G is for Guest

Several months ago I talked about the Marketing Benefits of Guests and how to Gather Guests for your blog.  Since then I've wanted to focus on the Marketing Benefit of Being a Guest and just haven't gotten around to it.

So let's talk a little bit about it today.

Being a guest on other people's blogs is a great marketing move. This is why so many people do blog tours. It makes obvious sense - you expose yourself to potentially new customers/followers. That's exactly what marketing/advertising is supposed to do. And guest posts are free!

Much like the way you gather guests to be on your blog, you can gather blogs to guest on by:

• Putting out a call on your own blog for guest spots
• Asking other bloggers if you can do a guest post
• Ask reviewers to review your book (if you have one)
• Ask people who have done guest spots on your blog if you can return the favor

When you are a guest, make sure you are a polite and gracious guest. This may seem unnecessary to spell out, but in my experience it needs to be said.

1. Tell your followers where you're going to be. This is not only courteous to your own followers, but the blog you are visiting should get the benefit of new followers coming to his or her site.
2. Tweet and/or Facebook about your guest spot. Again, it is courteous to spread the word.
3. Stop by early on and leave a comment when your post is up. If you can't, try to tell your host that you'll be there late.
4. Ask your host if you can reply to comments. He or she will say yes, but it's nice to ask.
5. Reply to comments. Well, duh.
6. Stop by later in the week in case people responded late to your guest post.
7. Thank your host on his or her site, your site, and personally by email for having you as a guest.

Now, in general, I would say both being a guest and having guests are worth the same in marketing terms. But, that's not exactly true. 

If you are trying to earn new followers, bringing in new guests will do the trick, provided that they advertise that they will be on your site. See, the reason is that their followers will follow them over to your blog and then sign up to follow you while they are there.

If you are trying to sell your book, then guesting on other blogs is the better choice. Just make sure you bring pics of your latest book and links to where to buy as well as a little blurb.  

I know that many of us - I include myself because I am one of these people - don't want to see guests on our favorite blogs. We want to see our favorite blogger, that's why we read the blog, right? This is true. But it's also true that we have all probably been introduced to a new amazing blogger from a guest post by or on another blogger's site. The key, as always, is moderation. Make sure you are on your own blog more than you are on other people's blogs. Make sure you are on your own blog more than other people are on your blog. And if your page views are consistently going down and not bouncing back up, cut down even further.

What are your thoughts on guest blogging? Have you been a guest? Had a guest? Why or why not?