I've been thinking a lot about guest blog posts lately. I used guest blog posts often in the past. For FWJ's third anniversary we unveiled guest blogger month where each day featured another guest posting. I also had a "FWJ Idol" contest where a dozen bloggers competed for a slot on the blogging team here (and Terrece won!). I was called out for stocking FWJ with free content and I was a little angry. Don't people understand guest posts aren't the same as writing for free? It's good public relations. It's a way to get our names out there. I'm not hurting writers, I'm helping them. Right? Believe me, I didn't sleep well for a long time after getting called out for stocking FWJ with free content - even if it was a contest and even if I had good intentions. I thought about it long and hard.
I also wrote a few guest blog posts at a couple of very famous blogs and wouldn't have even thought about asking for money. For me, that was very good exposure. If the big name probloggers are soliciting guest posts that's not the same as writing for free, right?
Maybe some others might not agree with me, but guest blog posts are exactly like writing for free. Someone is asking writers to blog for them without offering compensation. Writing. For. Free.
Guest Blogger or Free Content Writer?
Every day we express outrage over the ads on Craigslist. How dare these scammy people promise exposure to those who write for them! How dare they take advantage of writers that way! How dare they offer low wages or promise exposure!
How is this different than writing a blog post for free?
Now, I understand favors for friends, we all do that. I wouldn't ask my friends for money to help them move or paint their family rooms. I even wrote a friend's newsletter because she's a good friend and I don't charge good friends. I won't put out a call for content without paying writers though.
Has writing guests posts become the new "it's good exposure" scam?
What is the difference between the Craigslist guy looking for someone to blog for free and the random blogger who is looking for guest bloggers, any guest bloggers to, well, write for free? Why isn't it good P.R. or good networking to write for some website guy, but it's considered paying one's blogging dues to write guest blog posts?
Are writing guest blog posts good P.R.?
I suppose it depends on the blog. I mean, it's a different thing to write for an unknown newspaper for free than to write a free article for Cosmopolitan, right? Nowadays, I still guest blog a bit but I won't charge my friends or I'll make it an even trade. I also pay for guest posts here at FWJ, it's not hundreds of dollars but enough for me to feel like I'm not taking advantage.
Here are some things to consider when writing guest blog posts:
- Who are you blogging for? Is it a top blogger with a well-trafficked blog? If so, the exposure might be worth it.
- Are you doing a favor for a friend? We all do favors for friends.
- What are you getting in return? What are you really getting in return? Who is benefiting? If the blog doesn't get any traffic, you're not doing yourself any favors.
- What is the other blogger getting in return? Is he getting traffic and revenue thanks to you?
What are your thoughts about guest blogging? How is it different than "writing for free?"
Good for you, Deb. I was one of the people who questioned your use of guest bloggers while expressing outrage over writing for free. There is absolutely no difference between “free” writing and guest blogging. Thanks for being brave enough to speak up.
Guest blogging can be a great way to help promote your own work, get your name out to those who may not have otherwise found you, and potentially generate traffic back to your own revenue stream.
Rather than write off guest blogging altogether (no pun intended… lol), one should take a bit of care. Make sure you will receive proper credit, an active and “nofollow free” link back to your own content from the guest post, and don’t give away all of your best content. Let me explain that last part a bit.
If you are going to write an article about cold calling for a sales blog, don’t include all of your tips & tricks in that article. There is no reason to give away all of your expertise in an article which won’t reside on your own domain. Your guest post should be a teaser. A taste of what people will find on your own site. Write a quality post with good information, just don’t include everything. Indicate that more information can be found on your own site, and provide a link to it. Not only will this provide you with another potential inbound traffic stream, you have relevant content with a link pointing to your relevant content on your site. Google loves that sort of thing.
One way you could minimize the feeling that guest blogging is too much of a giveaway, is to exchange content. “I’ll write an article about cold calling for you, if you write an article about overcoming objections for me” type arrangement. This provides both bloggers with additional content, provides relevant links to relevant content, and could provide both bloggers with new readers they may not have otherwise gained.
As with any arrangement, you should always take great care with guest blogging. But a well written and informative guest article can be quite beneficial to both parties.
As I thought about this it broke down into three questions for me.
1)Would I guest blog for free?
)
I would, for a blogger I respected. It would also be nice if the site was relevant to my typical topic and well trafficked. So if You (Deb), Karen Swim , or James Chartrand asked, I wouldn’t be able to say yes fast enough. (BTW, I’m not expecting any invites to do so since, just some examples.
But there are sites with similar traffic levels that I wouldn’t consider because I don’t respect the bloggers running them.
2) Would I answer an ad on Craigslist to blog for free?
Not on your life. This type of thing is impersonal and smacks of conceit.
3) Is it okay for a blogger ask for unpaid guest posts?
If they are asking on their own site I think it is. If a blogger asks on their own site for guest bloggers the request is somewhat personalized by them asking their audience. People that have a bond with them. It’s saying to them that you respect your audience and their opinion. And if any of them can write and would like to contribute to the conversation they are invited to do so.
I realize my approach isn’t going to work for everybody, and it’s not intended to, this is just how my brain works.
I think that writers do guest posts for the same reason that other people in business join service clubs or work with a charity: To make contacts and give something back. As long as the writer doing the guest post can live with the WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) factor, then I have no problem with someone doing a guest post. I’ve done some myself, and there is a difference between providing one post and agreeing to write regularly for someone for free.
