Calling Tech Writers: Guest Post on Tokyo Tech Lead!

If you just got started in building your personal brand, don't miss out! This post introduces the benefits and guidelines.

Feb 10, 2025

I've just finished writing my first guest post. It's still in the queue, and I'm looking forward to seeing it published.

This process made me realize how valuable collaborations are, for both the guest writer and the newsletter owner.

So while I'm reaching out to more writers for guest posting, I'm calling for writers to collaborate on my newsletter. If you're interested, reply to this email or DM me. Let's create something together!

The following is how it works:

What is a Guest Post

A guest post on Substack is a collaboration between authors where one author writes on another newsletter.

This is a good example post:

You can see that there are two writers in this post. The one on the left is the newsletter owner, and the other one is the guest writer.

This post content is mainly created by the guest writer, and the owner would add some introductions and side notes.

Ideal Topics

The following are the niches for my newsletter. Ideally, the topics of guest posts would match one of the following:

Software Engineering career path
Engineering leadership
Transitioning from Software Engineers to Engineering Leaders
Personal experiences and career lessons
Soft skills
Productivity tips

There is a list of my posts in the archives. But if there are any other ideas, let’s discuss them!

The Benefits

Newsletter Spotlight: I would include a short bio to introduce your publication on Substack or any platform.
Audience Reach: So far Tokyo Tech Lead has a consistent 800-900 views of each article. This ensures that your article is exposed to a brand-new audience. I would also promote both on my Substack note and LinkedIn post.
SEO Value: Guest posting helps with SEO by providing backlinks to your site, making it easier for people to find your work through search engines. Based on Ahrefs, my current domain rating is not high, but it still helps if you just get started.

Writing Guidance: If you struggle with coming up with a topic, I'll brainstorm with you. I would also give suggestions about basic writing style, structure, and content.

Guest Post Guidelines

The following is a tentative guideline. It will be updated based on my experience working with different writers.

The Process

Start by contacting me through DM (or reply to this email). We will discuss the topic.
Once a topic is decided, the guest writer will work on a draft.
Share the draft on a Google Doc or a draft on Substack. Some edits might be required.
After the draft is done, we will discuss the schedule.

Expectations

Word Count: It would be ideal within the range of 500 to 3,000.
Image Credit: Images should be credited if they are created by others.
Article Structure: Articles should be structured in a readable manner, such as by using subheadings and bullet points.
Cross-Posting: I would suggest using cross-posting on Substack if you’d like to post it on your publication as well. If you’d like to do it without cross-posting, we will agree on a schedule. Ideally, the article on Tokyo Tech Lead will be published first.
Promotions: Links to your articles or products are okay, but please refrain from having too many promotional links that impact the reader experience.
Using Generative AI: I don’t mind using LLM like ChatGPT to create content, but it should be edited properly. Without editing, AI-generated content could be too general and doesn’t provide value.

Edge Cases

Just for precaution:

Sometimes the post might not go out right away. If I receive a lot of posts at the same time, I need to order them on a schedule, so that my readers won't get overwhelmed.
In certain conditions, I might skip the collaboration. There might be cases where the draft is significantly different from expectations. In those cases, I may recommend that the guest writer publish it on their own newsletter instead.