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?
I had my first official guest post published in January, and had two published in February. Nothing real high-profile, but getting myself out there. All of these people came to me for posts, so I have yet to face the fear of rejection. Submitting a post to Darren is on my list of things to do this year. Problogger is one of my favorite blogs… how could I not?
I have a goal of 1 per month, more if I can manage it. These posts can not be a part of my monthly contributions to sites/networks I have standing invitations to blog on.
I’m not particularly shy so asking to post somewhere shouldn’t be a big issue. Time has always been what’s stopped me. Blogging is like my second job, with the first being design. If I am too busy with paid project to keep up with my own blog, then blogging elsewhere tends to fall to the back burner very quickly.
One thing I do love about guest blogging is the ability to write about any topic I please and submit to a blog in that niche. It might not be as big a traffic booster for me as if I’d written something pertaining to my niche, but it’s a fabulous creative outlet to be able to write something different for a change!
.-= Erica Mueller´s last blog ..Win a Makeover for You, and Your Twitter Profile {CoverGirl Giveaway} =-.
Erica
You are right to mention time. Finding the time can be hard especially if you have other jobs.
My view is that for an extra hour (or 2) I can have a great blog post that I could aim to get published as a guest post. So if I have to work to midnight and then flop into bed – I do!
Andrew
Lots of blogging are paying more attention to guest blogging recently, I personally have received more than 20 posts last 2 months for my blog!
I will be running a writing contest this month and it’s all about guest blogging and promotion!
We need more of this posts to help people to know more about guest blogging and how they can do it successfully to get the most benefit for their blogs.
.-= Hesham @ FamousBloggers´s last blog ..100 Posts for Famous Bloggers, a Surprise for Guest Blogging Community and upcoming Fantastic Contest =-.
Hesham
Yeah I saw your guest blogging contest – I shall be entering!
Andrew
Andrew, I would be doing that from now onward. However, what you just mention there about fear of rejection is one of the great hurdle that keep people from not writing guess post online.
In my own case, I want to know if some bloggers who accept guess post in their blog ever consider any guess who own new blog and want to write for top blog out there. Does the top bloggers consider a new blog own to guess post on their blog?
The reason why I ask that question is because I just recently launch my blog. Anyway I look forward to read your reply. God Bless…
.-= Justice | Make Money Online´s last blog ..Online Foreign Currency Trading For Beginner =-.
Justice
When I receive guest posts – I simply look at the quality and advice given in the blog post. If I like it, I publish. If I don’t – I provide some feedback. Personally, I don’t care if the blog owner is new.
Go for it…you have NOTHING to lose.
Andrew
I haven’t done a lot of guest posting but I am definitely going to check out that Blogger Link Up website you wrote about. That’s a great way to not only get backlinks on other sites and drive traffic to your site but get some free content for your site as well. Thanks!
.-= Tiffany @ passive income opportunities´s last blog ..How to Choose the Best Passive Income Opportunities for You =-.
Tiffany,
You are welcome – I hope it helps.
Come back and tell us.
Andrew
Thanks for sharing your information. Guest blogging is now days common. I am getting so many requests. I have decided to make contest, from contest. I will accept the winner’s post.
Chris,
Are you saying you will only publish the winning post?
Doing that will put a lot of people off, I think.
Andrew
I have been wanting to do guest post for some time, but my problem is where to start. You could spend all day contacting sites randomly and get no results.
Sally,
I wouldn’t recommend all day – perhaps an hour! And you’re right – you could be rejected – you could always ask for feedback as to why.
Andrew
I have always wanted to write a guest post, for the past few months, but never have actually done it. My main obstacle isn’t really the fear of rejection but it’s more about the self doubt regarding having something new and interesting to say. It seems like pretty much everything that can be said about blogging and internet marketing has already been said a thousand times, so what makes me think that I could have something new and insightful to offer to a blog’s readers? Still, I suppose it’s worth a try – like you said, you never know who will choose to publish your post, just put in the time and write as well as you can.
.-= ted@staten island movers´s last blog ..Ocean County Movers =-.
Ted,
One way to make your writing different is to share your personal experience or a story – how have you approached blogging? How did you start? What did you fail at?
Answering those sorts of questions will help make your writing different.
Andrew
I did not know that Darren accepts guest posting, I want to try my luck. Anyway I have had some guest postings with other popular blogs and it has done wonders on my blog. The important lesson I have learned is to keep on trying and bring on your best pieces. 🙂
Walter,
Sounds like you have no fear!
