As your blog grows and the readership increases, you will get people contacting you asking to write guest posts for your blog.
Offers like these are great to get, as it shows that your blog is now attractive for other bloggers to write for and to give away their unique content to, in hope of getting a high-quality link and some visitors.
I have already written enough on why I recommend bloggers write guest posts for bigger blogs in their field, but what about featuring guest posts from other bloggers on your own blog?
I recently got this email from Jade Craven, reader of HowToMakeMyBlog.com:
Hi! I’ve been reading your blog for a while and have been really enjoying your posts on guest posting. I was wondering if you would be interested in a guest post about pitching your best work as the guest post. I understand if you would prefer to keep this as a single authored blog. I just really love this blog and would love to have the chance to post for your community
Let me know what you think.
Featuring other bloggers’ on your own blog? Can that bring just as many benefits as writing for other blogs? Here are the pros and cons that I can think of:
Pros when featuring guest posts
- Less writing work to do for you as a blogger
- Helps keeping a regular blogging schedule
- More time for promotion of the blog
- You can even go on a longer vacation
- Gives different point of view and perspective
Cons when featuring guest posts
- You cannot keep your blog as a single authored blog
- You cannot keep the high-quality standard of articles
I cannot really see too many drawbacks regarding featuring blog posts from other authors on your own blog. It seems to be a good step to help you out in time of need.
As long as you have a very strict quality control, guest posts can improve your blog by bringing different point of view. I also think that only featuring guest posts once in a while is a good step, as it is important not to make them daily occurrences as your blog readers might miss your personal touch.
What do you do on your own blog?
What do you think? Are there any other cons you can think of? Do you feature guest blog posts on your blog? What is your experience with that?
Image by John Althouse Cohen
Join thousands of bloggers and get all my blogging tips for FREE! Subscribe to HowToMakeMyBlog via RSS or via e-mail.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Marko, great post. I have a few friends that write on similar subjects as I do and their style is not wildly different than mine, so I enjoy featuring them every now and again. They enjoy it, I think my readers like it and I love showing off friend’s work.
I agree that quality control is important and to make sure that you write most of your blog yourself, unless your intention is for it to become a group blog. I enjoy group blogs, but if I’m expecting a blog written by a particular person, then I prefer most posts to be written by him/her.
Thanks for all comments!
@Tracy – I like the way problogger does the twitip.com blog as kind of a group blog. Majority of posts are guest posts and somehow the guestposters and readers carry on the blog and grow it like it is their own, even though it is Darren who gets the credit.
@Gerald Weber – Definitely! It is about finding the right quality, even though I feel bad whe ndeclining a post as I know someone spent time writing it.
@John Welsh – Wow I never thought of it that way. Just writing a guest post for the sake of it, no promotion in mind. Definitely a great opportunity to get people to start blogging, after they see their writing in blog format and hopefully with people giving them nice feedback.
@Steven-Sanders – Correct, thanks! The guestbloggers will feel connected to your blog and they will usually stop by to respond to the comments etc. I think Twitip.com is great example of that as I wrote above.
@jan_geronimo – Yeah, that is my main argument against it as well. To keep it very personal or not to? I believe Seth Godin is one of the few huge bloggers who never has guest posts.
Marko,
I think the pro of offering a fresh perspective is a great benefit for readers.
“You cannot keep the high-quality standard of articles”
I don’t really think is a con because you are not going to allow sub par content or articles on your blog. I definitely feel that the occasional quality guest post is a good thing.
Keep up the great work buddy!
Marko
I am really proud of my guest bloggers!
Four out of my five guest posts are written by people who have no blog and are just beginning to grapple with social media. A guest post on my blog has been a great way for them to experience the whoooooosh of digital in a safe environment (ie I have edited, linked and laid out their copy to fit seamlessly into my blog’s style). I scarcely see any drop in traffic which probably goes to show what a control freak I am with their copy!
Having said that, I am just about to publish a guest post by Mike Fruchter who’s scarcely green. I am sure there will be a great difference in traffic.
As always, Marko, Great idea for a post!
Cheers
You left out the most important pro for letting people guest post on your blog.
It helps to build your community. The guest poster will feel a deeper connection with your blog as well as that guest posters readers. Most especially if you have that person guest post more than once.
Among all things, the community that’s built around you blog is what will determine it’s success or not.
I’m concerned too about the dip in quality. Can’t risk alienating my 3 subscribers, right? But Gerald is spot on. You don’t after all relinquish editorial control when you make a space for guest posts.
If in your estimation the main selling point of your blog is the author himself and his online persona then I’d keep a tight rein on guest posts, too.
It wouldn’t really make sense for me to have a guest blogger, since my blog’s title is “From the Desk of Janet Barclay” but I have posted interviews I’ve conducted with others via email.
I’m in the process of creating a new niche blog, and I definitely hope to have guest bloggers on that one.
I like the idea of having guest posts in my own blog. The guest poster might help promote your blog because he might tell people to check out your blog because his post is there. I also think accepting guest posts will make you seem more friendlier to the community.
I’m sorry, I’m still a little loony. But I still don’t understand/get the process of inviting a guest blogger. One womanI asked said that she just goes through her email with her guest blogger and then copy/pastes it to her blog, linking it back to his. I thought that was a little wierd. I think I remember reading about how to add a temporary guest blog but now can’t seem to find it.
Send them an email / tweet and invite them to send you a guest post to your email, if they do, copy / paste the email into your WordPress, edit it so it looks like your normal post does, write a bit about the author and that it is. Publish. Nothing very advanced in it. You do not need to give the guest blogger special login.