Guest Blogging – Why don’t you do it?

Guest blogging is one of the best ways to find new visitors, customers and blogging relationships.

We know that, don’t we?

So why do so few of us actually do it?

Here are my views:

1. The Fear of Rejection

My very first guest blog was accepted and published by the mighty Darren Rowse over at problogger.net. I couldn’t believe it. He wrote back within 24 hours of asking and said ‘yes’.

Check the effect of my guest blog at problogger:

https://www.webuildyourblog.com/476/traffic-effects-result-guest-blog-post/

But let me tell you a secret…come closer…I don’t want anyone to hear…Darren wasn’t the first person I asked to publish my post as a guest post. He was the third. I had already asked 2 other fairly well know bloggers and they said, “No, sorry. I ‘m not publishing any guest posts at the moment”.

Which is fair enough. If they don’t accept guest posts, that’s fine. After the ‘rejection’ I monitored their sites and not once have they published a guest post. I should have done my homework and checked that out first.

Unlike another time when I received a ‘no’ from a very, very successful blogger called John Chow. He said the same thing, “No, sorry. I‘m not publishing any guest posts at the moment”.

I knew he did and that afternoon he published one and another a few days later!

If he didn’t like my post…then say so…don’t pretend you don’t accept blog posts.

Back to my point…fear of rejection.

Your post will NOT always be accepted as a guest post by bloggers. That’s life. Don’t worry about it. Move on…there’s plenty more fish in the sea…as they say.

By the way, since my first blog post was published at Problogger.net, I sent Darren another one and he said, ‘No, sorry, I’ve quite a backlog at the moment’. Which is fine – he wasn’t making anything up.

2. Not knowing where to start

So you have no fear of rejection (and you shouldn’t have) but where do you start?

Most sites will tell you they accept guest blog posts. It will be one of their menu items. Click on the link and find out what their acceptance criteria is. Normally the criteria mentions the minimum number of words and the maximum number of links.

You could do a Google search for “submit guest post” or “write for us”. That way you will find blogs that accept guest posts.

Or you could sign up to Cathy Stucker’s mail list at www.bloggerlinkup.com.

My blogging buddy, Rich from linkmoneydotorg told me about this service.

After signing up at www.bloggerlinkup.com, twice a week you will receive an email with a list of people that need guest posts with subjects listed, and also another group of people that are offering to guest post about listed subjects.

And it’s all free.

Powerful tip: Aim to have your guest blog posts published on blog sites that are of a higher Page Rank than yours and have a higher following. That way you are raising your profile.

3. Holding onto your best writing

So you have no fear of rejection, you have found some great sites to guest post on…but you don’t want to give away your best writing.

You’ve just spent a few hours perfecting the perfect blog post and now I am suggesting you give it away by having it posted somewhere else and not on your site!

I can understand you not wanting to give away your best stuff…but you have to.

Let’s say your blog site gets on average 100 visitors a day…irrespective of what you write and you have written some excellent stuff, I know…but still only 100 people have seen it.

Would it not be great if 500 or 1000 people saw it?

That’s what can happen when your blog post gets accepted and published by a popular blog site.

I’d much rather have 1000 people seeing my BEST work than 100.

Plus it will be 1000 new people who may have never seen your work before

AND you get a backlink

AND some of those 1000 people will come over to your site and become regular readers of your site so you may now get 150 daily regular readers.

So give your best writing away…it’s worth it.

4. You don’t think it’s worth the effort

Just read point 3 again. Convinced?

5. Timing

The timing can be a bit of an issue. When I had my first blog post published by Darren, he published it within 48 hours which was great.

Another time I’ve had to wait for almost 2 months.

It’s not a problem but it is worth mentioning.

I tend to write several guest blog posts and send them out over a few days for acceptance. Some will come back saying ‘yes’ and will be published next week or next month and others will come back saying ‘no.

If you can, aim to get into a routine.

Write and submit for acceptance a blog post for guest blogging once a week. By doing so, you’ll get into a routine and have one or two published a month.

How did you start guest blogging?

What’s your experiences?

What’s stopping you from guest blogging?

Share your views in the comments below.

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Here are some of my guest posts I have had accepted recently – click on each one to see the full details.

Each link opens a new page.

6 Tips on Getting Traffic to Your New Blog

5 Ways to Get Your Blog Indexed by Google in 24 Hours

How to attract guest bloggers to publish on your blog

The Mindset of a Blogger – What Traits do You Need in Order to Run a Successful Blog?

Make a Blog Income Starting Today

With Your WordPress Blog Start Making Money Today

The Top 6 Mistakes to Avoid When You Start Your Blog

Are you ready to start your blogging business?

What is a Hub-Page and Why Should You Make One?