Guest post guide for AI Supremacy
My updated guide on bylines.
Hello there,
✍🏻 Respected writer and Newsletter author.
Doing guests posts on this Newsletter has been extremely fulfilling. It’s not the job of a traditional editor, but somehow it feels engaging in the spirit of peer collaboration.
Reach
🙏 thank you so much for considering doing a Guest piece in A.I. Supremacy, that reaches an audience of 115,000 (okay now it’s likely more but however many) readers.
Posts reach on average 50k to 60k views.
If it’s a great piece, I also share it on my LinkedIn Newsletter, with over 200,000 readers. This may result in some modest traffic to your Newsletter, profiles and new sign-ups.
As of January 18th, 2025: (see Archives)
This can result in dozens to hundreds of new signups for your Newsletter.
SEE GUEST POST EXAMPLES.
See my LinkedIn Newsletter AI Report here.
Topics
While we are an A.I. focused Newsletter, we actively seek out and appreciate intersectional writing at the intersection of a Venn diagram of your topic and A.I. Your topic could be anything. Such as:
Semiconductor industry
Datacenter related analysis
AI and Software Engineering
Chinese Technology
AI and the intersection of cultural, societal and public good topics
Healthcare
Society and Geopolitics
Data Engineering
Product
Journalism
Software Development
AI Policy, Alignment and Ethics
Media, Future of Media, etc….
I’m fairly open on novel topics or ideas to cover.
Editorial Template for Guest Posts on A.I. Supremacy
Format:
A header image with credits
Between 1.5k words and 2.5k words, or preferably longer (i.e. an 8-20 min read)
At least one bullet point list
One or more infographics (either sourced or created by you)
Multiple quotes (if applicable)
Many or multiple high quality links to sources (6-20)
Well defined Subheadings
Open to GIFs, videos to embed, YouTube links, screen shots of X or other sources, etc… (visual stimuli is great!)
Deadlines are typically 10 days to 21 days from when we speak, but actual dates of publication are not given, and can be weeks later (due volume of submissions)
Not all entries will be accepted, if they don’t follow guidelines, if they don’t meet the quality requirements
Send draft to michaelkspencer2023@gmail.com in a google doc & let me know on a LinkedIn DM
Please DM me said Google doc in a link on LinkedIn (this is really helpful)
Send a short biography since I write a forward about you before the piece
Send 1-5 of your best pieces below the draft from your Newsletter (links), which I will try to highlight as well in the editorial formating.
My LinkedIn profile is here.
I also prefer to have a video pitch (30 seconds) to promote your work as a real cross-promotion that I embed in the intro if it is your first time. Here are the instructions. Please make this available to me on Google Drive that I can download. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tVwqBXobV47nuABvr78byFrQXGGevCOnZukGetClBOY/edit#heading=h.bgpziphd6sc
Finally, I will need your Email address to send you the invite to be the author of the post.
Please do not send me messages asking me when I will post the guest post (unless it’s been months). This is hugely distracting for me, nor do I know when your piece will be published.
I need first rights on your original deep dive, and 2 weeks without you posting it again (and preferably do not do this at all. It devalues your and my publication)
I need original content, or at worst second rights to a piece (with modifications). If you syndicate your proposed guest piece for my publication on other publications, due to duplicate content SEO rules, you exclude the submission by doing this.
Please re-read this over.
The guest post is designed to send your publication traffic, link clicks and attention. So make sure it is your best work. That it is optimized for a very General AI enthusiast audience and casual readers.
Examples
Read previous guest posts here.
Do note: If I include your guest post as a paywalled piece, I typically (though not always) will send it out to my entire free audience again 10-14 days later. These posts get 1.5x the usual traffic.
Questions?
There is no right or wrong deliverable, we won’t be editing the piece, although I may ask to make improvements.
It is entirely your creation, and you can re-publish it 14-21 days AFTER the piece goes live if you choose to (although I prefer it’s an edited version and original work is always prefered, i.e. change the title, header image, make necessary alterations).
I do not accept drafts that have been already published, unless in exceptional circumstances (which are rare). So if you cannot wait, and do this, your submission will be excluded.
The whole point is I need your original best work, to be able for you to get ROI from it and to inform my audience on your topic.
Editorial Oversight
The piece should have a strong title and subtitle and I reserve the right to change it. The title needs to be SEO optimized and make the reader want to read it in their Email inbox.
Topics must also be agreed on beforehand, typically I am giving/suggesting/recommending a specific topic I want based on an analysis of your body of work, background, previous Newsletter posts.
You can pitch me, but usually I will be finding and pitching you.
I prefer diverse audiences and try to keep a given writer to a maximum of one post a month.
You can also pitch me on Notes, but a DM to LinkedIn works the best. I have limited time to check Email or Substack DMs.
Perks
You get a high quality backlink, to your (ideally custom) domain. SEO is more important than many writers think here.
The main benefit is anticipated clicks and sign-ups, not many, but a few.
I do sometimes share piece on my LinkedIn Newsletter as well, that has a crazy high supposed readership.
SEO benefits in the long-tail if we choose a good title for the piece.
You can feature your Book, if you have a published book prominently in the piece or a YouTube channel.
Access to a wider audience, credibility, etc…
Collaborations like guest posts can lead to other opportunities, other people contacting you, etc….
The experience, most guest posts force you to write a piece of the highest quality you are capable of, since the incentives for doing so is a greater impact of the piece.
Guest post collaboration according to Substack are a great way to get your work out there.
My favorite way to handle byliness is to promote new or emerging writers
FAQ
How many guest posts have you had on your publication? Over a 40 writers, with over 80-100 total posts (I’ve lost track) have been featured thus far.
What is your motivation for offering guest posts? Mostly to send traffic to new and emerging Newsletters, but also to benefit my audience with diverse perspectives. Also to give me a break from burnout (3+ years), time to work on other publications.
Does offering guest posts dilute your audience and their affinity to you? Yes and no, there are pros and cons of hosting them which I am aware of, I think it’s a net positive/benefit though. I don’t typically get paid subs from them I have noticed.
How do you select who to feature and the topic? Mostly I use my intuition, I have gained some familiarity with the topics that “just work” and the sorts of writers I want to actively support.
What else do you get out of it? I get a day of rest, since I manage multiple Newsletters, this is precious time to do other marketing activities, catch up on correspondence, native sponsorship deals, etc…
Are guest posts typically well received? Yes they are, as a rule so far my audience and the broader community loves it. Although if your piece or topic is too niche, it might not perform super well.
Testimonials
I don’t really collect Testimonials for guest post on my publication, but clearly for emerging writers sometimes it pays off.
I can show you the link traffic on request 7 to 14 days after the piece is public. This is important for you to judge the ROI and if it’s worth your time (since I cannot afford to pay anyone for their contributions unfortunately).
If the piece performs well I may/might pitch you again with another topic. If you ignore my guidelines I may not do so.
I am looking for more guides on AI tools and some topics I will favor over others depending on my reader interests and trends. I am looking for more pieces this month on datacenters, AI agents, robotics, and select geopolitical and China AI and Tech topics.
Results? Typically a writer will see between 200-400 new signups after a piece with me and 300-500 clicks to their articles. However it could be much less, or even more. Depending on how the post performs.
Let me know if this is clear.