What Is a Collab Post?
A collab (or collaboration) post collates contributions from different writers within a niche into a single comprehensive resource. A process for creating a collab post begins when a writer pitches to other writers to share their ideas on a topic, usually in a listicle, based on their expertise. The pioneer compiles the submissions and possibly refines them to provide the audience with a deep and useful post.
Many articles covering the “top lists” on a given topic are often collab posts. One example is “100+ Filming Locations You Should See In The USA” by Enchanted Serendipity.
Part 1: How to Host a Collab Post
Hosting a collab post means you’re the alpha and omega of the project. You will need to reach out to other writers, sift through their contributions to find the best content, set reminders, edit the articles, etc. Here are the steps you should follow to successfully host a collab post.
Step 1. Put Out a Request
Without reaching out to other niche writers, you might not be able to host a collaboration if you’re not a well-known expert in your niche. You may pitch or network with other writers through social media, online forums, or email.
Often, social media groups on Facebook as well as connections on LinkedIn and Twitter are great places to put out your requests. You may also try using online collab forums like Quora, then curate the responses you receive.
Facebook remains the best place to put out a collab post request. Simply search “collab group” or “link building group” or “guest posting + link building group” on Facebook and sort by “Groups” to find the best search.
Endeavor to include your niche before the remaining keywords. Example: “travel blog + collab group”. Just play with the keyword combinations. Here is one such group.
Step 2. Set up Instructions
Many writers will reach out to you when you post a request. You must set up instructions or risk falling short of your objectives. The instructions you set will help you make a great decision on who and who not to pick.
In fact, try establishing your instructions before putting out your request. Here are some elements that should be included in your instruction:
- Title of the collab post: This should be specific and reflect the brand purpose or objectives.
- Qualification: This is where you include criteria for blogs, such as their domain authority (DA) and page rankings (PR). Any contributor that does not meet the limit may not qualify.
- How to add links to the post: This is very important to avoid spamming your content with unnecessary links.
- Word count: The length of collab posts may vary greatly, so try to calculate your ideal post length and be specific on what word counts you expect from writers.
- Deadline and expected publication date: Endeavor to include deadlines and an expected publication date to hasten the project’s completion.
- How many submissions do you need at the moment: Include the number of submissions you need. At most, you may want to adjust the word length to attract more or fewer submissions.
- Image requirement: You should also specify if you would like a stock photo or real-life picture of the topic described in the content. Whatever option you choose, try to include requirements for the resolutions of said images.
- Disclaimer: Your disclaimer should notify contributors of future adjustments or whether you reserve the right to amend their content.
- How you want the submission: You should also inform contributors of the submission medium (email, Google Docs, a ready-made website, etc.)
- Content distribution: You may inform contributors of how you intend to use their content, images, or videos. This should help prevent cases of intellectual theft for those that may not be using royalty-free content.
There may be more requirements, depending on the specifics of your purpose. After setting up your instructions, you may start selecting contributors.
Step 3. Choose Contributors
After setting up your writing and submission guide or instructions, picking contributors should be a less challenging task. The reason is that your instructions will help you sort through contributions and find those that meet your requirements. You can also try to find free writers for your posts.
Regardless, ensure that you choose your contributors wisely, even if it means writing most of the content yourself. Your goal should be to create value and quality content.
Step 4. Collate and Edit Your Content
Deadlines are crucial in achieving the required results. As mentioned earlier, you must set the date of submissions in your instruction or guide. When this time comes, you can begin collating submissions.
Endeavor to remind contributors about the deadline occasionally to avoid disappointments. After collating the submissions, you may edit the drafts or return them to their original writers to make adjustments.
Step 5. Stay Organized
Try to keep track of the content progress using a Google Sheet or MS Excel. Document every decision or adjustment you make to the project. Staying organized will save you a lot of stress and help you avoid potential problems. In addition, you will hardly lose any files.
Endeavor to save your files to the cloud, which is why we suggest using Google Sheets or Excel.
Step 6. Publish and Promote Your Collab Post
It’s time to publish your collab post. Publishing shouldn’t be hard after you have edited and formatted the content to suit your tastes and that of your brand. Apply your digital writing and formatting knowledge to keep your content up to date with the latest writing standards.
Afterward, reach out to the contributors and announce the publication of your collab post. Advise them to share, monitor the post progress, and make SEO adjustments over time.
Pros and Cons of Hosting a Collab Post
The table below highlights the pros and cons of hosting a collab post.
| Pros | Cons |
| Helps you network and build connections | Disorderly writing styles, tones, and voices |
| Reduces the burden of writing long-form content | Poor content resulting from spun articles, plagiarism, etc. |
| You get unique ideas and different perspectives on your topic | Difficulties with editing and formatting content |
| You can learn new things on the subject through other writers’ submissions | Hosting writing collaborations can be challenging from start to finish |
| Allows you to build a mutual audience with collaborators through what is known as “audience sharing” | |
| Gives room to more creative collaborations and project suggestions | |
| You get free content, images, videos, and so forth |
Part 2. How to Participate in a Collab Post
Participating in someone else’s collab post is much easier than hosting one yourself. This is because you will participate less in the planning and implementation process than when you host the project. Here are the steps to follow if you must successfully participate in collab posts.
