Crete, Greece
Guest blogging is still one of the better ways to be seen by a high volume of targeted time-space creatures (humans).
But some bloggers do it all wrong.
Owning the errors below – I’ve made more than a few – puts you on the path to:
- increased blog traffic
- potentially greater blogging income
- strong friendships with successful bloggers
- expanded passive blogging success
Zero in on that last bullet point.
Guest blogging the right way increases your freedom.
For example, when I submitted a guest post to Matthew Woodward he published it and emailed it to his big, highly-targeted email list.
While I enjoyed my travels offline the guest post appeared in front of a huge, targeted audience of people.
This is passive blogging success preceded by an intelligent, active, patiently executed guest blogging strategy.
Intelligent guest blogging usually involves pinpointing, admitting and correcting guest blogging boo boo’s.
Own and correct each of these guest blogging errors.
1: Pitching Bloggers Who Did Not Publish a Guest Blogging Guidelines Page
For whatever reason, some bloggers ask to guest post on Blogging From Paradise even though I have never published a page detailing guest blogging guidelines during the 9 year history of this blog.
I never promoted guest blogging as an option on Blogging From Paradise. But bloggers make the common error of attempting to submit guest posts even though I never once advertised guest blogging as being a thing here.
Odd….right?
Perhaps the ego pines for what it cannot have.
Frame this mistake as being consistent with asking the pretty guy or pretty gal to prom despite the fact that the pretty being explicitly never professed a desire to go to prom.
No matter your convincing….they ain’t going.
No matter how many follow ups you bandy about, the blogger ain’t accepting your guest post.
Never, ever, ever waste your time and energy trying to sell steak to a devout vegetarian.
Never pitch bloggers guest posts unless the blogger explicitly published a guest blogging guidelines page.
Build your watch list based on bloggers who clearly accept guest posts.
2: Pitching Bloggers Outside of Your Niche
I have received guest blogging pitches covering all topics save how to manicure your pet poodle’s fungal toe nails.
Rare indeed is the blogger who pitched me a blogging tips themed post.
Why?
Guest bloggers usually try to pitch as many bloggers as possible without spending a moment to consider the niche each blogger covers.
Pitch only bloggers who cover the same niche. Target relationships. Target traffic. Speak to readers who vibe with your message. Give readers what they want to let them give you want you want: targeted, leveraged traffic.
3: Pitching Bloggers Before You Established a Strong Relationship with them
In the 2nd grade, there was this kid named Tommy who developed a bad reputation.
No; it was not because he puked all over the classroom once (He really did).
Tommy earned the scarlet letter of “I” by inviting himself to kid’s houses before he became good friends with kids.
He became a bit of an outsider and eventually transferred from our school without befriending anyone.
He was too thirsty.
Guest bloggers err in pitching bloggers before building rock-solid bonds.
Like Tommy, this crowd becomes an outsider, eventually quitting guest blogging all together.
I suspect that some puke out their blogging frustrations not unlike Linda Blair’s character in The Exorcist.
Give bond-building time. Comment genuinely on blogs. Promote pro bloggers on your blog. Relax. Spend a good 2-3 months or longer earning trust before you consider asking them for anything, let alone the opportunity to guest post on their blogs.
Build strong relationships with professionals. Follow your intuition as to who, how and when to ask blogging friends for guest posting opportunities.
Eventually, you will land guest posts but only after gaining credibility in the eyes of thriving bloggers from your niche.
4: Guest Blogging on Low Quality Blogs
Do not guest post on blogs:
- bleeding with grammatical errors
- overrun with spam comments
- owned by bloggers asleep at the wheel
Admittedly, and sheepishly, I erred in this fashion for a long time.
I guest blogged on any blog. Theoretically, I appeared to generate good karma. But on the deeper level of mind I spent energy guest blogging for bloggers who didn’t fully commit to their blogs. Organically, the low quality blog guest posts offered me writing practice and nothing else.
Submit guest posts only to quality blogs. Read a few posts. Do these bloggers write skillfully? Do genuine comments grace the blogs? Do bloggers read and reply to comments?
Guest post only for serious bloggers who publish credible blogs.
5: Guest Blogging on Low Traffic Blogs
Doing a friend a favor is sweet.
But pro blogging careers do not hinge on doing bloggers a solid.
Avoid guest blogging on low traffic blogs. Do some homework before submitting a guest post to find traffic numbers.
Aim for the ballpark of bloggers generating at least 50-100 visitors daily or more.
Feel free to bump the daily number up to 100-500 to move higher in blogging circles.
6: Not Replying to Guest Post Comments
I once stripped a link from a guest post because the blogger did not reply to any comments.
When the guest blogger complained about the stripped link I calmly deleted his guest post; not in spite but to fortify our blogging community.
Cut dead weight to allow in live blogging bodies.
Reply to at least a few comments on your guest posts to foster a sense of community, to build bonds with bloggers and their readers and to treat the guest post as your post.
Reply to as many guest post comments as possible as your blogging star shines brightly. Perhaps you cannot reply to every one but make an effort to reply.
7: Not Promoting Guest Posts
The quickest way to severe blogging relationships is to place the promotional burden on fellow bloggers.
Guest bloggers mistakenly submit a guest post and forget about it forever. Bloggers who place your guest post generally expect you to promote it, to tag them on social media and to tap into synergy to accelerate each other’s success.
If you submit and forget the post you will not receive future guest blogging opportunities from the blogger.
You can’t have your cake and eat it too….if you expect to repeat guest post on any blog when you don’t promote the initial guestie….then screw.
Promote guest posts as you promote your blog posts.
Share guest posts in the same tribes and through similar channels.
Possibly refrain from sending the guest post to your email list only because the subscribers signed up for your blog posts; the tone of guest posts can and do differ. Other than that, promote guest posts as you promote posts from your blog.
8: Expecting Meteoric Success from Placing 2 or 3 Guest Posts
I guest blogged once on a site featuring Seth Godin and Mark Cuban as contributors.
Did I become the world’s preeminent marketing genius or a billionaire NBA team owner after 2-3 guest posts.
Nope.
I am still just a guy who blogs from Instagramized hot spots around the globe dressed in gym clothes.
Stop expecting meteoric success from placing 2-3 guest posts on world famous blogs.
Be patient. Be persistent. Be realistic.
Traffic and income growth through guest blogging unfolds slowly and steadily in organic fashion.
Conclusion
Relax.
Fall in love with the process of building relationships with fellow bloggers.
Guest blogging is a long term approach to accelerating your blogging success.
Never forget that.
