Guest Posting: Should You Accept Guest Posts on Your Blog?
You’ve made it to our last post of our nine-post series on Guest Posting. (It’s a little amazing, isn’t it? Here’s what we covered in Day One to Day Eight:
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
When Guest Posting Overtakes a Blog
Common Guest Posting FAQs
After You Get the Yes to Guest Post
Today’s focus is on whether you should accept guest posts for your blog and what to look for when deciding on submission approval.
Should I accept guest posts for my blog on a regular basis?
Accepting guest posts generally depends on how you feel about guest posting in general.
Guest posts can be a blessing to give you a break from blogging and offer your readers something new or interesting. Some bloggers have weekly or monthly guests, some accept guest posts for vacation time, and some blogs operate solely thanks to guest posting.
It’s an especially good idea to accept guest posts if you know that you won’t be able to maintain posting for some time. A long illness, a blogging burnout, family emergencies or other life obligations that get in the way are all great reasons to say yes to a good guest poster.
On the other hand, guest posts can be a lot of work. The screening process is never fun. You’ll need to read and edit every post. You may need to revise or reject posts. The consistency of tone, style, quality or value-for-reader your blog offers might suffer. People may not be interested in reading guest posts either – they want you.
Whether you accept guest posts or not depends on what you hope to achieve and what you will realistically receive. Analyze the pros and cons, and develop a strategy that works for you and your readership.
How do I choose guest posts for my blog?
The factors that determine which guest posts get a pass and which don’t depends very much on what your standards are and what you’re willing to tolerate. Here are some elements that might figure in your selection process:
- Proper approach: There’s a right and wrong way to ask.
- No arTEESTe attitude: This is about traffic and business, not art.
- Determination and motivation: How badly do you want this? And why?
- Initiative: If I have to think for you, then I don’t need you to write for me.
- Quality of writing: If you can’t write well, you have no business writing.
- Quality of content: Do you have clear ideas, concise advice and good thoughts?
- Relevancy to niche: Need I explain this one?
- Value for reader: Provide applicable tips, helpful advice and thought-provoking ideas.
- Credibility and reputation: No-name brand? No guest post.
- Transparent intentions: Don’t be sneaky. Be up front and honest.
- Manners and friendliness: If you’re rude, you’re refused.
- Going the distance: Manage and respond to comments for your post – or don’t come back.
Different blogs may have different standards for guest posters. Some don’t mind editing guest posts and others aren’t picky about responding to comments. It’s really all up to you.
How do I say no to people who would like to guest post on my blog?
Yeah, that’s tough, isn’t it. We hate saying no ourselves.
You do have to learn how to say no. It’s not necessary to justify your reasons – don’t go into details. “I’m not accepting guest posts right now, but thanks for thinking of my blog,” usually suffices.
There’s also no need to pick on people’s work, no matter how bad it is. “By the way, you may want to look at taking some grammar courses… I can see you really need some help.” Um, just no. You’re not the be-all and end-all of perfection. (Do some people really think they are? Damned straight. There will always be lofty know-it-alls out there.)
You could suggest another blog to the person. “I’m not accepting guest posts this week, but maybe you could try XYZ or ABC? They might like to have this.”
Every blog and blogger wants a guest post win-win situation. It’s all about enhancing credibility and reputation. Figure out why you want to accept guest posts, from whom, what you want to achieve and what ensures a mutually beneficial arrangement.
This concludes our nine-part series on guest posting. We hope that you’ve enjoyed the series (we enjoyed writing it and sharing our expertise). Thanks for both reading and commenting.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post, where Harry makes a return to blogging with a report on the Geek Squad.
41 Responses to “Guest Posting: Should You Accept Guest Posts on Your Blog?”
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Thanks for a really informative series. As someone just dipping a toe in the blogging world (with crazy hopes of swapping my ‘normal’ job for something quite different), it’s great to find a site that offers ‘real’ advice…without a sales pitch at the end. Cheers
Sally’s last blog post..Just because you can write, doesn’t mean you know how to write
“Quality of writing: If you can’t write well, you have no business writing.â€
Ouch – guess that knocks me out from guest posting for a while. Apart from Men with Pens and Copyblogger, what would you say are the best sights to read up on working on your writing?
But aside from that, this post & series was great – thank you for all of the insight and reminders about how to and how not to guest post.
Jeremy’s last blog post..The Cat’s Guide To Bottom Fishing
I think having a clear policy on guest blogging would make it really easy to say no (or yes). Even if you never publish the policy, just knowing that you have one and referring to when evaluating guest post requests would make the decision process much simpler – and take the ego out of the equation.
In other words, following Michael Gerber’s eMyth advice and setting up a system to remove you from the equation…
Alex Fayle’s last blog post..What the Salmon Taught Me
@ Sally – Aw, thanks! That’s pretty cool of you to say. Oh, and don’t forget to buy our ebook, click on our affiliate ads and send us a donation while you’re here! (KIDDING!)
