Guest Blogging Basics
Guest posting provides many benefits to the guest and to the actual blog owner. Most bloggers find that they need some downtime to handle offline responsibilities, and guest bloggers can fill the gap to help keep your blog content fresh. On the other hand, if you're a writer interested in promoting your product or service, guest blogging offers a chance to gain exposure and potential clients. Whatever your goals are, guest blogging can help you reach them in numerous ways.
MyBlogGuest To The Rescue
Sounds easy right? Well honestly, it wasn't quite so simple for many bloggers to easily connect with each other, up until late last year. That's when Ann Smarty introduced the MyBlogGuest forum. Basically, MyBlogGuest is the fastest growing community covering every aspect of guest blogging and it's benefits. In less than one year MyBlogGuest has changed the face of guest blogging by providing a safe environment for hosts to find a guest blog post.
New features are constantly being added, with the latest free offerings being an articles gallery, a free minimalistic WordPress theme with matching Twitter background and a frequently updated blog called My Blog Guest Updates. Premium memberships to MyBlogGuest are also available for forum members.
My Friend Wants To Do A Guest Post
If you belong to great blogging communities like Blog Engage or Blokube (like me) it's very possible that you already have a blogging buddy just waiting in the wings to do a guest post on your blog. In fact this happened recently, when Suresh from Seommotips.com offered me the opportunity to be a guest on his blog. For WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress bloggers, here's what you need to do. Login to your WordPress dashboard to send your friend a personalized invitation. I recorded this screencast to demonstrate the guest blogging invitation process.
Another aspect of guest blogging you might want to consider is establishing guidelines for potential guests to follow. Here's a great example of submission guidelines from Lisa Irby of http://2createawebsite.com. This is also something to check for if you're a blogger or freelance writer and you want to have your work published on a well established or high profile blog. Try your hand at guest blogging and in the long run, you could wind up with a stellar portfolio of guest posts like my keyword research guru Alex Whalley.
I like the way you outline the process of giving the guest blogger access. Makes them feel like part of the process I think. Definitely somehting I should look into.
Starting to try and get more posts to my blog instead of the other way round LOL.
Thanks for the awesome mention and link love Ileane!
Respect!
Hi Alex, thanks for the feedback. It’s my pleasure.
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Alex sure is the Guest Posting Guru. It looks to be a very interesting interface. I will have to check it out as soon as I get the chance.
I always loved the idea of Guest Posting. It is one of the few win win situations out there. Anyway great post and thanks for showing me the tool.
Hi Steve, Ann certainly has put her best foot forward with MyBlogGuest. Let me know about your next guest post so I can help you promote it. Thanks for the visit.
Hi Ileane
Thanks for the practical tutorial; which helps people like me that are newbies to all this. I have been invited to guest post on a couple of sites but haven’t taken up the offers yet. They are both in my small niche but don’t have a comments section and basically just want me to write an article for their site.
However, another blogger who I have met recently in the blogosphere is setting up a health blog and has already invited me to guest post once it is up and running and I am keen for that one. I am having a guest post on my blog soon so this article is very topical for me at the moment so thanks.
Patricia Perth Australia
Hi Patricia, I see that you are a CommentLuv member and I wanted to ask if you are listed on Jarret’s Hive Health Media CommentLuv list.
I think you’ll find the Article Gallery at MyBlogGuest the very beneficial. I know you are a fast learner so you will catch on quickly and probably submit an article by dusk! Patricia, all the best to your lavender scented success!
Hi Ileane
I am a member of Jarret’s health group and we are growing which is great. Spreading the luv around. I’ve written a post I hope to submit to one of the Techie’s sites from a newbie technophobes point of view. Just need to decide where and when. Bit daunting with all you experienced bloggers around and I am loving the journey. Thanks for all the encouragement too. Much appreciated.
Patricia Perth Australia
Wow! Thanks for the plug,Ileane! You are the best!
Ann, it’s my pleasure. I always spread the word of such positive communities like MyBlogGuest. The site hass come so far is such a short amount of time. When I had a good look at the Articles Gallery and heard about the free theme with matching Twitter background, I was inspired to share the news with my friends. Thank you for sharing the post on Twitter.
Ileane you really make this sound like so much more fun and appealing especially for those who might be a little intimidated at attempting this. I love your examples for who could have the responsibilities. I really need to visit here more often, you make it sound easy, and I like easy.
