How We Constructed the Buffer Visitor Posting Program

Six months in the past, we observed an attention-grabbing phenomenon. Every week, we (the Content material crew) would obtain overflowing inboxes crammed with requests to put up articles on the Buffer weblog. This was in all places, from our emails to our LinkedIn accounts. 

Normally, we’d pay these messages no thoughts – visitor posts simply weren’t part of our content material technique. So what modified?

Effectively, we had been additionally understaffed on the time and on the lookout for methods to extend our content material output. It felt like the precise time to rethink and ask ourselves: what if we arrange a visitor posting program?

Now, this isn’t a brand new factor to the Buffer Content material crew – there’s precedent. In 2012, we commonly had writers like Matt Ragland share their distinctive views on the weblog.

Over time, this follow modified as we leveled up as a crew and have become extra centered on content material objectives and we moved away from working with visitor authors due to the enhancing time it took. And, after all, there’s a virtually decade-long hole between then and now, so we additionally confronted the distinctive problem of determining tips on how to replace that previous program for in the present day’s Web.

Nonetheless, the thought was taking form, and in a couple of weeks, the Visitor Posting Program was born, to rousing success. We’ve revealed 17 visitor posts which have introduced in over 26,000 pageviews to the weblog, with some items performing in addition to in-house content material. We’ve additionally had a lot success from the preliminary article saying this system, bringing in over 45,000 pageviews and 350 signups.

You is perhaps on a Content material crew going through the identical questions we confronted whereas creating this system. So, on this article, I share how the Visitor Put up Program got here to be and the way we’re eager about its future.

Conducting analysis and setting benchmarks

We dove into one of the best practices of profitable visitor posting packages. Our analysis wasn’t nearly setting guidelines; it was about understanding tips on how to outline our objectives and create one thing helpful for us and our writers.

In crafting our visitor posting program, we turned to industry-leading Content material groups for inspiration. Visitor posting assets like Convertflow, Shopify, and Zapier provided numerous approaches tailor-made to their distinctive viewers and model voice.

We additionally sourced recommendation from our community of Content material professionals, which boiled down to some key ideas which have knowledgeable how we strategy this system.

1. Defining objectives: We set clear objectives for visitor posts so we knew what to reject or settle for from the beginning. In the end, we determined that we’re after extra numerous views to share with our viewers and high-quality content material. This readability has helped form our strategy to this system.
2. Prioritizing experience and expertise: Our analysis underscored that high quality contributors usually include a worth. Nonetheless, since we didn’t have the finances for paid writers or the posh of gatekeeping, we’ve clarified that we don’t pay for visitor posts however deal with them as a possibility to reveal your writing to our present viewers. This implies we obtain many pitches we are able to’t publish, but it surely has helped us preserve the standard we try for on the weblog.
3. Streamlined enhancing and publishing: We created a strong course of for submissions, edits, communication, and distribution. Due to our strict processes, we’ve been capable of publish the strongest content material out of all of the pitches we obtain. Robust pitches and put up examples have turn into essential in guiding contributors towards our requirements.
4. Beginning small: Initially, we reached out inside our networks for high-caliber contributions. This helped us set a benchmark for high quality and experience earlier than scaling up. We plan to standardize this course of and repeat it extra often to get high quality writers within the door.

These insights had been instrumental in creating a visitor put up program that was not only a submission portal for random pitches however a platform for beneficial, expert-driven content material.

Establishing tips and FAQS

After conducting the analysis, we used the data we gathered to stipulate the weather of this system.

First, we repurposed our present weblog tips and magnificence information. It is because altering our fashion for visitor posters would conflict with our want for excellent content material just like what our readers would anticipate on the weblog.

In our Visitor Posting tips, we share details about:

• Put up size
• Voice, tone, and magnificence
• Mechanics round emoji utilization and capitalization
• The kind of content material we’re on the lookout for – and what kind of pitch is most certainly to be accepted. We’ve since included examples of nice pitches.

We additionally developed some FAQs which may come up, comparable to “What ought to I write for the Buffer weblog?” and “What does a typical pitch appear to be?” We additionally included steering on our viewers classes and the anticipated timeline for working with us.

Setting these tips has helped us internally know when to reject a pitch outright. Nonetheless, we go away room for instinct when pitches that don’t match our tips nonetheless really feel like our viewers will love them.

Automation has been instrumental within the strategy of creating the Visitor Posting Program. We use a couple of instruments to gather and handle visitor posts.

• Submissions are despatched in Typeform. We gather names, contact data, and the pitch.

• These submissions are then despatched by means of Notion, by means of an integration with Typeform that was pretty straightforward to arrange.

• Communication is dealt with with a mixture of Gmail and Zapier. We ship acceptance emails manually and automate rejection emails due to the sheer scale of pitches we obtain. These emails element potential fixes and go away room for brand spanking new pitches.

