The short version: Free guest posting sites exist across every niche, and the ones worth your time accept pitches without charging a fee, have real domain authority, and send actual referral traffic. The list below covers verified sites, what they pay attention to, and how to pitch so you stop getting ignored.
Why I still use guest posting in 2024
I have been writing guest posts since roughly 2010. Back then I did it to build my profile as a social media consultant. These days I do it for three reasons: domain authority backlinks, reaching audiences I do not own, and the fact that a well-placed byline still converts readers into email subscribers better than almost any paid ad I have run.
Last year I pitched fourteen sites. Eight accepted. One piece on Business 2 Community drove 340 email sign-ups in a week. That is not a fluke. That is what happens when you pick the right site for your niche and send a tight pitch.
The sites I am listing below are all free to submit to. No "sponsored post" fee disguised as a editorial process. No pay-to-play nonsense. Free means free.
What makes a guest posting site worth your time
Before the list, here is how I filter sites. I ignore anything with:
- Domain rating under 40 (check with Ahrefs or Moz free tools)
- Obvious link farms, meaning fifty new posts a day from different authors with no editorial voice
- No author bio or backlink policy
- A "write for us" page that asks for payment upfront
I favour sites with an engaged comments section, a real social media presence, and editors who respond to pitches within two weeks. Silence after four weeks means move on.
Free guest posting sites by niche
Business and marketing
- Business 2 Community (business2community.com) - DR around 78, accepts marketing, social media, entrepreneurship. Byline plus one contextual link. Response time roughly seven to ten days.
- Addicted2Success (addicted2success.com) - DR 67, strong on entrepreneurship and productivity. They want 1,000 to 2,000 words and they mean it. No fluff.
- Marketing Insider Group (marketinginsidergroup.com) - DR 72, run by Michael Brenner, focused on content marketing and B2B. Pitches go to their editorial inbox listed on the contribute page.
- Score.org - The US Small Business Administration-affiliated mentoring network. They take how-to business articles. DA 68. The audience is small business owners, which is useful if that is your customer.
Tech and SaaS
- Hackernoon (hackernoon.com) - DR 83, completely free, self-serve publishing platform for tech writers. You submit via their dashboard. They have a real editorial review. Backlinks are dofollow.
- DZone (dzone.com) - DR 82, developer and DevOps audience. If you write about automation, AI tools, or software architecture this is gold. Apply to be a "Most Valuable Blogger" for more placement.
- ReadWrite (readwrite.com) - DR 77, covers IoT, AI, wearables, future of work. Editorial team is real, response time is two to three weeks.
Productivity and personal development
- Tiny Buddha (tinybuddha.com) - DR 74, one of the oldest mindfulness and personal growth blogs still running. Very specific submission guidelines, read them carefully. Lori Deschene edits it personally.
- Lifehack (lifehack.org) - DR 79, huge audience, heavy on productivity. They have an open contributor programme. Pieces tend to be listicle-heavy so match the format.
- Goalcast (goalcast.com) - DR 62, motivational and personal development. Decent social amplification once published.
Freelance and remote work
- Freelancer FAQs (freelancerfaqs.com) - DR 48, smaller but hyper-targeted to freelancers. Good referral traffic if your offer serves freelancers.
- We Work Remotely Blog (weworkremotely.com/blog) - They accept guest posts on remote work topics. DR 79. The audience is hiring managers and remote workers, which is niche gold if you consult in that space.
- Skillcrush (skillcrush.com) - DR 68, focused on women learning tech skills and freelance careers. Very specific editorial voice. Read several posts before pitching.
General high-authority directories that accept free posts
- Medium (medium.com) - Not strictly a guest post but you can write for established Medium publications like Better Marketing, The Startup, or Mind Cafe. All free. Better Marketing has over 65,000 followers. Pitch the editor via their submission links in their publication description.
- Vocal Media (vocal.media) - Free to post, you earn a small amount per read. Not primarily for backlinks but the domain authority and audience reach are real.
- Hubpages (hubpages.com) - DR 80. Old school but still indexed well. Works best for evergreen how-to content.
The pitch that works
I have been on both sides of this. I have run a blog with over 200,000 monthly readers and received pitches every day. Here is what I deleted immediately and what I forwarded to my editorial calendar.
Delete pile: "Hi there, I am a passionate writer who would love to contribute to your wonderful blog." That is every pitch. It tells me nothing.
Editorial calendar pile: Three sentences max. Proposed headline. One-line summary of the argument. One link to a relevant published piece from the writer. Done.