Hi Karen, I have some poems that I worked on a while back perhaps I can submit them as a guest post for you. What do you think about that idea? Thanks for the visit.
I’m so lucky to find you an elegant guest in my blog as ‘the first guest blogger’! I learned the way to invite with you and invited yourself for guest post. It will remain the most memorable incident.
Your guest post was not only a fresh content to boost my blog but proved to be the best tips for me to earn more. I was earning only through contextual ads on my ‘ps exam’ site but the video you posted enabled to earn placement ads revnue too! Thanks a bunch Ileane, you’re the great!
Suresh, this guest post was mutually beneficial. I really enjoyed our collaboration. I’ll have to invite you to guest post one day! Thank you.
I’ve had a lot of good luck with guest posting. I’ve never used MyBlogGuest, but it looks like a great tool.
Hi Donnie, great to see you here! Are you looking for guests or interested in being one? Either way, MyBlogGuest is a great place to start.
I don’t see how this would end article moderation. You see check them over before publishing, yes?
Hi Dennis, great question. Yes you can check them before publishing.
Hi Ileane,
Good basic blog tip! I’ve always liked this method. It really does save time.
Thanks for sharing,
Evelyn
Thanks Evelyn.
Hi Ileane
Nice to meet you. I came here from a referral from the lovely Evelyn :.
I’m just starting to sink my teeth into guest posting as we speak – like Patricia I’m a newbie, been blogging just on 2 months – so this info. has been very helpful.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Michael, there is plenty of posts here that will benefit new bloggers. It was really nice of Evelyn to refer you, please come back again soon.
This is a good tip, Ileane.
I am ramping up my guest posting routine again (it’s good for momentum) and this will help in that regard.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Jimi, I would love to see one of those guest posts end up here. Thanks for the feedback.
I have done few guest posts and MyBlogGuest seems a fantastic tool.Thanks Ileane for this tool 🙂
Hi Shabnam! Great to see you again. I’m glad to know you’re a member of MyBlogGuest too. If you would ever like to guest post here, you can just let me know. I’d be honored.
I recently added a ‘Guest Post’ page on my Blog, and I have already recieved good results, I have 3 people who want to guest post on my blog so far, I give them access to my WordPress CP as a contributor so they can sign in and post.
Regarding my guest posting, this week I made my first guest post for the Famous Bloggers Website not sure when it will be up though but I look forward to seeing it on their site, I plan to write more guest posts on other Sites for a little publicity.
I will have to check that ‘MyBlogGuest’ Website out. Thanks for the information!
Hi Phil, I hope you noticed that I am a contributor to Famous Bloggers also. It’s a great community and I know you are excited about doing a post there. My recent post on Famous Bloggers is called Why You Should Choose Audio or Video For Your Podcast I hope you’ll check it out and leave a comment one day soon. Thanks for your visit here and you’re welcome to come back anytime.
Great tips, Ileane! Have you or anyone else found it difficult getting guest posts? I’ve actually had almost no luck (maybe it is no luck, actually) getting guest posts with My Blog Guest. I’ve had good success with Blogger Link Up, though.
The few people who have taken up guest posting on my blog have had a lot of success, but there’s just not enough of them.
Hi Tia, When I started this blog I went to MyBlogGuest after a long absence. I briefly described my blog and the type of articles I was looking for. The next day Garen Arnold responded quickly with his first guest post here Hosted Blogs vs. Free Ones: Is there Really a Difference and Which One Should You Opt For?
However now that Ann has introduced the Articles Gallery, MyBlogGuest forum members can browse the directory of article and choose the one they like best. The author is contacted and has the chance to approve or decline the offer (we already know that no guest author would decline posting to your blog 🙂 so let the be the least of your worries). Thanks for sharing Blogger Link Up. Can you give us the url when you get a chance?
Thanks for your input.
Hi Ileane,
This is an excellent post for the day for me, I have also enabled guest post to my blog. I still doing some makeover in the design as I am learning.
I am also a member bloggerluv I found it little tough and bit confusing on who to take advantage of bloggerluv.
Thanks for making my day Ileane and a great share.
Imran
Imran, I’ve done a few guest posts on BloggerLuv too. Any member can guest post there on any topic. It is a place for bloggers to hang out and really get to know each other. Here’s the tutorial video to help you get familiar with the BloggerLuv interface you’ll see it at the end of the post. The bookmarking page is much easier to understand, just submit your links and vote for others.
