Guest Posting: After You Get the Yes
We’ve reached Day Eight of our Guest Posting series, and the second installment of FAQs. You don’t want to miss the rest of the series, and you can find each post here:
Landing a Guest Post Gig
Stacking the Odds in Your Favor
Throwing Away Your Chances of Success
Feedback Red Flags to Watch Out For
Finding Motivation for Guest Posting
Common FAQs on Guest Posting
Today’s post covers what to do when writing your guest post, as well as your responsibilities and managing the situation once your post goes live. Enjoy.
What’s the rule of thumb about linking to my blog in a guest post?
Good question. I have two opinions for you:
My opinion on links is that when you guest post, you already receive credit (your name in lights), a link to your blog, and a byline that should also include a link to your feed. That’s enough, really.
However, my friend Sonia Simone has a different take on links – and a good one. Sonia adds one link to a relevant post on her blog that adds to the conversation in her guest posts. Why guest post if your content isn’t useful to readers? She also links to an especially relevant post of her own in her bio instead of linking to her home page.
Sonia and I both offset our links by linking to cornerstone content on the blog in question so that we never take more than we receive.
I’ve submitted a guest post and never heard back on approval. What should I do?
Not everyone replies to their email immediately, and some don’t reply to certain emails at all. You sending a request does not guarantee a reply. It’s nice when it happens, but no one is under obligation to answer.
First, don’t panic. Be patient. A week in real life isn’t that long, even though it may feel like forever in the virtual world.
Follow up on your request. Send a simple, “Hey, I sent you an email about a week back. Did you receive it? Let me know.” That’s all.
Still no answer after another week? Send a brief and VERY polite note to say, “I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be using the guest post I submitted to you elsewhere. Thanks anyways.”
What are my responsibilities after I submit a guest post?
I’m glad you asked. Yes, you do have responsibilities, unspoken as they are. When you submit a guest post, you are entering into a mutually beneficial agreement. If you don’t uphold your end of the bargain, you won’t be invited back.
On the day your guest post goes live, it’s a good idea to write a post inviting your readers to go visit the blog and welcoming readers from the other blog who click through to visit yours.
Even better is writing a post that relates to your guest post so that there’s more than just a welcome to read. It creates a good flow and gives people a double-whammy of content and comment opportunities.
Be present. Your day (and often the days that follow) will involve fielding comments on the blog where your guest post is located. Get in there and answer those comments. Address questions. Discuss. Interact. Don’t just post and walk away; that’s a cheap cop-out. Don’t just drop by to give one or two general thank-you comments to the crowd, either. That’s even cheaper.
Give your guest post some social media love at the blog that posted your content. Stumble your post, Digg it and Twitter to the crowds. Don’t just wait for traffic to come to you – help drive it to your post and to that blog.
People hate my guest post. The comment section is full of complaints. What do I do?
A guest post gone wrong is never fun. Yes, you may want to run screaming into the comment boost with a big stick to beat your point into people in some vicious defensive action. You might want to quit your job, leave your home and go cry in a box somewhere for three weeks.
I wouldn’t advise either. Yes, it’s disheartening when people publicly mention they didn’t like what you wrote and yes, it hurts. Does it really matter in the big scheme of things? Is it a reflection of you and your self-worth?
I don’t think so. You can’t please everyone all of the time, and writing is extremely subjective to personal opinion.
Stay calm. Stay positive and cheery. Thank people for their comments. Avoid any debate situation or veiled snark in your replies. Don’t get defensive and be Zen. It’s tough, but you can do it – and you may actually make people like you because you could take the hits and roll with the punches.
How often should I guest post?
The more exposure you have, the better. If you submit one guest post only and readers never see your name again, they’ll forget you. You’re invisible. You’re just another face in the crowd.
But when readers see your name crop up repeatedly and at different blogs, they start to notice. They remember seeing you before. They get curious. “Just who is this James Chartrand anyways? That’s the fifth time I’ve seen his name this week.”
They click through to learn more about you from your site – and voila. Conversion. Success.
Guest posting is free content. Shouldn’t I be working to earn income instead?
Yes and no. Yes, your financial needs should be met and you should never invest more time in guest posting than you can realistically afford.
However, focusing on short-term income and neglecting long-term potential is a common mistake. It’s easy to get wrapped up in keeping money coming in and setting aside steps to take that ensure longevity, more passive income and business growth.
In fact, the job versus business issue can be like a treadmill that you need to jump off. The more you focus on now, the less you can break away to devote your attention to the future. Do work on bringing in cash and making ends meet, but be prepared to sacrifice a little money today to invest in better long long-term potential.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post. It covers whether you should accept guest posts on your blog, what approval factors to consider and the biggest problem, how to say no to requests.