Here is the exact structure I use when I pitch:
- Subject line: Guest post pitch: [Proposed headline]
- Line 1: Specific reason I am pitching them, referencing a real post of theirs
- Line 2: My proposed headline and a one-sentence summary of the argument
- Line 3: One published writing sample, ideally on a similar topic
- Line 4: Offer to send the full draft or an outline first, whichever they prefer
No attachments on the first email. No full draft unless they ask. No "I have written for Forbes" if you are pitching a DR 45 niche blog, because they do not care and it reads as condescending.
The thing most lists do not tell you
Guest posting on free sites works best when you treat it as a traffic and list-building tool, not just an SEO play. The backlink is a bonus. The real win is getting your name in front of someone else's warm audience.
Every post I write for an external site, I include a specific call to action in the author bio. Not "follow me on Twitter." Something like "I send a weekly email with one AI marketing tip that takes under five minutes to use. Join free at lilachbullock.com." That specificity is what converts readers into subscribers.
I also repurpose every guest post. Once it is live, I turn it into a LinkedIn article, a short-form video script, and three Twitter threads. One piece of writing, five distribution channels. That is how you make free guest posting worth the effort.
How to find more free guest posting sites yourself
Google search strings that work:
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
- [your niche] "write for us"
- [your niche] "guest post guidelines"
- [your niche] "submit a post"
- [your niche] "contributor guidelines"
Then run the URL through Ahrefs free checker or Moz Domain Analysis before you spend an hour writing a pitch. Minimum DR 40. Check their last published date to confirm the site is active. Check that guest posts get real comments or social shares, not just zero engagement.
Also look at who has written guest posts for your competitors. Go to Ahrefs Site Explorer, drop in a competitor's domain, click "Backlinks," and filter by "Dofollow." Any backlink from a blog that also accepts other authors is a potential guest post target for you.
Frequently asked questions
Do free guest posting sites provide dofollow backlinks?
Many do, but not all. Business 2 Community, Hackernoon, and DZone all provide dofollow links in the author bio and contextual links where editorially justified. Always check the published posts on any site before pitching by right-clicking a link and inspecting the rel attribute.
How long does it take to get a guest post accepted?
Most reputable free guest posting sites respond within one to three weeks. If you hear nothing after four weeks, send one polite follow-up and then move on. Editors are busy and silence is not always a rejection, but chasing more than once looks desperate.
Is it worth guest posting on lower domain authority sites?
Yes, if the audience is relevant to your business. A DR 42 niche blog with 5,000 engaged readers in your exact target market will drive better leads than a DR 80 general site where your post gets buried among hundreds of others. Match the audience first, the domain authority second.
Can I republish my guest post on my own blog?
Usually not without risking a duplicate content penalty. Most sites want exclusivity. A better approach is to write a shorter related post on your own site, link to the full piece on the external site, and note it as "originally published at" if the site permits syndication. Always check the site's republishing policy before you do anything.
Related reading: Fun Careers for Women That Pay Well: 10 Real Jobs That Don't Feel Like Work and How to Start a Social Media Marketing Agency in 2026 (Without Burning Out).
Frequently asked questions
Which free guest posting sites are best for a small business owner just starting out?
Start with Business 2 Community, Addicted2Success, and Entrepreneur's HQ, as all three accept pitches from non-famous contributors and have audiences that include small business owners and buyers. Avoid chasing the very top-tier sites like Forbes straight away because your pitch will get buried and your time is better spent building a track record first. A published piece on a mid-level site with real traffic is far more useful than ten rejections from prestige outlets.
Are there really free guest posting sites or do most charge a fee?
There are hundreds of sites that accept guest posts at no cost, but the number of sites quietly charging a 'content fee' or 'editorial fee' has grown sharply since 2022, so you must check the submissions page carefully before you pitch. A legitimate free site will never ask for payment at any point in the process, full stop. If a site asks for money after you have already submitted, walk away and report it to the community.
How do I choose the right guest posting site for my niche?
Check three things before you pitch: does the site have a domain authority above 40 (use Moz or Ahrefs free tools), does it publish content in your specific niche rather than just 'business generally', and has it published a new article in the last 30 days. You also want to see whether the author bio includes a clickable link back to your site, because without that the SEO and traffic benefit disappears entirely.
What is the most common mistake small business owners make when guest posting?
The biggest mistake is writing a post that is essentially a sales page for your own business, which editors spot immediately and reject outright. Your guest post needs to solve a specific problem for the host site's readers, with your business mentioned only briefly in the author bio. A second common mistake is pitching a topic the site has already covered six times, so spend 10 minutes searching the site before you send your pitch.
