MelvinBlog

A blog that chronicles my journey on online marketing, blogging, social media, technology and life.

The Big Glitch In Guest Posting

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By now you probably have been already told that the quickest way for a brand new blog to get traffic and build some buzz is by doing guest posting. It doesn’t just apply to new blogs, it also applies to mid cap blogs like my blog and probably your blog. To sum it up, doing guest posts is vital in increasing your blog’s brand awareness.

Anyways, I’m always a good observant when it comes to the blogosphere and all the things that are currently happening in it. And one thing I noticed is that there is “somehow” a big glitch in guest posting (glitch means minor problem, adding the word big means it’s a big problem, lols!).

It usually happens like this. A famous blogger is entering a busy weekend thus no time for blogging. Then he would offer his readers to guest post. Lastly he would publish the said post. Where’s the problem? Well if you observe it’s not hard to figure out that the certain guest post SUCKS! In formal terms, it doesn’t meet the quality that the owner usually publishes. What the heck? How is that possible?

This is debatable and many will not agree with me. That happens simply because of the fact that the owner blogger is busy. When someone submits a guest article, the owner doesn’t really read it, he just skims at it! He just looks at the basic things, the grammar, spelling, if the sentence makes sense, if the paragraph is well done and etc. They don’t really analyze that much if it’s a generic boring article or a regurgitated concept. In the end they think like it’s better to post something than have nothing for your readers right? Wrong!

This is obviously a big glitch. It harms both blogs. No one will click on the link of the guest poster because the blog post sucks and on the other hand, the loyal readers of the famous blog would feel bad that the quality they used to see is not met. And worse, they might start lose your trust if you do it again and again. Reputation tarnished!

Guest posting is good, cool and nice. You reap both benefits. But if done like the way I mentioned above, it becomes a recipe for failure. This is my call both to guest posters and the blog owners. Be sure to do it right.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Absolutely right. Guest posts are best way to get traffic to new blogs. I started my new blog 30 days ago. Did some guest post and it has got me good traffic and some loyal readers.

    In BTW, Melvin I am writing a guest post for your blog, sorry for the delay. I hope the article will be ready in 24hrs.
    .-= Agent Deepak´s last blog ..Blog with a Sex Appeal =-.

  4. Yeah, anybody who runs a blog should be sure not to post anything that is substandard. And ALWAYS designate it as a guest post! That should help defray any of the negativity.

    But hey, if you are a good blogger who actually cares about your content, you’d be doing this stuff anyway, right?

    Good thoughts.
    .-= Wess at The Sugarbuzz Project´s last blog ..Dealing With Spam Comments =-.

  5. It’s truth, I’ve witnessed such situations myself when I was reading one of my favorite blogs, and there was a guest post and it didn’t meet the usual quality standards that I got accustomed to over time.

    It should be done very carefully, I hesitate to make a guest post since I am new to the blogging scene, I use the free blog platform and are basically learning new things each and every day. I don’t want to ruin someone’s reputation.
    .-= Davor Gasparevic @ Internet marketing ebooks´s last blog ..Major redesign! =-.

  8. Hi Melvin,

    Have you actually tried guest posting before? I certainly don’t think that is the case. Some of the guest posts I have wrote for other websites have received 50,000+ views and brought down their servers.

    Unless you’re writing for rubbish websites, I guarantee that the site owner will read the post.

    If you want more of my thoughts, you might like this: http://www.viperchill.com/guest-blogging/

    – Glen
    .-= Glen Allsopp´s last blog ..What You Can Learn From The Most Tweeted Blog Posts Ever =-.

  10. Correct. I think one of the harder part is when the one who submits is someone who’s a loyal reader or a very close friend of yours. what do you think?

  11. I agree with you Melvin, we can’t simply evaluate the guest post just from the minor problem, we have the consider whether the post helps our readers as well. I’ve actually rejected quite some guest posts that I thought they didn’t give any valuable information to my readers.

    Best Regards,
    Lee

  13. Yes I’ve done a lot actually. It’s not really that the posts totally suck, it’s that it doesn’t usually just have that same quality the big blog has. I’m talking guest posting in blogs as a whole which then includes smaller blogs like my blog and other blogs and this is just what I usually observe. Sure Darren Rowse or any other bloggers in the same line will read it and will make sure its of a superb quality but I don’t think all blogs do the same thing. Again, it’s really not that hard to figure that out by observing the blogosphere. And again that’s just my 2 cents.

    Thanks

  14. Actually Melvin, this happens more than people think. I have read some really bad guest blogs and thought what was the owner of the blog thinking?

    This is a lesson for the rest of us who are looking for guest bloggers to make sure we analyze the hell out of it before we post it so our readers don’t think we publish any type of crap that comes our way.

    Thanks for the post, this is one of the things that should be put on blast.

  17. Melvin,
    I agree wholeheartedly with your assertion in this post. I guess the one thing I would say is “Shame on the blog owner” because what you put on your blog reflects on you and your brand. Taking the time to review the post is a very important job. Being able to say “No” to a guest poster is also a very important job. If you can’t post that day, I would say that you are much better off not posting, rather than publishing crap.

    This is one reason why posting every day can be a two-edged sword. You want to adhere to your posting schedule, but at the same time, you also would like to post fresh content. I post whenever I am capable and hopefully posts on my blog, my own or from a guest poster, will be quality ones. One bad post could lose readership. Great points that you make in this post.

    Best,
    Bob
    .-= Bob Bessette´s last blog ..Interview with FrugalTheme creator, Eric Hamm. =-.

  19. I don’t like to do this, but I’m going to have to disagree with you on this one Melvin.

    I’ve never met or spoke to a blogger that would sacrifice quality just for a guest post. I mean, recently I did a bit of a call for help on my blog where I was requesting guest posters. I got 5 or 6 different articles sent to me, but 1 of them I had to turn away. I wasn’t rude about it, I just said that it wouldn’t really fit, and if he wanted another go then that would be fine.

    He sent me another article a day or two later, and it’s going to be published soon 😉

    That said, I’d rather miss a posting schedule than just post some random crap.
    .-= Simon | Teenius´s last blog ..Interview With Blogger & Comedian, Jordan Cooper =-.

  20. Totally agree with you on this.
    Actually I have just turned down a request to guest post on a blog because the person writes very well researched articles and I don’t think I would have anything to provide to his readers..

    It’s flattering to be asked to guest post on someone’s site but if you can’t provide their level of post you end up looking bad and they end up losing credibility..

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