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I’ve long been singing the praises of guest blogging. With a good guest blogging strategy, you could:

• Build links back to your website for improved search engine rankings
• Drive traffic to your website
• Increase brand awareness
• Position yourself as an expert
• Increase readership on your own blog
• Generate leads
• And more…

There’s a lot to be gained from guest blogging; that much is for sure. But in order to get something from guest blogging, you have to have a strategy. And before you can create a guest blogging strategy, you need to know what you want to get out of it.

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Longtime readers of this blog will already know that I’m a big believer that bloggers should accept guests posts on their blog. I’ve run down some of my top reasons for accepting guest posts in the post, but to recap, accepting guest posts on your blog:

• Gives you fresh content
• Offers your readers a new point of view
• Lets you expand the topics you cover by bringing in people with expertise different from your own
• Helps your network with other bloggers
• Opens the door to guest posting opportunities for yourself
• Helps lighten your load
• Allows you to learn from other bloggers
• Brings new readers to your site

In my view, accepting guest posts on your blog just makes sense. It offers so much upside that it’s worth considering at the very least.

Not All Bloggers Agree

Of course, not everyone out there agrees that it’s a good thing to accept guest posts. There are some bloggers who adamantly refuse to allow guest authors on their blogs.

Why do some bloggers not allow guest posts?

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Whenever the conversation focuses on guest blogging, we typically discuss its benefits and how you can get the most guest blogging opportunities. But one important thing that needs to be discussed is what to do after your guest post is accepted and published. I’ll tell you what you don’t do—You don’t act like a drive-by guest blogger.

What’s a drive-by guest blogger? It’s someone who disappears once their guest post is published. Typically, drive-by guest bloggers are consumed with getting as many guest blogging opportunities as they can so they can get more backlinks and more recognition. So, they don’t put much time into managing relationships with bloggers, and they don’t really have great guest blogger etiquette.

So, how can you make sure you’re not acting like a drive-by guest blogger?

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Guest blogging is a topic I’ve spent quite a bit of time writing about. I think it’s an important thing to talk about, because many people are finally starting to realize the benefits guest blogging has to offer, and they’re jumping aboard the bandwagon. That’s great, but you have to make sure you’re approaching guest blogging in the right way if you want to get the most out of it. More simply stated, you have to make sure you’re not a bad guest blogger.

How can you tell if you’re a bad guest blogger? Here are a few warning signs.

• You act like the blogger owes you something in your pitch—I’ve received pitches from guest bloggers who come across as alarmingly entitled. They pump themselves up and try to bully me into accepting their guest posts. It’s insane just how clueless some of these guest bloggers are. News flash: nobody owes you anything. You don’t deserve any guest blogging opportunities.
• You don’t take time to learn about the blog—A good guest blogger spends time researching the blog, reading old posts, learning about the blogger, and interacting with the readers in the comments before making a pitch. The better you understand the blog, the more able you’ll be to pitch a topic that’s a good fit.
• You write your guest posts as quickly as you can—If you’re just interested in cranking out as many guest posts as you can so you can build tons of links, you’re in this for the wrong reasons. It’s your duty as a guest blogger to provide the very best content you’re capable of creating. You owe it to the blogger who’s publishing your content, the readers, and yourself (your reputation is on the line!).
• You change the topic you agreed to write about—If you tell the blog owner that you’re going to write a guest post about a certain topic, that’s what you need to write the post about. You can’t change your mind without notifying the blogger and turn in a post on an entirely different subject.
• You don’t respond to comments—Don’t be the guest blogger who turns in a post and disappears. Part of being a guest blogger is interacting with the readers who respond by leaving comments. You need to stick around after your post is published and create meaningful conversations with the readers. And while you’re at it, help promote your guest post too.
• You don’t thank the blogger for letting your guest post—It’s common courtesy. Send over an email thanking the blogger for publishing your guest post.

Are you a bad guest blogger?

Trying to land a guest posting opportunity on another blog? These opportunities won’t just be handed to you. You have to work for them. Bloggers are very protective of their websites, and they only want to provide their readers with the best possible content.

That’s where the pitch comes in. Before your guest post can be accepted, you need to pitch the blog owner. This means sending them a short email introducing yourself and telling them what you have to offer (your guest post). In essence, you’re trying to sell the blogger on your guest post. You want them to see that you have an understanding of their audience, and that you can provide them with content their readers will love.

What better way to do this than to show them the guest post you have for them?

Some writers come up with idea for a guest post, and then they pitch the blog owner on this idea. If the blogger accepts the pitch, they then write the post and send it over.

I prefer writing my guest post before I ever pitch it. Why?

• The blogger can see exactly what he will be getting—I’ve received some great pitches from potential guest bloggers, but when they turned in the post to me, it didn’t live up to my expectations. By writing the post before you send your pitch, you cut out the guesswork. The blogger can see the full post and decide whether or not it’s a good fit for his blog.
• The post is ready to go, making it easier and more appealing for the blogger—Bloggers are a busy bunch, and the easier you make it for them to accept and publish your guest post, the likelier it is that they’ll do so. A great post that’s already good to go is much more appealing than just an idea for a potential guest post.
• If the post isn’t accepted, it’s still mine to use—At the worst, the blogger will reject the guest post, and you’ll have a pre-written post on your hands. You could still pitch this to another blogger, or you could simply post it on your own blog. It won’t go to waste either way.

What do you think about writing the guest post before the pitch?