@ Jeremy – From your comments, I can’t see that you wouldn’t have the quality it takes to write a guest post… how do you define quality writing?
Good question about which blogs to read that focus on the how-tos and mechanics. Maybe the crowd here can chime in with their favorites?
@ Alex – Very much so. We have a clear guest post policy for this place. We know exactly how it works, we took us out of the equation, and we always have something to explain our answers on guest posting. There’s no confusion for anyone.
Good morning. It’s 5am on the west coast. This is one of those mornings I wake up way too early and decide it’s not worth going back to sleep . . . and I’m checking MWP. I hope you are very flattered. (Hey, I know you are 3 hours ahead of me, but how early do you start working?)
I enjoyed this series. I checked some of your older posts, too, and liked what you had to say about the arTEEste attitude. It all really boils down to maturity, doesn’t it?
Akemi – Yes to Me’s last blog post..What’s The Best Thing That Can Happen?
@ Akemi – My day starts somewhere between 5 and 6am… and yes, I’m very flattered, LOL.
My blog’s still too young for a babysitter, but I imagine when that time comes, it will come down to primarily one thing: the post. The writer might beg, and I might even want to concede, but if the post doesn’t make me laugh or think or so much as smile, I would have to say No.
Writer Dad’s last blog post..A Billion Pixels and None of Them Wasted
James,
Good series. Informative, balanced, honest.
Thanks for the well-thought out look at the enigma of guest blogging.
I enjoyed it.
Jesse Hines’s last blog post..Why and How I Quit Reading So Many Blogs
Yup, great series buddy!
So let’s say the person who’s submitting an article doesn’t really have a reputation but wrote a great article, would you accept it? I suppose every situation is unique.
Bravo on a great series. Nice way to end it too.
I will be facing this challenge sometime in the next year when I go back into the field to do research. I’ll have one absolutely wretched Internet connection within reach, and another somewhat reliable but still painfully slow connection 140km away. I’m thinking I’ll figure out a way to post two or three times a week from the field, uploading all at once, but might try to throw a guest blogger into the mix as well. That will take a lot of trust though, since my editing abilities will be severely restricted.
At the very least, I might need someone to clear out the Russian spam comments that make it past Akismet.
Bill K.’s last blog post..How to label your own maps using Google Earth
Wonderful series. I smell an ebook out of this.
Months ago, I ran a week-long series of guest posts (James was one of them). With nearly every person I invited or accepted, the first question I got from them was: What should I write about? I was like, um… I dunno… BLOGGING?
Michael Martine’s last blog post..Is Blogger Really That Bad?
You know you totally throw me when you say this is about traffic and business not art. (Tongue firmly in cheek. )
But I just read it any way…..Captain Kirk.
Excellent series.
Janice C Cartier’s last blog post..Watch the Watch
@ Janice – *grin* Wait until I play Scottie.
@ Michael – Heh, yeah, that’s very true. You have to already know a good angle or direction beyond the obvious. But knowing the obvious is *damned* important. (An ebook you say? *whistles innocently*)
I liked that post I wrote for you, actually. Dammit! And it’s on your blog!
@ Bill – All I know how to say in Russian is walk, trot, canter, keep your heels down, watch out and good work! I wish you luck with… um… more colorful language. And that dialup. Ouch.
@ John – Not likely, and I’ll tell you why: staying power. So many people come and go on the Internet (and fast). People pop up with great cheers they’re the next best thing and then in a week, they’re gone. While I don’t need a big five-star reputation (and the guest posts we did accept came from people with small blogs), I do need to see determination and strength and the will to stick with it. It matters to me a great deal.
But that’s just me.
@ Writer Dad – Exactly.
@ Jesse – I’m glad everyone enjoyed the series as much as they did. I was surprised, honestly, and it felt good to fill up an area where there was clearly demand for more info. Thanks for coming and participating here as well – you had good, inspiring comments for me!
Thank you fo another great post. I do not invite gest bloggers. I prefer to write all my posts. I publish 5 posts per day everyday. Small posts with 500 words.
Sorry for my english. I am from Portugal.
ramiro marques’s last blog post..E não se pode exterminar a DGIDC? Um exemplo da visão totalitária na educação
I would want a guest post to be excellent in quality. I would also want it to fit into the feel and spirit of my site.
You know… I think the owner of a blog really expects A LOT from guest post submissions. No one wants to dumb down their site. They want to make it look good. Damn good. The guest post should contribute to that end. Otherwise, why accept it?
Bamboo Forest’s last blog post..What’s The True Value of Blog Comments?
@Bamboo Forest – Which goes right along with the idea of putting your best work into writing one.
Michael Martine’s last blog post..Is Blogger Really That Bad?
@ Writer Dad: You summed it up, perfectly.
Bamboo Forest’s last blog post..What’s The True Value of Blog Comments?
Great series, even if it did give me a headache! But more importantly, I get to ‘meet’ Harry?! I was beginning to think he was like the Snuffleupagus. Someone only you saw. Of course, that analogy makes you Big Bird. Es-tu bien avec celui?