43 Responses to “Guest Posting: After You Get the Yes”
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That last point, people who think guest posting is a waste of time because it’s not income-earning, these guys always get on my nerves.
Uh, last time I checked, marketing was an expense, no? You don’t make money from deploying a marketing campaign—you make it from the expected returns. Guest posting is a form of marketing. I think it’s one of the best kinds because it should inherently provide value and be good, solid content, whereas most traditional marketing is just a sales pitch.
Guest posting isn’t free content; it’s a marketing expense, an affordable one because usually all it involves is some of your time. Money is not the only currency in the world.
Good post mate. Enjoying the series.
Joel Falconer’s last blog post..How to Double Your Income with the Art of Delegation
I have read every post in the series and learned a lot.
There’s one question that I would like a answer on.
Suppose you send a guest post and get no reply :-0)
* How long should one wait before sending a follow up mail asking about it?
* should one just assume that its not something that will be published and not send a mail?
Shamelle
James,
“it also shares the potential with section with a big stick”
Sows how little caffeine I’ve had that I continued to hope that would make sense if I reread it. 3 times.
On stirring the pot: When people hate your post you have a golden opportunity to shine in those comments. I’ve seen people both give up and get down in there and hash it out. I guarantee the hash-it-out folks are far better remembered (and get tons more click-through) than the ones who walk away.
If you (not you specifically, James) don’t like debate why blog? Just to preach to adoring masses? *yawn* Note: I don’t mean argument or enflaming a jerk, but real debate—explaining your own point of view more fully to attempt to sway others.
If you have a point of view that riles some people and you can’t defend it like a gentleman/ gentlewoman for 24 hours, I for one won’t become a fan.
Nicely written!
Regards,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..Summer Is a Great Time to… Read at the Beach: 10 to Fire You Up
@ Shamelle – Those questions were covered here in this post: Stacking the Odds in Your Favor Cheers!
@ Joel – Damned straight.
@ Kelly – This is clear proof why even the best writers need an editor. Not that I wrote that drivel – it’s a copy/paste error. Thanks for picking it up.
What makes me laugh every time is that you pick it up – but how many don’t? Heh.
My dear, I am an awesome editor. Being an observant stickler is what I do for a living. (I suspected the vicious copy/paste monster—or shiraz at midnight.)
Kelly’s last blog post..Summer Is a Great Time to… Read at the Beach: 10 to Fire You Up
Q. – What if the blogger makes an embarrassing spelling error, when adding the headline to my guest post, and is subsequently unwilling to correct the mistake?
A. – Voodoo dolls are for sale in the lobby…
rjleaman’s last blog post..7 Ways to Optimize To-Do Lists
James,
Fantastic series. I am learning a ton, and from who else but the master of guest posting. I have a couple of questions as well. First, how do you decide what topic you are going to send in for a guest post to a certain blog? Secondly, do you read the current posts and then say “you know, this could use something more, let me send in some content?”
I think that is it for now, but I will be back with more questions in the chamber…gotta give it time to digest first. Keep up the great work!
@ Kelly – Yes. I blame the Shiraz, too.
@ RJ – Kelly already has a voodoo doll for us. Thankfully, she hasn’t been using it lately…
@ Sal – Hey, thanks for the kind words (and the flattery; gotta love that!) Good questions, too.
My thoughts are that most blog owners enjoy seeing initiative. They don’t like to think much and they like to see a blogger use his or her creativity.
When I receive a request for a guest post, though, I always ask the individual whether they’d like me to write on something specific or whether they’d like me to choose my own topic.
Many people use me to say things they normally could not, and others have great ideas they’d like to see me explore because of who I am and how I write. Others appreciate that I cared enough to ask and offer them that opportunity and they also appreciate that I show that I do have enough creativity to think up my own topics.
It’s important to choose a related topic for the blog. I wouldn’t write on entrepreneurship at a blog about print publishing, for example, unless I had a really good tie in or angle.
What do readers like to see on blogs? Which posts have received the most comments in the past? Which seem the most popular? Check that and use that advantage to give readers exactly what they want.
Alternatively, answer questions you’ve noticed in comment sections that didn’t get addressed in blog posts.
I try to avoid writing on something someone has already covered – unless I can continue the lessons and advice by adding to it, not just by being more creative. And I also respect the post I took my idea from by linking to it in the post. “She wrote this. Great stuff. Now read this, which gives you even more tips.”
That help?
James, that helped out a ton. Cleared a bunch of roaming, nomadic thoughts right up. Thanks for the insight.
Shiraz, you say? Yet another Australian influence on blogging.
This post really covers some good ground and resonates with me as a reader in terms of my reaction to guest bloggers. How they handle the comments section is a biggie. If someone responds well to comments, including the negative ones, that’s usually enough to persuade me to click over to his or her blog and check it out.
