Accepting Guest Posts: Things to Consider

Accepting Guest Posts: Things to Consider

Here are a number of different things you’ll want to keep in mind when determining whether or not to accept guest posts...

Pros

  • Guest posting reduces your writing burden
  • Guest posting allows you to leverage knowledge in other areas of expertise
  • Guest posting can increase your perceived authority

When website visitors arrive on your website and see guest posts, they see you as someone with strong enough industry connections that other authors find it beneficial to share their work on your site. After all, as a website owner, you wouldn’t waste time posting your guest content on young, unestablished blogs.

In this way, receiving requests for guest posts indicates that you’ve gained clout within your industry, making their publication an indication to your readers that you’re an authority figure within your chosen field.

Cons

  • Guest posting may dilute your message
  • Guest posting funnels visitors away from your website
  • Guest posting requires editorial effort

As soon as you open your doors to guest articles, you’ll be on the hook for corresponding with authors on potential topics, reviewing posts that are submitted to you and coordinating any necessary changes to ensure that the articles you accept meet your stringent quality guidelines.

Given all these different factors, it’s up to individual webmasters to determine whether or not to open their sites up to guest articles.  However, if you do decide to go down this road, you’ll want to pay attention to the following advice in order to make the process as easy and rewarding as possible:

1. Establish your guest posting terms

To avoid allowing guest authors to dilute your voice on your own website, consider limiting guest posts to no more than one to three slots per month. Also consider establishing quality guidelines up front that specify how long posts should be, how many links can be included in each article, and what subjects can be covered in order to minimize unqualified requests.

2. Create a “Guest Author” page on your website

Plenty of webmasters use search queries that include the words “guest post” or “guest author” to find potential submission sites, so setting up this type of page in advance will help increase your exposure to a wider audience of authors (as well as eliminate any confusion about what you expect from your guest authors).

3. Don’t be afraid to reject guest post submissions

Instead of letting status update queries sit unanswered in your inbox, follow up with authors whose posts won’t work for your site in order to inform them of the situation and let them know whether you’re outright rejecting their pieces or if changes could be made to make their articles acceptable for your site.

4. Reach out to guest authors on other industry websites

If you’re having trouble attracting qualified guest post submissions, consider reaching out to website owners that have posted good articles on the industry sites you frequent. In many cases, these webmasters haven’t heard of your business before, but will jump at the chance to promote their content on your website.

5. Pair up with guest authors to create reciprocal exchanges

One final piece of advice to consider when it comes to getting the most out of your site’s guest authors is to request that webmasters who submit content allow you to exchange a reciprocal post for their websites. As a business owner, leveraging these connections in order to increase your own online exposure can present a welcome trade-off for the time needed to manage your own internal guest posting program.

Accepting Guest Posts: Things to Consider