Quick answer: Blog submission sites are platforms where you can publish articles under your own name, from big publishing platforms like Medium and Substack to community blogs like Hashnode and contributor sites like Hacker Noon. Used well, they build audience, brand mentions, and referral traffic. Used badly, with copied or thin posts, they waste time and can make your link profile look cheap.
Blog submission used to mean dumping the same article onto hundreds of directories. That era is over, and the directories that remain from it are mostly worthless. What still works is publishing genuinely useful articles on platforms where real people read, share, and follow writers. This guide lists 25 platforms that are still alive and worth your time, grouped by how they work, and explains how to use them without hurting your site.
First, an honest word about links
Most platforms in this list mark user links as nofollow or sponsored, and that is fine. Their value is audience, brand visibility, and referral visits, plus the natural links that readers and other writers give you later. If a site promises followed links in exchange for any article at all, treat that as a warning sign, not a feature. Read our guide on how to vet guest posting sites before you trust any platform with your content.
Group 1: Open publishing platforms
These let you create an account and publish immediately. Quality control is light, so your own standards decide whether the work helps you.
- Medium: huge general audience, strong for marketing, business, and technology writing
- LinkedIn Articles: best for reaching business owners and professionals under your real name
- Substack: a newsletter platform, good when you publish on a steady schedule
- WordPress.com: free blogging with a large built in readership network
- Blogger: the free platform from Google, simple and still widely read in many countries
- Tumblr: short posts and visual content, active in creative niches
- LiveJournal: one of the oldest platforms, still alive in community niches
- HubPages: article platform with topic sections and editorial checks
- Vocal Media: pays writers from reads, open to most topics
- Write.as: minimal, clean publishing with a small loyal readership
Group 2: Community and niche platforms
These are built around a topic community. The readers are fewer but far more targeted, which suits specialist businesses.
- Hashnode: developer blogging with a strong community feed
- DEV Community: programmers sharing practical tutorials and lessons
- Tealfeed: professional articles across business and technology
- Indie Hackers: founders sharing growth lessons and numbers
- Quora Spaces: question led content that ranks well in search
- Bear Blog: tiny, fast, and loved by personal bloggers
- Mataroa: a small independent platform with a loyal writing community
- Svbtle: a paid, curated network for thoughtful long form writing
Group 3: Contributor sites that review submissions
These have editors. Getting published is harder, and that is exactly why a placement carries weight.
- Hacker Noon: technology and startups, editorial review on every piece
- Business2Community: business and marketing contributors, widely syndicated
- DZone: developer content with a large professional audience
- SitePoint: web development and design, pitch based
- ReadWrite: technology commentary and analysis
- Search Engine Journal: accepts expert pitches from SEO practitioners
- Smashing Magazine: design and development, strict editorial standard
How to use blog submission sites the right way
Write each article for that platform and its readers, not as a copy of a post on your own site. If you republish something, publish on your site first, wait, and use a canonical tag where the platform allows it, so Google credits the original. Link to your site only where it genuinely helps the reader, usually once, in the body or the author bio. Keep your author profile complete and consistent everywhere, with the same photo, the same short bio, and a link to your main profile or site. For finding places that welcome outside writers, our guide to finding guest posting opportunities walks through the search process step by step.
Free accounts versus paid tiers
Every platform above can be used free at the level described here, and free is the right place to start. Paid tiers exist on some of them: Substack charges nothing upfront and takes a share only if you sell subscriptions, Svbtle charges a membership for its curated network, and Medium runs a partner program that pays writers based on member reading time. Pay only when a platform has already proven it sends you readers. A paid tier never rescues weak articles, and on submission platforms the money is almost always better spent on your own site content first.
A simple routine that makes submission sites pay off
Treat these platforms as a publishing habit, not a one off task. Pick two platforms that fit your niche and publish one strong article a month on each. Answer comments under your articles, because editors and readers notice writers who show up. Every few months, look at which articles earned reads, saves, and visits to your site, and write more of what worked. Keep a simple list of your live articles and their URLs, so you can reference earlier pieces, share them on your social profiles, and point new readers to your best work. Over a year, that steady presence builds a recognisable name in your niche, and a recognisable name is what turns platform readers into enquiries. The writers who gain nothing from these sites are almost always the ones who posted twice in one week and never returned.
What to avoid
Avoid article directories that accept anything instantly and show page after page of unrelated spam topics. Avoid spinning one article into ten versions. Avoid platforms that sell followed links openly. And avoid spending more time on submission sites than on your own blog: these platforms support your main site, they should never replace it. Our roundup of ways to get backlinks without guest posting gives you stronger options to balance the mix.
Frequently asked questions
Do blog submission sites still help SEO?
They help indirectly. They put your brand in front of readers, earn referral traffic and mentions, and sometimes lead to natural links. They are a supporting tactic, not a ranking shortcut.
Should I submit the same article to several sites?
No. Duplicate submissions look lazy and can dilute credit for the piece. Write original articles, or syndicate properly with a canonical tag pointing to the original.
Are the links from these platforms followed?
Mostly no, and you should expect that. Platforms protect themselves by marking user links. Judge each platform by its audience, not by its link attributes.
How many platforms should I use?
Two or three that fit your niche, used consistently, beat twenty accounts you never touch again. Pick the ones your customers actually read.
Can blog submission hurt my site?
It can if you publish thin or spun content on spammy directories at scale. Publishing useful articles on real platforms, under your real name, is safe.
Publish where your readers already are
The right platforms put your knowledge in front of people who can hire you, quote you, and link to you later. If you want placements on stronger editorial sites instead, our guest posting service handles the research, outreach, and writing for you. Send us a message and we will suggest the routes that fit your niche and budget.