Is Having a Guest Blogger a Good Idea?
August 28th, 2007 by ses5909Looks like you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed so you don't miss a single conversation! Thanks for visiting!
Last week I wrote a post about the pros and cons of being a guest blogger, but now I’d like to look at the positives and negatives of having a guest blogger on your site.
the good
- Exposure - If you have a guest blogger, chances are they will let their audience know they are blogging somewhere else which could lead to them coming to your blog to check it out. Hopefully your content is good enough to keep them there!
- A fresh perspective - The audience benefits from a fresh perspective. Once you’ve been blogging for a while and you have plenty of repeat visitors, your audience gets used to your style of blogging. Having a guest blogger can help shake things up and add some excitement to your blog.
- A helping hand - When you need a break or are just plum out of ideas, having someone make a guest post can take a weight off your shoulders. Also, let’s say you have a blog about apples. You want to write an article about Granny Smith apples but that isn’t your specialty, so having someone who knows more about the subject would be a great addition to your blog.
- Free content - Free content is wonderful. As bloggers, we try to have continuous and fresh content and it’s nice when someone writes it for us!
the bad
- It’s just not you - Over the past couple of months there have been plenty of people complaining about the amount of guest bloggers there are. People subscribe to your feed to read what YOU have to say, not what others have to say and that is the major complaint. Hopefully you know your audience and you know what would be acceptable with them. One way to help your audience accept the idea of a guest blogger is to introduce them and explain why you are having a guest blogger. Ask them to welcome the author!
I couldn’t really think of too many negatives to having a guest blogger and am curious to know what others think. For me the benefits definitely outweigh the negatives. There are a couple people I am considering to ask to write a guest post as they would cover a specific topic much better than I would! Have you ever had any guest bloggers on your blog?
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August 28th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
I don’t think anyone would be willing to do a guest post on my blog. It’s not a traffic draw, goes in too many directions, and I’m pretty sure it would destroy whatever credibility the guest-blogger had.
That said, I’m not sure I’d be OK with anyone bringing credibility to the site, either. Then I’d have to try to live up to it.
August 28th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
As long as the topic was the guest bloggers specialty and you dont know much about that topic, that way the quality of your content stays good and you learn something. Of course if all your posts are guest posts thant there is a problem.
August 29th, 2007 at 5:30 am
I am a bit surprised that people notice when a guest blogger is posting never mind complain when it happens. On most blogs references to the person doing the post are usually pretty subtle.
August 29th, 2007 at 5:37 am
@Sam - I think the comments I leave might ruin my credibility but I can’t help myself!
@KingJacon - Thanks for your thoughts.
@Jack - I was as well but I can’t tell you how many posts I’ve seen this summer about people leaving blogs because of guest bloggers. It doesn’t bother me at all. Maybe the numbers are less than they seem and the people who don’t like it can just yell louder.
August 29th, 2007 at 7:21 am
Sara, it’s good for a girl to sully her reputation from time to time.
August 30th, 2007 at 2:46 am
I wouldn’t leave a blog over a guest post. Of course if it was happening on a continuous basis then I may rethink that, but if you’re reading feeds in a feedreader, it’s not like you’re having to go out of your way to check on a blog and be faced with a guest blogger. I appreciate people like to keep a flow of posts even when they’re away.
I’ve just written a couple of guest posts for another site. The first is live and seems to have been well received. Hopefully the second one will too!
August 31st, 2007 at 2:44 am
I think that if the blog author chooses their guest blogger carefully, then there’d be no reason for complaints. Of course, if you have just anyone as a guest, and don’t plan what they’re going to write about (or at least keep it relevant) then that’s a different story.
I’m with you Sara, the benefits far outweigh the negatives. In saying that, I’ve only ever had one guest blogger.
August 31st, 2007 at 2:52 am
@David - re: “In saying that, I’ve only ever had one guest blogger.” –I know as someone who blogs, my blogs are something I put a lot of time and effort into and I’m not going to just hand over the keys to someone really easily. I just asked someone yesterday to make a guest post on this blog and am really looking forward to her article. She has a specialty that I just don’t have and I look forward to the post!
August 31st, 2007 at 3:02 am
For sure, the guest has to add something to your blog. My guest was someone I have a lot of respect for, and who can piece together a great article.
October 29th, 2007 at 3:28 am
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