being published, take the time to research before you get started.
#2 – Write for their audience
Have a look around the site and review the existing content to get an idea of what resonates with their readers.
- What kind of topics are they covering?
- What’s their ‘tone of voice’?
- Which articles get the most comments or shares?
This will enable you to align your writing with their brand and create a fitness article that readers will love. Doing this will ensure the best chance of your blog post being published.
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Your All-in-One Toolkit to Attract, Engage & Convert More Clients
#3 – Write what you know
Websites that accept guest posts are generally seeking content from industry experts. They want people who can offer genuine insights or a new perspective to their readers.
If you’re a specialist in a particular area or have niche experience, then lean on your expertise. Leverage what makes you different from other bloggers or guest authors.
Blog writing on health and fitness topics that you know inside out will increase your chances of being published.
#4 – Back it up with science
This is a particularly important point for fitness and nutrition content. These are topics that can affect people’s health, arguably the most precious thing any of us have.
So, it’s vital to do your research and base recommendations on sound science.
It’s not just an ethical point – it affects search rankings too. Google places health content in the ‘your money or your life‘ category and will penalise poor quality articles. Which means fitness website editors take the science very seriously.
In practice, this means backing up any health claims or statements with scientific research. You’ll also need to link to it so that editors can see where you’ve sourced it from.
It’s well worth reading Google’s quality guidelines too so you know what they’re looking for.
#5 – Make it unique
As well as being informative, your content needs to be 100% unique. Blogging sites don’t want articles that have been published elsewhere. And they won’t be interested in fitness blog topics that have already been covered to the point of boredom.
Most will also run your content through a plagiarism checker to ensure it’s not copied from elsewhere. So you’ll get caught out if you try. Make sure your guest post offers something unique and different.
#6 – Provide actionable insights
Particularly in the health and fitness industry, guest blogs should offer tangible, actionable advice and recommendations.
It’s not enough to write about the benefits of a certain training method or the latest nutritional discovery. You need to spell out what it means for the reader and how they can use the information. Ensure your guest post offers practical tips that readers can take away.
#7 – Don’t waffle
While long-form content can be great for SEO, you need to avoid waffling. Don’t go on for 3,000 words if you can get the overall point across in half that.
Check the guidelines for the site you’re posting on, but 1000-1500 words are usually more than enough.
Bloggers who use AI-writers can be especially guilty of this. If you don’t train the AI to be concise and write in your tone of voice, then it’ll usually spout something overly wordy. You’ll need to train it well or do a lot of editing to make it concise and impactful.
#8 – Make it easy to read
Guest posts that do make it through our selection process almost always have to be edited for readability. It’s a common mistake that even seasoned writers make so avoiding it will bump your submission to the top of the pile.
Avoid lengthy paragraphs and complex sentences. Readers will find your content much easier to digest if you keep your paragraphs short and your sentences snappy.
Don’t forget that most people now browse the web on their mobile devices. This means paragraphs should only be 2-3 sentences long. Otherwise, they’ll take over the entire screen and be hard to digest.
Use clear section headings with H2 and H3 formatting. Bullet points and numbered lists help break up key info into bite-sized chunks. A well-structured page is also great for SEO.
#9 – Include internal and external links
A few links to external sites will help to lend your article a little more authority. Choose links that are relevant to the post, sites that have solid traffic, and a healthy domain rating (DR).
Including one or two internal links will help the site’s SEO and demonstrate that your article is well-researched. Both of these things will improve your chances of getting published.
#10 – Write a great author bio
Most fitness guest blogging sites will happily include a short author bio (or byline) at the end of your piece. Use this as an opportunity to tell their readers who you are and why you’re a credible authority on the article’s topic.
Include a link to your own website, blog or social media profile. A succinct bio will usually be 50-100 words but no more.
You might also like… How to write a killer fitness bio.
By following these guest posting tips, you’ll give yourself the best chance of being published. If you’re passionate about fitness and enjoy writing, then why not share your knowledge to inspire and educate others?
Now you know how to put together the perfect guest blog, you can start crafting some super-insightful content for your chosen blogging site. Good luck!
Fitness Marketing & Lead Generation Roadmap
Your All-in-One Toolkit to Attract, Engage & Convert More Clients
Get The Fitness Marketing Roadmap
Your All-in-One Toolkit to Attract, Engage, and Convert More Clients – Tailored Specifically for Fitness Businesses Like Yours!
The Fitness Marketing & Lead Generation Roadmap is a comprehensive resource designed for gyms, personal trainers, and online fitness businesses. It’s packed with video workshops, marketing templates, step-by-step guides, cheat sheets, and more. We cover:
- Fitness Marketing Strategy: Build a solid foundation and plan for success.
- Lead Generation: Attract more clients with effective tactics.
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- Email Marketing: Nurture leads and convert them into loyal customers.
- Advertising & Promotion: Get your message out there efficiently.
- Content Marketing: Create compelling content that resonates with your audience.