P.S. the Lion pointed out that you can subscribe on our site to the comment feed per post. Now, I know you are lazy..um EFFICIENT and want a generic feed for the entire website, but will this suffice for now?
Urban Panther’s last blog post..Please don’t make me eat that
@Panther: I really do exist, although I tend to be more elusive than Sasquatch or the Loch Ness monster.
You could also make the comparison to James Stewart and Harvey. I’m sure James would take that over Big Bird any day – but then that would make me a big, pink rabbit.
*sigh* the sacrifices I make in the name of friendship.
I’m quite happy to accept ‘no-name’ guest posts at WritetoDone. Quite simply because I’m interested in good writers. There are brilliant writers out there who have only just arrived on the Internet and don’t have any ‘standing’ yet.
If they have an interesting message: great! Why not let them shine on your blog?
I think as blog owners or blog editors we have a responsibility to foster talent wherever we find it.
Cheers
Mary
Mary@WritetoDone’s last blog post..Darren Rowse in Conversation: Top Tips for Writers
@ Ramiro – Hey, no apologies, you do well!
@ Urban – But it’s much more fun picking on you… *sniff sniff* (Hehe, I love this routine we have going on. You comment, I remember. I go comment, you come back the next day to remind me. Tis lovely.)
@ Harry – Or the Potter Pens… we could have magic wands… and I could be dashingly handsome and charming, as usual, and you could wear glasses and have an owl… and we could make sparks fly while whizzing on brooms! YES!
@ Mary – For sure. The guest posters I’ve had here are very new people that I feel have potential and deserve the extra boost I can give them. On the other hand, screening is important, too.
@Harry – Harvey was pink? Wasn’t the movie in black and white?
@James – okay, okay…I’ll keep coming back here and commenting. What I won’t do for a fellow Quebecer!
Urban Panther’s last blog post..Please don’t make me eat that
@Panther: You’re right. I guess I always had it in my head Harvey was pink.
I have a problem turning down requests from people who want to submit blogs for my site. I am not yet in a position to allow this as my subject is rather focused and difficult.
I can however see the need for it as, to keep up with the posting day in day out can take the juice out of one and a reprieve can be welcome. I guess that I have to experiment and see I suppose.
Nicole Price’s last blog post..Best Companies to Work for
I really loved this series. It was something I’d been wondering about right before you started posting it, so it was very timely for me. Thank you for being so thorough with it–I don’t have any questions left!
noell’s last blog post..4 Tips For Loving Your Patterned Scraps
A bit slow to jump in to the comments here, but it’s because I’ve been thinking *really really hard* about this whole series — especially the list of criteria for selecting guests.
There’s only one point on which I depart from your sage suggestions, James, and do so only on my Domestik Goddess (personal) blog. There, never mind “credibility and reputation”; in fact, I actively seek out guest bloggers who have not yet built a “brand name” for themselves. Because that’s just so much fun, like meeting someone in the grocery checkout line and striking up a conversation…
On a business blog, however, such Pollyanna-ish altruism goes out the window — it’s got to be all about what’s best for the blog. Heh. Bottom line: I’m just agreeing with you again. How dull.
rjleaman’s last blog post..Big Nose Pottery Egg Separator
I’m just getting into blogging. As far as I know, guest posting seems to be one of the best was to build a readership in the early days so you timed this post perfectly. Thanks.
Marshall@bondChristians last blog post..Free Prayer: October, 2008
I think guest post is not a bad option. It will increase knolwdge by sharing informations.
Having written articles that require this much work, I commend you for your service to the future bloggers. I’m sure they will appreciate it! Great job.Keep posting.
imergent´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at
Great post. The way you describe all that things is really good and easy to understand for me.I would like to say thank you for sharing this cool article.Bookmarked and sharing for friends.
I think guest post is not a bad option.It will increase our knowledge by sharing information.Some great information to be absorbed in this post. Thanks!
What are your thoughts about asking guest bloggers to make changes to their posts? I’m an editor by trade, so I naturally see ways people can improve their writing. I don’t want to offend people, but I want to maintain certain standards.
On the one hand, writers may be grateful for the opportunity to strengthen a piece; on the flip side, they may feel insulted. After all, they’re not getting paid.
Your thoughts?
@ Lexi – Good question, that one. Here’s what I say to people who offer guest posts to us:
“Are you comfortable with me making some changes to the content – some editing for flow and a little bit of polish?”
If they say no, then they’ve just slapped themselves with the “arTEESTe” label and are probably too picky to be part of our blog. Everyone’s work can use a fresh pair of eyes and sometimes, the edits I make open up their perspective to tricks they never thought they could use.
And if I get guest posts that require more than just a quick edit and a polish, they don’t make it to our blog.
Hope that helps!
On a side note, guest posters *do* get paid, though not in financial compensation. Marketing potential, exposure to new clients or readers, an implied recommendation simply because they’ve been accepted by the blog in question, and the chance to show off their stuff.