(Reading time: 3 – 4 minutes)
Couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I was doing some “web logging,” but not here on Website In A Weekend.
But why not here?
No good reason!
So here’s a 10 minute, rip-one-out fast little web log-y article for you, on the hottest trend in blogging in 2010.
I was reading Jon Morrow’s article on Glass Ceilings and Inner Circles, and Jonathan Fields article on Top Bloggers, and the upshot of both is “Guest Post!”
Guest posting is a good idea. Kelly Diels created her freelancing career on the basis of guest posting.
But there’s this misconception that having guest posts on your blog is some sort of gravy train.
It’s not.
Having had around 25-30 guest post bloggers* on Website In A Weekend, I can assure everyone who hasn’t had this experience, it’s not that simple. Here’s why:
- Editorial standards: unless you’re Inner Circle, you’re going to find yourself putting some work into cleaning up submitted articles. Because they aren’t going to come in perfect, and you’re not going to get the pick of the litter.
I don’t have a problem with this myself, I like helping people, and I have experience editing and reviewing. You might find it a pain in the butt!
- Anyone serious about having guest post bloggers is going to have to get out there and recruit them, at least in the beginning. This is time consuming.
- Bio boxes, links, (un)SEO metadata, all kinds of other little details conspire to eat up time that you do not normally spend when you’re writing your own articles.
Remember, the writing is only part of it. There’s all that “publishing” stuff too!
In short, accepting guest posts can be more work than one would think. TANSTAAFL.
But don’t feel discouraged, there are tremendous benefits from all that work:
- Acquire social proof. There. I said it. Having a steady stream of authors writing for your blog demonstrates leadership.
- Create relationships. When you invest in people, they invest in you.
- Learn real editing and publishing skills. Creating the vision you want for your website is hard work, whether you do it yourself, or bring others on board.
- Remember the Starfish Principle. Paying it forward by helping people learn better blogging helps all of us. Technically, I’m good at the writing and publishing part of this game (no, we’re not going to talk about (self-)promotion, not today), and I like helping people improve.
Don’t forget to promote your guest post authors. Taking a look at my CommentLuv trail around the web, you’ll see I’m diligent in making sure guest authors get their due.
What’s your story?
Are you accepting guest posts? Why or why not? Have you found it to be more work than you thought it would be? How do you promote your guest post authors?
*I’m a little behind on my updates.
I have guest post articles from Johnson Yip and Teresa Deak in queue… sometime before Burning Man, I promise.
I have reached out several times to seek guest posts from people who I thought could add value and for whom I anticipated a benefit for them. They agreed and then nothing ever happened. I got uninspired with the results. You inspire me as usual to get back in the game. Just asked another blogger to guest post. He seems interested . Got any advice if he agrees? I am completing a series for Eleanor (one a month for 6 months) that should be done this weekend.
Ralph´s last post ..60′s Nostalgia- Emptiness and Longing with the Mamas and the Popas
Probably the biggest thing is to help him as much as you can, and definitely promote him on other sites. That’s one of the great things about CommentLuv, being able to pick out guest posts from your feed.
Dave Doolin´s last post ..Guest Post blogging – The other side of the story
I’ve just started recruiting guest bloggers in earnest in the past 3 weeks. So far so good. It’s very misunderstood in my little blogging niche. Ah… they have so much to learn! ;)
The best guest posts I’ve gotten so far have been those that I actively recruited from great COMMENTS left on the best posts I’ve written.
Still trying to figure out a guest posting strategy for myself. I think I need to do some serious research into blogs completely outside my niche & WOW them with handmade goodies.
Thanks, Dave!
Tara… yeah, get some commenters all riled up and you can “mine” them for guest posts… Fair warning: you may have to a fair bit of editorial work; it’s not the same as having a fully formatted guest post drop into your inbox. But you’re right: those guest posts tend to be really good in the end.
I have about a dozen articles myself I’m just sitting on. I don’t mind the writing, it’s the submitting to an uncertain future that demotivates me.
But I do have a spreadsheet built. Just need to start filling it in.
