How to Blog for the Huffington Post

So you want to blog for the Huffington Post? I completely understand. I too wanted to be a HuffPo blogger for a LONG time before finally getting noticed. I watched, seething with jealousy, as my blogger friends got picked up, one after another. I waited and waited for it to happen to me. And then one day I woke up and decided that I needed to make it happen for myself. Now I will share with you everything I learned about how to become a Huffington Post blogger. This is *NOT* an official guide – just a summary of my own experience.

Three Ways to Become a HuffPo Blogger (according to my research)

1. Write something that goes hugely viral (10’s of 1,000’s of social likes and shares)
2. Write using an incredibly unique voice
3. Write really well about a controversial or highly interesting topic

 If you write something that falls into the first category, HuffPo will probably ask to reprint the piece. Of course, most of us are more likely to get struck by lightning than go viral, so that might not be the best route for everyone.

Moving on to the second category…if you have a unique voice or point of view, you *might* catch the attention of someone at HuffPo and get asked to contribute.  I don’t have any hard evidence on this, but I suspect that it is even harder to get onto HuffPo this way than to get on via a viral post. I know one person who got asked to write for HuffPo and even she shakes her head and says “I have no idea how they found me”…(it’s because she’s awesome, but I digress.)

So that leaves all of the rest of us bloggers with the third route. Unsurprisingly, this is the route I took and I will now share my top tips for getting picked up by the Huffington Post.

Top Tips for Getting on HuffPo

1. Read a LOT of content on HuffPo. Get to know their style and their writers. Find a few with a voice similar to your own and learn everything you can from their posts’ successes and failures. 
2. Decide on a topic. Chances are no matter what topic you pick. someone else on HuffPo will have already written about it. You need to be able to bring something new to the discussion. Figure out what topic you want, study up and then carve out your corner. And by carve out, I don’t mean be wishy washy. You need to OWN it.
3. Get an editor. The Huffington Post is *not* going to edit your work. They don’t have time for that. Therefore you need to find someone that can edit for you. An editor is not a friend who says “I love it!” about everything you write and adds in a few commas. An editor is the person who will tell you to rewrite the entire middle section, will highlight what works and will give you a vision of how great your piece can be. 
4. Publish the piece on your own blog or a group blog. If the only sound is crickets chirping, chances are that HuffPo isn’t going to pick it up either. If people love it, this will be part of your “sell” to HuffPo.
5. Submit it. Use every submission channel available to you. Email, online form, tweeting to the relevant section…all of these are on the recommended list. If you happen to know someone who is an established HP blogger, you can also ask them for advice and support. 
6. Repeat all of the above. Yes, I said repeat. I didn’t get in on my first attempt. Most people probably don’t. So keep improving by working hard and someone day it will happen for you.

Last but not least, if you aspire to be a Huffington Post blogger, go and hang out with other Huffington Post bloggers. Contribute to group websites, participate in blogger facebook groups, engage with people on their blogs. Get out there and get to know them. Rubbing virtual elbows on a daily basis with a bunch of HP bloggers, absolutely made me a better writer. 

Good luck!!!

P.S. My apologies to everyone who thought that there was going to be some secret trick. I know, I thought there was one too. Turns out the secret was a crap ton of hard work…Sorry!! To make yourself feel better, why not buy a copy of a new book by a bunch of Huffington Post bloggers (including me!)? I Just Want to Be Alone is now available on Amazon.comand iTunes.