• As soon as we’ve accepted a pitch, we create a folder in Google Drive for the author to ship their outlines and articles. All content material is anticipated to be shared by means of Google Docs.

From acceptance, each facet of the editorial course of is dealt with manually, as we ship emails backwards and forwards until an article is absolutely fashioned and prepared for publishing.

Figuring out the overview and choice course of

We’re strict with our requirements, however the precise posts get by means of – so when you have an excellent pitch and expertise with writing, your probabilities of getting revealed on our weblog are excessive.

We prioritize content material that shares a first-person expertise with the subject. So, when you’re pitching to us about rising on Instagram, there must be proof connected for us to maneuver ahead. Alternatively, a terrific pitch aggregates data from a number of sources to create a cohesive, beneficial piece of content material.

Now we have two classes in Notion for working by means of pitches:

• Pitch obtained: That is the place Typeform sends all of the pitches we obtain, made doable by means of a helpful and easy-to-setup integration. I’ll normally parse by means of the pitches on this checklist for gems each different day to maintain up with the brand new submissions, then share them with the crew.
• Pitch accepted: If we agree {that a} pitch seems ok to maneuver ahead, that is the subsequent stage for it.

Reviewing the articles is sort of just like how we function as a Content material crew. Our principal inside communication software is Slack, the place we’ll share new updates from visitor posters. 

Between Kirsti (Lang, a Content material Author on the crew) and I, we choose which pitches we’d prefer to deal with and transfer ahead with communication from there with our crew lead, Hailley Griffis. We additionally loop in our social media supervisor, Mitra Mehvar, for social content material.

We work in six levels after accepting a pitch:

1. Define in progress: We request a top level view that may make up 30 p.c of the ultimate article. This permits us to see what path the author plans for his or her article and make corrections earlier than they get too deep into engaged on the put up. As soon as we obtain a top level view, we transfer it to the subsequent stage.
2. Define in overview: That is the place outlines we’ve obtained wait whereas we overview them. Though we not often have to show a put up again on the define stage, it occurs sufficient that retaining these things right here is an effective follow.
3. Article in progress: As soon as a top level view has been accepted, we transfer on to the drafting section, when the author is requested to share a date when they may have their article to us.
4. Article in overview: That is the place articles are moved as soon as we begin enhancing them. We’ll normally tag one another in Slack with updates about new articles which were added to the Google Drive folders of any author. We very not often need to reject absolutely fashioned articles, as we’ve normally finished a number of checks. 
5. Article accepted/scheduled: At this stage, all proofreading and enhancing are full, so we schedule it in response to our content material calendar.
6. Article revealed: The final section is for revealed articles, the place all of the content material that has gone out on the weblog sits. 

Formalizing the method this manner permits us to see the progress of all of the content material coming in on one dashboard. This fashion, we are able to spot gaps in communication and request updates in case somebody has been missed (which occurs on a regular basis on a crew as small as ours).

Outcomes to date

We’ve been working the Program lengthy sufficient to have some attention-grabbing outcomes. Listed below are a few of the prime metrics to date.

• We’ve obtained 606 pitches to our submission type in 6 months.
• The article sharing the small print about tips on how to pitch and submit has introduced in additional than 45,000 web page views in natural site visitors and contributed to over 350 signups.
• We’ve revealed 17 visitor posts which have introduced in over 26,000 pageviews to the weblog.

All in all, the visitor put up program has been extremely beneficial to us as a crew and to our viewers. 

A few of our favourite pitches and visitor posts to date

We’ve gotten sufficient pitches and revealed sufficient posts that we’ve been capable of determine which of them are more likely to be hits with our viewers. Listed below are a few of our favorites.

1. Anna Burgess Yang: Anna wrote the primary visitor put up we ever revealed, and there’s a purpose we moved so quick. She offered the precise mixture of details about herself (her experience) and the small print about what she would write (the pitch). Learn her article right here.

2. Akshita Sharma: With 7,000 pageviews to this point, Akshita has written the top-performing weblog put up of the visitor put up program. Whereas her pitch wasn’t pushed by private expertise, it nonetheless ticked two different bins: viewers relevance, and we hadn’t written about it earlier than. Learn her put up right here.

3. Matt Giaro: Matt’s pitch was easy and succinct whereas telling us precisely what to anticipate from his article – and he delivered. His article has introduced in over 1,000 web page views to the weblog to date. Learn it right here.

We’re retaining this up subsequent 12 months

Going ahead, we wish to enhance the standard of the content material from the visitor put up program. In 2024, we’re trying to publish at the least one visitor put up per week. Consistent with this aim, we’ll even be growing the strictness of our editorial course of, guaranteeing that solely one of the best articles make their approach by means of to our content material calendar.

Do you wish to write for us? Check out our tips, then submit your pitch!