Bill K.’s last blog post..How to make functional maps using Google Earth
James, after submitting a guest post, what kinds of requests do blog owners come at you with? Do they ask you to reformat your paragraphs? Do they edit the format of the post? Who finds the pictures to use? Do owners tell you when your blog article will go live?
Thanks, dude!
John Hoff’s last blog post..2 Keys To Beating Your Competition In Business
I have a guest post coming out either next week or the week after. All the posts on my own blog during that week will relate to that one. My guest post is the daddy, even though it’s not on my own blog. It doesn’t matter to me that it’s free content at all; I’m just excited that I have an opportunity, beyond the one that I created, to get my words out there.
Writer Dad’s last blog post..One World, One Dream
@ James – I noticed you had mentioned you’ve guest posted on Lifehacker. I must admit, I’m a bit confused on how Lifehacker works. Do they only post snippets of other people’s post? Do they accept guest posts? What’s the deal?
Geez, I’m full of questions this morning, aren’t I?
Sorry for another comment, but I thought you might like to know that for the last two comments I made, after I hit the submit button I’m taken to an error page. Looks like maybe CommentLuv is causing some problems or something in your comments.php file.
John Hoff’s last blog post..2 Keys To Beating Your Competition In Business
James,
Been sticking the pins in all week. How do you think the typo got there? Hard to concentrate when little Pen is writhing.
Later,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..Summer Is a Great Time to… Read at the Beach: 10 to Fire You Up
Oops! Did I miss some kind of a James-Kelly affray, and inadvertantly put my foot in it with that wee gripe about a certain typo-creating host blogger? No reference to any person here at MwP, living or dead, blogger or commenter, was intended or implied… I assure you…
rjleaman’s last blog post..7 Ways to Optimize To-Do Lists
@ Kelly – No wonder I’ve been feeling those jabs in my leg… cripes.
@ John – Comment Luv is a bit of a bitch. She’ll come around. Or Harry will wake up, one of the two
I’m not the man with the coding skills around here.
As for Lifehacker, nope, never said I wrote for them. I have no clue how they work. Sorry, dude.
@ Writer Dad – Ha, now there’s an interesting concept – a central guest post elsewhere and a surrounding web of posts on your own blog. I like!
@ John again –
Me? Personally? After I submit, there’s rarely anything that comes back. Posts generally go live straight as they are.
But I can answer your question in a general way:
Blog owners will reformat posts if guest posters don’t submit posts using HTML code versus Word features. It’s a bitch to edit out the Word code and rework the code to match the formatting.
Editing of the content is their right as well – but if you need an editor that badly, you shouldn’t be guest posting. This is your best work, after all.
Same with paragraphing – you should be applying proper breaking. I did notice that most blogs don’t reformat this and end up posting huge chunks of text. Sucks to read.
Pictures are often at the discretion of the blog owner. They have their own means of finding and posting pictures, but going the extra mile to say, “Hey, I found this pic that would be a good match” and including the link saves them extra time and provides an additional service.
@ Bill – Shiraz, I say. Every day between 4 and 6pm. It’s the small pleasures in life that make it all worth it.
@ RJ/Kelly – SEE? *points and jumps up and down* It’s HER fault too!! She admitted it!
(Sadly, no, RJ. You can’t take credit for this typo. Sorry.)
Heh. What’s the point in being both female and Canadian, if one can’t apologize endlessly for things not actually one’s fault? (The Crimean War, for example: I’ve always felt bad about that one.)
rjleaman’s last blog post..7 Ways to Optimize To-Do Lists
@Kelly – Thanks for the encouragement to stir the pot. Very necessary.
@James – What if you know you are a wolf in sheep’s clothing, but that the sheep will attack you as soon as you show your face?
What I mean is, what if you deliberately want to guest post in a way that is counter to the core beliefs of the blog audience (and its author) you want to target? (and not just for the heck of it, because you strongly believe those beliefs are mistaken)
Do you acknowledge it upfront, making such an analogy, or do you just try to slip it in, under the radar?
Jeremy | Happily Ever After Investing’s last blog post..The Cat’s Guide To Bottom Fishing
@ Jeremy – Good question, and I’m glad you ask.
In this case, I’d do the graceful, mature thing and simply not guest post. “Thank you for the offer, but I feel I wouldn’t be able to properly support the beliefs of your blog.”
End of story. Why try to be sneaky or subtle? Why try to publicly knock someone down? Take the high road, dude, and just don’t do it. Live and let live.
Because if you are guest posting just to counter the core beliefs of a blog, that’s just nasty.
Good series. There really is a lot to consider with guest posting.
