Guest Posting: Landing the Gig Isn’t That Hard

Written by James - 72 Comments

Guest posting is a huge topic for bloggers. In fact, the concept of guest posting involves a mishmash of debate, with pros and cons for both blogger and blog owner.

Should you? Shouldn’t you? What might happen? Will anything happen? Which blogs? Which bloggers? When should it start? When does it stop?

Oy. Confusing indeed.

Guest posting can have many positive effects, and it can have many negative effects as well. Posts tossed about here and there aren’t ones that will achieve specific, measurable goals. Taking the time to manage the situation properly and good things happen.

A well-written (and by well-written, I do not mean classical literature) guest post submitted to a carefully selected blog can have strong results – new traffic, new readers, new business, and new credibility. Fantastic. We’re all for that.

Likewise, a well-written guest post by a credible writer submitted to your blog can help engage more readers, increase your reputation, lighten your workload and earn more traffic. We’re all for that, too.

But just how does guest posting happen? What’s the process? What are the pros and cons? How do you know what to do? When should you do it? When should you avoid guest posting altogether? How do you navigate the process?

We’ll tell you. This post is the first in a small series on guest posting to help you learn more about its powers, the drawbacks, some problematic situations and great solutions. Enjoy.

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

I’ve often been told that I ask too many questions. My response was always, “If I don’t ask, I’ll never learn anything.” Asking has brought me many good things: jobs I wanted, promotions I sought, skills that interested me, knowledge I desired.

I specifically remember the first time I made a conscious effort to ask for something I wanted. It happened in Grade Four, when I was the only English kid in an all-French school. The most popular girl in the school was in my class, and I’m sure she didn’t even know my name.

Everyone loved her. She was perky, bright and friendly with long blonde hair, the ultimate girl-next-door. I trailed behind her and her entourage from a distance at recess and lunch hour. I would’ve given anything to be part of that group.

One day while filing into the classroom, someone bumped me by accident. It was her. “Oh! Sorry,” she smiled like the sun. Before I knew it, I’d blurted it out.

“Would you be my best friend?”

Guest posting is just like that. You need to know who you want to accept you, and then you need to bite the bullet. Some blogs openly request guest posters with a little ad or link, but most don’t. You need to ask, or you’ll never know.

(The girl said yes, and we immediately struck up a fast, close friendship that lasted years. I still talk to her today.)

How about you? How do you feel about asking people for something that you want?

Stay tuned for Monday’s post, where we’ll tell you how to avoid throwing away all your chances of success with your guest post.

Help spread the word!