Thanks Imran!
Hi Ileane, I have used MyBlogGuest and I have got some amazing guest bloggers for my blog. Thanks a lot for sharing these tips.
Hey Sathish, nice to see you. Thanks for letting everyone know about your success with MyBlogGuest. I’ll come and check out some of those posts on your blog right now.
Nice post Ileane, surely there many benefits of Guest posting and I am also planning to do on several blogs. 🙂
Sahil, let me know and I’ll send you an invite. 🙂
Heh, I never thought of myself as a blogger, let alone a Guest Blogger. However, Hart (PetLvr) has a cool site to which I’ve committed an upcoming Christmas post. It will be my second contribution there. Does that count? LOL
I do have a few – what I call contributions – posted on other blogs. What’s more fascinating to me is the idea of creating a community to make it all easy for interested parties to hook up.
Cheers,
Mitch
It is really a great share, this will help the newbies a lot
Great Work 🙂
Guest blogging is something that I have thought about, but have yet to do. I have seriously been considering writing a guest post, but a busy life keeps getting in the way.
Hi Paul, I think you should submit a post to Lisa Irby’s blog. Since she already knows you from Website Babble that might increase your chances of getting published. Also, Famous Bloggers is a great place you can send a guest post to. Thanks for your comment Paul.
Cool article, I enjoyed it . I was of the opinion that why should we write for other blogs but this has cleared my doubt . Lots of benefits like interaction with new people, link juice, more traffic .
Till now i haven’t posted to any blog, but now i think there is a need for guest blogging 🙂
Hi Blog404, I’m really glad you read the post. I’m sure you will find plenty of opportunities in your area of interest on MyBlogGuest. Let me know when your post is published so I can come by and give you some support. Thanks for letting me know that you’ve changed your outlook.:)
Great article Ileane,
I’ve done a few guest posts and this helps in terms of inviting others to write for my blog. I have blogger though and am looking into converting to WordPress…
@dorethiaconner
Hi Dorethia, thanks for the visit.
Unfortunately, guest posting on Blogger can’t be done from the dashboard unless you turn over full access to your blog. If you are planning to migrate from Blogger to WordPress please take a look at DiTesco’s post How To Migrate From Blogger to WordPress. He has covers all the ins and outs and prepares you for things you might not be aware you need to help with the transition. Let me know if you have any questions, and I’ll give you a hand. Best wishes to you!
Wow! Thanks Ileane, I appreciate the help!
Ileane, myblogGuest is a unique idea from Ann which is getting more and more fame day by day. I strongly agree with your statement that there are days when we want to work offline but don;t want to mis post as per our blogging frequency, in such cases guest post come helps a lot to maintain our blogging tempo.
Hi Imran, I like how you call it “blogging tempo” because that’s a great way to describe it so that it doesn’t sound like a chore. Thanks Imran!
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Never heard of MyGuestBlog before and I will certainly check it out ASAP. Guest blogging (either side) is something that is very useful and extremely important to gain exposure. recently I had some people guest posting on my blog for reasons that go way beyond just the “normal” benefits of guest posting.
Anyway, how is MyGuestBlog working for you? Are you satisfied with the community over there? Just curious.
Hi DiTesco, your guest bloggers did an excellent job while you were away. I like MyGuestBlog and in the future I plan to use it again. I’ve seen quite a few Blog Engage members there too. Thanks for the comment.
Hey Illeane,
Awesome Post. MyBlogGuest is one of the awesome community to get more guest posts. Smarty is really doing awesome work.
Anyways, Thanks for sharing this great Post. Keep up the great work.
~Dev
Hi Devesh, thank you for the kind words!
Ileane great walk thru. Im not a huge fan of guest blogging.. but it is a good way for some bloggers to get some life to their blogs.
John thanks for your input. I appreciate your comments as always.
Guest posting is something that’s hot now, and you should always target sites that will be worth your time…I say any site listed in the top 200k in traffic if you ask me.
“TrafficColeman “Signing Off”
Hi TrafficColeman, guest posting is hot and it’s only going to get hotter as many bloggers are finding a great deal of benefits from collaborations. Thanks for the visit.
