What To Do If Your Guest Post Is Rejected

Sometimes your guest post is going to be rejected. That’s a fact.

The following tips are designed to support you to write the best possible article to be published on someone else’s blog, making sure all the different aspects of etiquette are completely covered to give you the ideal opportunity to get your online identity cemented through a really positive network of contacts and new readers…

Don’t be afraid

It takes courage to write your first guest post – but be brave. The blogosphere is a pretty friendly and accommodating space, and most people will be delighted to read something you have produced as a guest blogger. Go for it!

Ask what is needed, and write for it

Guest posting is about answering a need on someone else’s blog – and no-one can identify this need better than the owner. Remain open to possibilities, and ask your blog host to let you know the kind of article they are looking for – and then deliver it in line with their needs.

Proof it carefully

When you guest post, you need to give your article more love and attention than you would for your own blog – it’s an honour to post on someone else’s pitch, so make sure what you submit is worthy of the chance to increase your readership. Submitting an article with errors is disrespectful – make your writing so good, your host will be proud to feature it.

Don’t do direct selling

Nothing turns off a reader more than being sold to. If you don’t make a habit of direct selling on your own blog (which is good practice), then don’t decide that a guest post is a great place to do it either. When you write a guest post, you’re doing all you can to offer the site owner something which is relevant, interesting and pertinent to their industry – flogging your own wares will very rarely fit in to these categories.

Don’t diss your competitors

It may be ok to run down your competitors offline, but never bring this rivalry to a guest post. Readers don’t want to read about other people’s incompetency – it’s much better to write a guest post from a neutral perspective, choosing a subject which can teach your readers something new, or offer up an opinion which is inoffensive but interesting about your chosen subject. Keep criticism of others offline, and you’ll stand a much greater chance of inviting new readers to your own blog through your guest article.

Keep to the schedule requested of you

If you offer to write a guest blog for someone, make sure you ask them when they want it to be delivered by, and stick to that schedule. There’s a certain etiquette involved with sticking to your promised deadline, so that people can plan their own publishing schedule around your submission and make sure they can publish your article at the right time to suit their needs. Being late not only looks unprofessional, scuppering any future plans for networking, but it also puts the blog owner to inconvenience if they haven’t produced an alternative article to cover your late response.

Answer all comments

There is nothing worse for someone taking the time to write a comment on a blog than to have their feedback ignored. Make sure you check in with your guest blog post often after it has been published, so you can respond promptly to any comments that have been posted up in response to your article.

Even if you do all of the above your guest post could still be reject. If so, ask for some feeback.