Everything we do can’t be about making money right now. Sometimes you do things because you are asked and they don’t take a big investment of your time. One guest post is not the same thing as someone wanting to book your time for an entire day without paying. I’ve looked over things for people or done edits on a short piece without asking for payment. It’s part of relationship building and it has paid off tenfold when those people come back to become paying clients.
My $0.02 worth.
Excellent remarks there Jodee.
Another thing to consider is some people blog just because they like to write. Some people aren’t in this for the money at all, but rather for the experience. There are plenty of bloggers out there who write simply because they enjoy it.
@ Burnman: Glad you liked that.
For one thing, the folks who will sit back and bash YOU for something that YOU do on YOUR own blog is ridiculous and they just put that negative attention out there to grab attention for themselves..(Whew,,had to get that out)
If you reach out for guest bloggers and tell them up front that there is no pay involved and they accept what is the problem? You get content. The posters name is out there. Your readers benefit. Where is the problem? Is it writing for free? Sure it is, but not all writing is done for the money. Like has been mentioned already people write for the love of it. Besides that what writers do…write. It is their choice to write for pay or not.
I think it depends on the position you’re in at the time and/or who you’re asking and what position they’re in. For example if you’re asking an new blogger to guest post on your more popular Web site you get (hopefully) great content and they’re going to get great exposure. I like the idea of it being a fair trade where everyone feels as if they’ve gained.
And honestly, some people love to blog, so a guest post now and then is probably a chance for them to write something for a little different audience and every reader loves to expand his or her horizons. So I think its good for you to guest post and to ask for guest bloggers…every writer and blog needs to grow and this is a great way to do it.
I think if it’s something that benefits the writer – either the relationship, favor or the exposure, a guest post every now in then is not going to hurt anything. Like Jodee said, if it meets your “What’s In it For Me?” factor, go for it. If you are being taken advantage of, run away.
For example, I tried out for an About.com position a few years ago – it was one of my first ventures into writing for the web, and in fact, it introduced me to this website and a few others while researching for the position on Absolute Write. No, I didn’t get the gig, but I learned a lot about writing for the web and the experience was invaluable in many ways.
I think it is something completely up to the individual. If you are invited to guest blog and you want to for whatever reason (community, kindness, exposure, a favor to a friend), then by all means, go ahead. If you feel like someone’s using you for free content and you don’t feel right about it, then don’t do it. I think it’s something that needs to be considered on a case by case basis.
I think that it’s great myself. I am such a newbe and I’m trying to find my voice so if someone gets the chance to get out there and do it go for it!. I might sound plane and simple but to the point just go for it. Oh and be greatful to the one who gives you a chance to show your stuff.
I don’t consider writing guest blog posts “writing for free” because there is an exchange of goods. I am exchanging my writing to someone in return for exposure. Exposure costs a ton of money. In a PR department, more money is spent on the actual advertising than on the writers who are putting together the advertising, so the way I see it, exposure is the currency of blog posts.
I write an article, give it to a blogger who I feel would benefit me (no one can honestly say that they write a guest blog post for the owner of the OTHER blog. They do it for their own gain.) and then I wait as the traffic comes in. And if the blog is a bigger one (which is what makes you want to do it), the traffic always comes in. Now, if you make another ten sales because of that one guest blog post, did you write it for free?
I feel like with writing, people are so nickles and dimes about it that they don’t realize the benefits of writing something for free in return for something bigger and better. If I write a few free blog posts now for other blogs, but then in the future, my blog is earning a lot of money in part because of the traffic that blog sent me, all the better.
I am new to blogging but have worked incredibly hard at learning all the ins-and-outs and building up my reader base. I’ve been asked by a few different blogs to write guest posts and am finishing up a post right now.
Here’s my dilemma. It’s really good stuff, and ultimately, I’d like for it to be on my blog as a resource for my readers. Should I shorten it and provide only about half of the content to this other blog and post the other half on my own blog? I was considering posting the entire thing on his blog, providing a link to it on my blog, and then, in several weeks, posting it on my own. Is that tacky?
I’m trying to figure out proper guest blogging etiquette so I’m consistent with whoever I write for and whoever writes for me. Can you tell I am a newbie at this??
Lisa
thesurvivalmom.com
On one hand, I feel that guest blogging doesn’t equal writing for free because ultimately you’re supposed to get something in return: exposure, backlinks etc. On the other hand, I wonder how fair this exchange is? When you see a famous Internet marketer boasting that he makes thousands of dollars a month from his blog and yet he never pays guest bloggers, is it a good idea to write for him? Maybe it is, if his target audience is prone to hiring freelance writers. Otherwise, this is writing for free indeed: you’ll give him free content and won’t get anything in return.
You’ve got to give to get back! It’s definitely worth guest blogging at a top blogger’s site if it helps build up your traffic. I came here after reading your post on Problogger so there’s conclusive proof that it works. I’ve already signed up for the feed too:)
I guess I’m confused. I call this bartering. I also call this “Special Contributor”
is there a difference? I have a book author who writes for me for free, it’s a win, win, I get great content, and she in returns get to promote her site and book at the bottom of her article. It’s fine with me. Bartering is a good way to promote something you just did, like ie. a book or another product. I would do it, if it’s a benefit down the line.