Thanks, can I get that Stumble Upon tutorial when you do your next guest post over there where I am? 😉
Cheezin
Hi Kissie, that’s funny. I can’t do a Stumble Upon tutorial until I figure out how to use it correctly. 🙂
Here’s a good one from Fiona you should check out http://www.abnormalmarketing.com/2010/10/making-stumbleupon/
Thanks for the intro to that community. I have one guest blogger on my blog and I can tell you, it is wonderful to have fresh viewpoints, especially on a blog such as mine. I wasn’t prepared for accepting guest posts when I was approached with the request..this is a great guideline on doing what I should have done in the beginning.
Hi Melinda, I know we talked about me doing a guest post on your blog and I just want to let you know that I didn’t forget about it. I’m glad you joined MyBlogGuest so that you can find someone else in the meantime. Thanks, and have a great day.
Thank you for this!
Exactly what i needed. I have someone who offers me to be a guest blogger in my blog.
I was confused what role should i give, because this is my first time ever having Guest blogger.
Keep the good job up Ileane!
Kimi, I hope you liked my explanations of the different roles for guests. I originally wrote that last year but I thought it was worth using again. Feel free to come back here and leave the link to the post from your guest when it’s ready 🙂
Hi Ileane,
Thanks for the trackback, I really appreciate it! I REALLY like how you took a different approach to this topic. You see a lot of HowTo’s in blosphere and why you should but not enough of the semantics of how to invite and set up other people to write for you.
Great video by the way…have to step up my game. Been slacking in that department. Peace. =)
Hey Michele, I want to make sure my readers get the good stuff, so I edited this post and added a link to the guest post @DiTesco did on your blog about guest posting strategies. I’m glad you like the video too, that means a lot coming from you:)
MyGuestBlog is a nice resource, but its nice to have a group of friends to guest blog for you so you aren’t trusting total strangers. Its good to get involved in the blogging community and ask to do guest blogs for others, that way you get links back to your site and you can develop a circle of blogging friends.
Hmm,how to invite a guestblogger? or should I try to contact other blogger if I want to do a guestpost? Im new here 🙂
You can ask other bloggers, just send them an email.
But you have to have something to offer. So your blog should be getting some traffic. And offer him/her a dofollow backlink, things like that.
You can also write a post on your blog about how you are open for guest bloggers and how they will benefit.
You can even make a special page on your blog about guestblogging.
And for doing a guest post I suggest the exact same things 🙂
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Good post. MyBlogGuest is one of the awesome community to get more guest posts. Smarty is really doing awesome work. Thanks for sharing.
Don’t do what I do as a guest blogger and forget to include a bio. Luckily for me, the blog owners to which I submitted my articles, Ileane included, were kind enough to still publish my work without. So, be kind to them and include your bio with your submission.
Hey Marcie,
You did a great job, so it’s real important to me that you get all the credit you deserve. I hope you’re getting traffic to your blog and you’re welcome to come back and guest post again anytime.
Have a great weekend!
Hey Ileane,
If there’s a contest promotion in the future, would it be great if I guest post it in here just to spread a word or two?
Hi Ricardus, just let me know more about the contest. I’m sure it will be fine though. Send me an email when you have the rules and prizes ready. Sounds like fun!
Hey Ileane. Guest blogging is very crucial as well as a very important factor especially for traffic. I will definitely put extra effort in guest blogging in order to do wonders for my blog. The article is very informative and helpful. Thank you for sharing it.
Hi Ileane, Thanks for this article, I was willing to write guest post for your blog (BasicBlogTips) so in this case I wanna know that do you want to accept guest post from me? Do you have any guidelines?
Thanks for the tips Ileane. Guest blogging is a best way to get traffic from targeted readers. I really like the video and tip shared through it, sharing post in form of word file is not a good idea. 🙂
Hi Chaitanya,
A few bloggers have tried to send me Word files to publish posts on my blog. I always reject them because it lets me know they haven’t followed my instructions. This is a good sign that they are just looking for links and most likely they won’t respond to comments when they start rolling in.
Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for the reply Ileane! One should respond to all the comments on its guest post. Blogging is incomplete without interaction with readers so as per my understanding you are not doing anything wrong by rejecting such articles.
One more off topic thing – English is not my first language but they way you speak in videos is really make me feel comfortable with it, you rock!. I become a big fan of yours 🙂
I’m pleased to hear you say that. Thanks!