Dave Doolin´s last post ..Outsource your SEO – Blog Better with a Virtual Assistant- Tip 3
I’ve gone far enough to let people get their own blogs and post whatever they want on their own subdomain. Everything is tied to the main domain, and all of their posts get featured from the front page and category pages..
That is my method of doing it.. Anybody else tried anything similar?
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I haven’t tried that. I’ll have to take a look at what you’re doing.
Dave Doolin´s last post ..Olympic Blogging- Running your race
Ann Smarty is another prominent SEO who’s branded herself by writing and extensive number of guest blog posts.
I recently started accepting guest submissions for one of my sites. You’re right, it is more work than I expected with editing submissions. It’s also hard to find quality authors since my site isn’t exactly Mashable.
Many of the articles people have submitted so far have scream, “I spent 5 minutes writing this off the top of my head to get a backlink.” On the other hand, I’ve also received a few articles that pull steady traffic too.
Jay´s last post ..10 Blogging Tips from Perez Hilton
Sometimes I end up doing a fair bit of work on the articles.
I’m willing to do it when I have time, when the author is amenable, and the topic fits well.
Dave Doolin´s last post ..Olympic Blogging- Running your race
I really like posting guest posts on my sites. I think that the best benefit is connecting with the guest author. There are some great bloggers out there that never come across my radar.
If you would like to write a guest post about business or online business for Extra Income Daily please don’t hesitate to ask.
Fred´s last post ..What is a Business Model
Fred, I always connect up on LinkedIn with the guest post authors here.
I like knowing they are real people!
Dave Doolin´s last post ..Give Yourself Time to Write Better
Why Dave…you mean I won’t be getting any guest post invites because of a little detail like that?
Hell…LinkedIn doesn’t even know I exist…thank God.
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I love having guest post on GAB. With everything else I’m juggling, even with editing, bio boxes and all that jazz, it still is a big help. And it’s in keeping with what we’re doing to give people a platform and a voice.
And Ralph so kindly said, we have a whole new set of stuff going down starting September. I’m excited about how that will pan out.
I read that piece on CopyBlogger too and it’s given me a kick to get myself out there a bit more. I have one major editing job to do for someone tonight (woo hoo, only 6k words left!) and a few other bits and bobs but by September I like to think I’ll be ready to roll.
To that end, if anyone would like a guest post, feel free to drop me a tweet ;)
El x
Eleanor Edwards´s last post ..Animation super star and all round good guy FF @CraigWoodhams
Looking forward to seeing what you have up your sleeve in September, Eleanor.
Dave Doolin´s last post ..Outsource your SEO – Blog Better with a Virtual Assistant- Tip 3
Now that’s a coincidence. I just added a guest blog post submission form to my blog to help automate some of the chores associated with dealing with guest posts.
I know I will still need to do some editorial clean-up and screen for original content. But not having to deal with the requests on a case by case basis will definitely free up some of my time.
I always make sure to include a bio box for my authors. I also visit their blogs and leave a comment or two. If they have a stellar post or two on their blog I will feature it in an article roundup.
Do unto others, eh?
Blog Angel a.k.a. Joella´s last post ..Encourage Guest Blog Posts By Providing A Guest Posting Form
Joella, that’s probably a really good idea!
I still have several guest posts in my queue that I need to clear out.
Dave Doolin´s last post ..Internet Marketers – Who SAYS its time for Bed
Hi Dave,
I have never considered the idea of guest posting or having people guest post on my blog.
I think that could be something I would consider in the future as my blog as well as my own experience grows online.
At the moment I have some how started a challenge from bimbo comment I said in a forum! Oops on that one.
The one thing I do like about reading guests posts though on other people’s blogs is that I get to be introduced to other bloggers and writers which I may not have come across otherwise.
One of your guest posts on a blog was how I found you!! :cool:
See you back here soon! :P
Cheers
Jacinta :D
Jacinta Dean´s last post ..The 100 Blog Comment Challenge Is On!
Glad to have you stop by, Jacinta.
I’m often open for guest authors, if you have something that fits here and won’t fit on your site, send it along I’ll take a lock.
Have fun with your challenge!
Dave Doolin´s last post ..Flipboard Blogging- Are you ready for the next wave
Hi Dave, nice read!
