How would you feel when you have laid out specific instructions and yet your subordinates just cannot get it right?
That is the same feeling of every blog manager.
Guest blogging is an official strategy under the umbrella of content marketing. So when blog managers have to handle hundreds of guest posts per day, it is just as frustrating as how you feel when your subordinates cannot comply with specific instructions.
With this, here are six of the most obvious errors of guest bloggers that you should avoid doing. These errors are categorized based on the two basic stages of guest posting.
Pitching Your Guest Post
1. Pitching your post to an inappropriate blog
Common sense tells you that you should not submit an article on interior designing to technological host blogs. However, in the goal of expanding your affiliate marketing blog (for instance), you may try to insist on the impossible. This will not help you at all.
To avoid this error, you have to create a specific strategy for guest blogging. Focus on your niche and contact blogs with active communities that share the same passion for your niche.
2. Failing to acquaint yourself with the blog manager
One basic rule of marketing is to make yourself “one with the customer.” The same goes for guest blogging. If you want to win over the ardor of the site you want to guest post in, you need to establish a connection with them, whether personally or casually.
3. Failing to show competence
As mentioned, blog managers do have a lot in their hands. So when you send out a request for guest blogging, your request is already a reflection of what you are capable of. In this case, make sure to write your request with pristine grammar, precise content and best of all, sincerity.
Writing Your Guest Post
4. Violating format and guidelines
The format for guest blogs is set based on standard guidelines for successful keyword usage or content development. You need to comply with such guidelines completely. If there are guidelines that are confusing, proactively clarify them than suffer the repercussions later.
5. Writing poor content
Aside from format, the content is also vital. The blog you want to guest post in is also building its credibility, so it is just expected that they should be harbingers of credible content.
In this case, you need to do extensive research on your selected topics and make sure that they are not perfect images of related content. You also need to showcase your creativity and originality in triggering the interest of your readers.
6. Failing to use inbound links correctly
The bargain between you and blog managers runs in a way that every guest post equates to some inbound links. However, you may make the mistake of putting too much inbound links that destroy the content or putting inbound links of no relation at all to the content.
Remember responsible writing. It has always been the moral fiber of every blog. Not because inbound links are sure-fire ways to successful affiliate marketing, you would take too much advantage of it.
Guest blogging is not a tedious or scary experience. However, compliance is a must for the success of your blog. Just like any relationship, it is built on trust. And if that is broken, your existence on the web may not be recognized at all.
Image Credit: MeggaKilla
9 comments
I must admit that this is a great guest posting article with great guidelines. All new bloggers who want to guest blog must read this!
Thanks, Jasmine! I appreciate your comment.
hi Glenn
You say
“you should not submit an article on interior designing to technological host blogs.”
Right, if your article focuses on interior design, but what if could tie in your topic and make it relevant to tech blogs? I know bloggers and content writers who can interconnect two unrelated topics in ways most people would never imagine, and they get approved on all niche sites…
So, regardless your site topic, you can still guest post on all blogs, regardless the niche or industry with one remark: make your topic highly relevant (not just slightly) to that particular audience.
Here are a few examples I’ve just made up (without thinking too much)
If you’re a photographer, you’ll create “How to Find the Right Photographer for Your Wedding” and post it on a wedding related site…
If you want to write for a techie blog, then you’ll create something like “Top 15 Best Canon PowerShot Cameras”
If you want to land a guest post on a productivity related site, then you’ll write “How to Take Twice as Many Stunning Photos or Double Your Skill Power With this Simple Method”
You get the idea… can you guys think how to tie in your niche topic with other unrelated or less related topics, niches or industries?
Let me know below… would love to hear what you have to say about this little-known or less practiced content writing strategy…
I see your point, John. I admit I also do that occasionally. I just put in mind that it has to be relevant.
Thank you for pointing that out.
we must follow this guidelines for best result from guest post. thanks for sharing this awesome tips with us.
This was good for me thanks. I’m debating guest blogging and these really help guide me into being more confident as I venture that direction!!!
Great intro to guest blogging. I’m sure this will keep some people from making the all too common newbie mistakes. After all, with all the information around on the internet, shouldn’t we be learning from other people’s mistakes, rather than our own? And BTW, LOVE the graphic for this post.
Writing poor content with errors is the guest posting mistakes which i generally receive at my blog.
thanks
Just linking your services pages within the blog post isn’t enough, You have to place link smartly to make reader go through it.