Guest posting is also perhaps the most proactive thing a blogger can do to increase exposure and subscribers, short of writing worthwhile content on their own pages. But that’s a given.
Bamboo Forest’s last blog post..What’s The True Value of Blog Comments?
Great post about gest posting. Thank you
ramiro marques’s last blog post..As vantagens de subscrever feeds com o Google Reader
James, just thought I’d let you know that Blogger has stepped up its game regarding comments.
Check out my new comment section on my sports blog, which I have not switched to WordPress.
What you think?
Phillip Hines’s last blog post..Your Votes Are In: Hampton Roads Baseball Beats Out Football By Three Votes
My head hurts. It all seemed so simple for the one guest post I’ve done so far. You have written an excellent series, but my head hurts.
Urban Panther’s last blog post..Yep, tastes good
@ Urban – I’m sorry. *pat pat* I know Harry sympathizes and knows exactly how you feel.
@ Philip – Yeah, that is much better. Damn. They could be more clear with their title tags, but it makes commenting much better. Thanks for pointing that out to me, as it might – might, mind you – make me like Blogger a wee bit more
James Chartrand – Men with Pens’s last blog post..Guest Posting: After You Get the Yes
Dang, I saw rjleaman’s post about an affray between Kelly & James, and thought they were having an affair.
Now *that* would be some good gossip.
Sonia Simone’s last blog post..Relationship Marketing Series #6, Connect With One Person
Rather daunting logistics…
& why would rjleaman know about it, lol?
How come there aren’t any good bloggers-having-affairs stories?
Kelly’s last blog post..Summer Is a Great Time to… Read at the Beach: 10 to Fire You Up
rjleaman knows all kinds of things, you know.
There really should be better blogger gossip. I’d make up something filthy, but I’m too tired. (Maybe that’s the problem, most of us are too damned worn out to have affairs.)
Sonia Simone’s last blog post..Relationship Marketing Series #6, Connect With One Person
@Sonia, tsk! Mind in the gutter again? Sounds like you can’t be that tired! Or was it the provocative subtitle of this post that got this train of thought puffing off in the wrong direction?
@Kelly, your secrets are safe with me
rjleaman’s last blog post..7 Ways to Optimize To-Do Lists
Late to the party, but damn fine material!
@Jeremy – When you’re guest-posting with an opposing view, my opinion is that you should be open and respectful about it. If you want to be a troll and piss people off, that will not score points for you. But you could at least do your best to be likable and earn respect, and that is best done by liking others and being respectful.
I doubt anyone is clever enough to truly pull off a “wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing” maneuver without at least being detected and definitely hated. And what purpose would that serve? None that I can see.
Michael Martine’s last blog post..How to Avoid Falling into a Blogging Rut
Can you imagine the marketing potential? I mean…
Think about it. I could promote being fantastic in bed. And create gossip for Sonia… give RJ secrets.. .make Kelly blush…
James Chartrand – Men with Pens’s last blog post..Guest Posting: After You Get the Yes
… gratify the male ego…
rjleaman’s last blog post..7 Ways to Optimize To-Do Lists
Only if I can mention that you don’t like to do it in the dark.
A girl’s got to have her priorities.
Kelly’s last blog post..Summer Is a Great Time to… Read at the Beach: 10 to Fire You Up
Writer Dad’s approach is very exciting. Let me try that out and see what happens.
Nicole Price’s last blog post..Best Companies to Work for
@ Kelly – Hey. I’m fantastic in bed. I *want* the lights on so everyone can see. Like RJ said, ego and all.
@ Nicole – Yeah, I’m actually going to test that one out myself. It’s a brilliant idea. Maybe he’ll give us an update.
James,
Hehehe.
& who doesn’t?
When l’affaire becomes public, darling, we’ll see if you can take this theory from advertising to a testimonial. Word-of-mouth is everything, you know.
Later,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..Summer Is a Great Time to… Read at the Beach: 10 to Fire You Up
James, um, re: my passing remark on ‘male ego,’ you may blame Freud for tainting yet another perfectly good Latin word.
Writer Dad’s hen-and-chicks approach is brilliant & logical — new readers coming over from the guest post are guaranteed to find content that will appeal. Clever, so clever! Betcha, soon, all the kids will be doing it.
I’m not sure what goes through the mind of a guest blogger who doesn’t respond to comments left to their post or does a drive-by comment. Hopefully, one of the reasons that blog was chosen was that it had potential to broaden your own audience. At the very least, you’d think they would care about building a rapport with the host blogger. I guess they just care about the link? Anyway, thanks for including an after the post is published post.
Brad Harmon´s last blog ..What You Need to Know About Guest Posting
@Brian – I’m not sure what those bloggers are thinking either. It’s really, really rude – both for the reader and for the blog owner.