I had some experience with guest blogging as you might know, and I completely agree with you it’s not simple or easy to manage a guest blogging “blog”!
I publish a new post everyday, some times up to 3 posts, and I spend most of the time doing the editorial work including choosing a perfect image – sometimes I create my own- and some posts took more than 2 hours to get it ready for publishing, and after all that work I have to promote it (if you know what I mean) and this takes more and more time!
I had a fight with the Bio information (member profile) as I had to develop a way to make it simple for me, I ask bloggers to register, so.. now my special code do the rest! and I am saving a lot of time because of that!
I also admit that most of my good relationships was built on guest blogging!
Hesham´s last post ..The Beauty of Blogging
Hesham, I had designs on running an operation similar to what you’re doing, but I found I can’t keep up with the work that’s required, while getting my other axes ground nice and sharp.
The bio boxes I created for Website In A Weekend are pretty cool, but they require custom programming, too much work when I have a lot of guest authors. These things are never apparent when first starting out!
Dave Doolin´s last post ..Internet Marketers – Who SAYS its time for Bed
Yes, I know that it take a lot of time working, programing and adjusting the way it perform and look like!
Also, I found that most of bloggers don’t really promote their guest posts after publishing it! and I had to promote it by my self most of the time, social media and bookmarking sites mostly!
I hope bloggers understand that they must be involved on the promotion part!
Hesham´s last post ..Watching People Watch Social Media
I accept guest bloggers on my new site, my plan so far to ‘pay them back’ is the do-follow links in the bio.
As for the time spent I don’t know yet what that will be- I am trying to take steps to make it easy and not terribly lengthy!
Eve´s last post ..Online Support and Tools for Weight Loss
Eve, I encourage people to use an affiliate link as well. The risk to me is miniscule, the benefit to the guest post author is small, but higher than not having an affiliate link. And I think it pays off in good feelings too. I trust my guest authors, and encourage readers to purchase through their link.
Thanks for stopping by!
Dave Doolin´s last post ..Outsource your SEO – Blog Better with a Virtual Assistant- Tip 3
hey, good article. Looking from content site I think the best situation is when someone is better on the subject than you could ever do – in that case guest post really adds value. It’s the worse scenario if we accept them just to have some content stuffed into our blog.
Apparently I need to Google my name more often…I just noticed your comment about my upcoming guest post.
I’m still toying with the idea of inviting guests to post on my blog, wondering if the format might be other poets commenting on a photo of mine. My blog doesn’t really fit the usual style so the methods that others use might not be perfect there.
As with all things, it will sort itself out eventually.
Hugs and butterflies,
~Teresa~
PicsieChick´s last post ..Beauty will save us- the glimpse and the whisper
I can’t recall the last time I googled my name.
Dave Doolin´s last post ..Blog Post Engineering 072 ready to roll
Agreed, guest posting is awesome – we should be doing more of it (I love to, you know that), accepting more, and so on.
Here’s a question for you though – and what caused me to search WIAW for answers! – If someone out of the blue asks whether they can do a post on your blog, provides examples of what they’ve done, and generally looks good… what are the next steps?
Obviously you decide whether you want them to post, and at some point you’re going to have to discuss the whats, whens, and so on and so forth. Just wondering if there’s maybe a checklist or guidelines that I’m missing. :)
I recommend developing a formal checklist, for at least your own purposes.
It’s something on my ever-lengthening todo list, which I’ll get to when I start another round of soliciting for guest posts.
The key is to make the load on yourself as light as possible. There’s only one of you, and when every potential author sends stuff in with wack formatting, it’s too much to handle.
Dave Doolin´s last post ..Why 2 Quarts of Vanilla Ice Cream Means You Get a Good Deal
All right, thank you. :D
Seems like a great idea… Guessing I’m going to have to learn as I go though. Up until now it’s been friends that’ve asked to post – people I generally trust to submit it in a reasonable format anyway. I sense a steep learning curve approaching =)
I really like posting guest posts on my sites. I think that the best benefit is connecting with the guest author. There are some great bloggers out there that never come across my radar.
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