Andrew
Great post on guest blogging Andrew,
I have tried twice (to no avail) to get a guest post on problogger. Despite KNOWING that the post were very high quality, I didn’t get so much as a response from Darren. That however, is an indicator to me that he is ‘backlogged’ as you stated. It doesn’t bother me as I have been published on other blogs regularly. The key is to be consistent and to not be deterred by fear of rejection.
.-= Chris@best blogging sites´s last blog ..How to tell if your blog has been indexed in Google =-.
Chris,
Sounds like you have the right mindset.
I’m sure Darren gets hundreds of requests each day. Can you imagine receiving 100 requests for a guest post each day? I think I would just read the headline and if I didn’t like it, reject it!
So perhaps, re-send with a different headline! You never know – that might work.
Andrew
I’m sure others have said it but I think #3 is huge, I know it was for me for the longest time. Now I’m really looking forward to it!
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..$100 – 10 Winners – Comment Contest! ‘Till Months End… =-.
And me!
It didn’t make sense to give away your best writing but once I tried it and I got many more followers than if I had published the post on my own site…I knew it was the right thing to do.
Andrew
This is timely as I just opened up the Heart of the Matter Design site to potential guest bloggers in web design, copy, WordPress, etc. (http://heartofthematterdesign.com/guest-blog/).
Occurred to me that there’s a potential win-win in guest blog swapping, especially for newer bloggers. Originally I was just asking for guest bloggers, now I’m seeing if they’d like to use articles from my Website that Works series, too.
Thanks for the help!
.-= Caryn´s last blog ..Is Your Website Doing Its Job? =-.
Caryn,
Exellent and good luck – I hope you get many guest bloggers!
Andrew
Thanks for your submission to the Seventy Eighth edition of the Blog Carnival: Blogging. Your post has been accepted and its live:
http://thatsblog.com/blog-carnival-blogging/blog-carnival-blogging-seventy-eighth-edition
-ThatsBlog.com
.-= ThatsBlog.com´s last blog ..Blog Carnival: Blogging: Forty- Eighth Edition =-.
Guest posting is an opportunity to prove you have a unique style of blogging and you are worth following. I visited some of your guest post and the were great and with great number of comments, i will try out Blogger link up and hopeful i will be successful with it, thanks for the post!
Biodun,
Thanks for dropping by!
Guest posting is a great strategy and worth the effort.
Andrew
I also fear rejection but to be frank I am in different niche. Blogging,mmo and other niches have wide variety and chances for guest bloggers. I did write 3-4 guest posts never took it seriously. I did get few backlinks and traffic but later I realized that commenting can also get you some traffic plus it increases the chance of interaction with the blogger. What do you say?
.-= Ricky@wordpress theme´s last blog ..Simplegant 1.1 WordPress Theme Is Coming Soon-Need Beta Testers =-.
Ricky,
Commenting is also a very good method to build relationships and traffic. Why not do both?
Andrew
As I said in responding to you elsewhere, I don’t actively ask anyone if I can guest post, not because if any fear, but because of my own bit of pride. If I’m asked, I’ll do it, and I also accept posts from people who ask me, but I’ve only ever asked one person to write a quest post for me. I might have to think about that last one some more.
.-= Mitch´s last blog ..Tips For Guest Posting =-.
Mitch
What makes you say ‘my own bit of pride’?
Are you not interested in building your visitor numbers or backlinks or PR?
Andrew
.-= andrew @ Blogging Guide´s last blog ..How You Can Win $6921 In Prizes When Two Social Media Business Players Get Together =-.
I’m not interested in begging someone else to allow me to do something for them for free. At this point, no, my blog doesn’t need the other backlinks, and I could care less about PR. More readers is another thing, but they’ll come with time.
As I said, this is how I see it; if you see it differently, it’s all good.
.-= Mitch´s last blog ..Sunday Question: Which Friend Are You? =-.
Hey Mitch,
We are all different and that’s not a problem.
For me, guest posting has got me many more visitors and more relationships.
Andrew
.-= andrew @ Blogging Guide´s last blog ..How You Can Win $6921 In Prizes When Two Social Media Business Players Get Together =-.
What’s stopping me? I’m not asked. lol Aside from that I’m on the lookout for guest bloggers for bloggertalk.net if you’re interested? Ps: I came here via Mitch’s blog.
.-= Rose´s last blog ..How to Exclude Your IP from your Google Analytics reports =-.
Rose,
Thanks for coming across and then commenting.
My view is don’t wait to be asked…ask others yourself.
Andrew
.-= andrew @ Blogging Guide´s last blog ..Blogging Guide: Google analytics tutorial =-.
I haven’t tried guest blogging because I’m afraid of rejection especially if the blogger is just making excuses. However, reading this post gave me the inspiration. I’ll definitely try this out. Thanks Andrew! You’ve really helping me out nowadays!