Read the guidelines/rules
This one is a no-brainer isn’t? And a great time saver too! It could take you 1-2 minutes to read the guidelines to guest post on a blog. But if you are lazy or careless and just jump in and submit a guest post without reading it, you are wasting the time of host blogger and yours too.
Formatting
Do you know that it takes much much longer for a blogger to “polish” a guest post than to write a fresh post from scratch? You might be surprised but that is the truth. When you are ready to submit a guest post to a particular blog, visit some blog posts from that blog and see how the posts are formatted. What tags do they use for sub-headings? How are the posts structured? and so on. Some blogs publish posts without sub-headings. Some blogs publish posts with sub-headings; so you have to make sure that you format your posts accordingly. This will speed up the publication process. Very poor formatting can seriously lead to rejection. Do not copy paste directly from word document since the apostrophes don’t convert well. You should use the “preview” option on the right side of the WordPress dashboard (just above “Submit for Review”). If you see that there are strange characters, you should delete apostrophes and put them again from your WordPress dashboard editor.
Are you in context?
It is pretty much common sense. Would I just submit a guest post titled “5 ways to make delicious chicken BBQ” to a blog that talks about “blogging tips”? You may be asking yourself “Who would do that?”. How come people submit recipes, mortgage and real estate stuff to a technology blog? Submit your content to niche websites only.
Linking back or FREE advertising?
OK, every host blogger allows you 2 or 3 links back to your blog, normally in your byline or author bio. Most bloggers also allow links within the article body apart from the ones you use in the author bio; but only if the links are relevant. So what is the point of adding those links within the article? It is great for your SEO, that’s true. But from the reader’s point of view and the host blogger’s point of view, you should be linking to your blog only if you are quoting something from your blog posts. If you want to tell people about a concept or a method which you have already talked about in your blog post, then you can simply link to it instead of repeating it again in your guest post. But you cannot use in-article linking as free advertising (to get more subscribers or sell a product) or merely for your own SEO benefits! For instance, you cannot use a keyword anchor text and link to one of your services/products. That is free advertising.
Final word
Guest posting spam is picking up momentum. For bloggers, it is another kind of new spam to deal with. For spammers, it is fun. Are you a spammer or a responsible guest blogger? Don’t litter the blogosphere and don’t make it hard for the host bloggers, they already have too much in their plates! Know what is guest blogging first, and then start pitching your offers.