Step 1. Find Opportunities for Collab Posts
As mentioned earlier, Facebook groups are great places to find collab posts (Twitter and LinkedIn too) by using tags and mentions. Simply apply the same technique highlighted in Step 1 of the previous section with keywords and tags to find the latest collab updates.
You should look for these factors to find good collab post updates:
- Recently posted collab update: Always go after the latest posts talking about collaborations to increase your chances of participating.
- High domain authority: Seeking out websites with higher domain authority than yours is a great way to grow your audience. However, too big a difference in domain authority may count you out of participating.
- Writing instructions: Some collab projects come with strict instructions, which may determine if you meet the requirements.
- The topic to write about: Not all topics may be relevant to your website. Ensure you understand the context before participating in the project.
- Linking instruction: Some do-follow link instructions may be unfavorable, thus it will be unwise to participate in such projects.
- The project niche: Ensure the collab post you wish to write reflects your brand and intent. Do not jump into any project just because you’re SEO-hungry.
Step 2. Write and Submit Your Part
Abide by the rules, then write and submit your draft to the collab creator. Not all submissions get accepted. However, showcasing your excellent writing skills will facilitate a greater likelihood of acceptance.
The organizer may also ask you to edit your writing to better complement the rest of material.
Step 3. Get Your Do-Follow Link
Strategically add links to your submission. You may pick articles or blog posts on your website that need SEO, build backlinks through collab posts, and use this opportunity to send traffic to some of them.
The curators will include how and where to place links, which links to add, and more. You must follow their instructions precisely. Applying relevant links appropriately will help spice up your draft and increase its chances of being accepted.
Step 4. Share the Publication
You’re doing your blog a greater good by sharing the published collab post. It is a win-win for all creators involved. The post links back to your blog and the creators can each take their own share of the audience.
Pros and Cons of Participating in a Collab Post
| Pros | Cons |
| Free backlinking to your website | You may face content rejection |
| Smarter way of building links than guest or sponsored posts | Not all collab posts are worth participating in. Pay attention to the website’s domain authority and backlinking opportunities |
| You can build connections or generate leads through collaborations | Unlike guest posting, linking your websites may be limited and, hence, not as fruitful as other link-building practices |
| Do-follow links from collab posts can help you grow your audience faster than many link-building practices |
Things to Keep In Mind When Hosting a Collab Post
#1. Proper Planning and Organization
There are chances that your collab post project will fail if you don’t plan it properly. At worst, you will be stressed out if you don’t organize your progress in a way that helps you easily identify and monitor every milestone.
#2. Outreach Channels or Medium
Reaching out to contributors and picking the right contributors are some of the technical areas of collab posting. Some authors may not respond to your request to collaborate, but that shouldn’t discourage you because other authors will.
You must master the art of cold-pitching and follow-ups to successfully reach your target contributors.
#3. Specificity Produces Faster Results
In everything you do throughout your project, you must be specific, yet detailed and straight to the point. From pitching to contributors through email or social media to putting out requests on social media or forums, being specific about your needs will produce faster results than you can imagine.
#4. You Must Be Ready to Edit Thoroughly
Many drafts you receive may be slightly disordered or may not perfectly project your objectives. This is where you should thoroughly edit the contributions or employ the services of editors.
Meanwhile, some contributors may be willing to rerun edits on their submissions. Try to contact them to determine if this is possible. Otherwise, discard or thoroughly edit any submissions that don’t meet your requirements.
#5. Establish Strong Communication With Contributors
Nothing spoils a relationship faster than poor communication. You should handle your project with great care. The best way to protect your interest is through strong communication with your contributors.
While you must follow up with them, do so softly to avoid sounding too extreme with your requests.
#6. Set Deadlines and Reminders
Deadlines hasten project completion. On the other hand, reminders help keep contributors in check. Sometimes, these contributors may be so occupied or distracted with other activities that the collab project may elude their minds. Reminding them from time to time will help keep the project fresh in their minds.
#7. Promote the Collab Post Through Social Media
Be sure to optimize your website to include link-sharing portals to social media channels. This should also make it easier for contributors to share their respective handles.
How to Write Collab Posts
Hosting or participating in collab posts is a sure way to build backlinks and authority in your niche. In the first case, you’ll need to handle a collab project from the start to finish, admit materials from writers, and collate them into a single post. In the second case, participating in a collab post will require writing a high-quality submission in exchange for a backlink to your blog. Anyway, collab posts can be a great opportunity to build connections and grow your audience.
