Saturday, April 7, 2012

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? 

25 comments:

Jaye Robin Brown said...

I have guests because I think it makes my blog a more interesting place. I've been a guest because I thought it was fun. I'm not yet promoting a book but what you said makes a lot of sense.

Leighcaron said...

Definitely will keep this in mind when the time comes.

Sue Roebuck said...

Great marketing advice. You know I do have trouble asking people to do things (you won't believe that, will you, after I asked you to assess my blog LOL). For my new book I've paid an organization to do a blog tour for me - and they do all the asking. Phew! I think it's worth it...
See, the thing is, I suppose I'm scared people are going to say, "no, you can't come on my blog" (yikes)

Jamie Gibbs said...

I love guest posts, though I rarely get chance to do them myself (though I've yet to start asking people, which explains my limited success). I'll have to give it a go after the challenge :)


Jamie
Fellow A-Z bloggy buddy
Mithril Wisdom

Glynis Smy said...

Timely G post for me. I recently put out a plea to folks for me to feature on their blogs. This is to launch my debut novel. The blogging world is so supportive.

Renee said...

I have guests all the time, but that is kind of the nature of my site. However, for Poetry Month, it's ALL guests - 10 of them in videos! I appear at the beginning of each video and I "appear" in writing in the interview questions, but that's it. When it's NOT Poetry Month, then one or two out of four monthly posts are guests. I will admit that I miss being on my own blog, haha! Also this month, I asked to guest on various blogs, which yielded one guest post that I wrote, one or two people writing about me, and two or three interviews, so it's a nice mix.

I think I did reach a new audience through some of those and got a few more subscribers, but it's not like the numbers are through the roof or anything. But that's okay! It was my first time with a big blog event, and I'm pleased with the results and the exposure, not just for me, but for the guests as well.

I love having guests because I like to support and promote other poets, writers, and illustrators.

Renee LaTulippe said...

The site is NoWaterRiver.com - not sure why that didn't come up. :)

AlexJCavanaugh said...

Check and check! Done both many times. I try to limit how many guests on my blog and how many guest posts I do in a month now. I don't want to wear out my followers sending them to guest posts all the time and I understand that they come to my blog for me first.

Claire Hennessy said...

I agree - guest blogs are great but you really don't want to see too many on someone's blog. I like it when the person has a guest blog but also write something themselves. Your blog critiques have been a great way of introducing me to other blogs.

Jemi Fraser said...

I've had a couple of guests and I've done a couple of guest spots too. Not too many though. But I always find them fun - a nice change of pace! :)

Angela Brown said...

I've had and been a guest as a blog. I like to open my blog to debut novelists, indie novelists and have someone share a tidbit about something they specialize in. I've been interviewed or shared something interesting like I did a Day in the Life post over at Sophia Chang's blog. It was interesting to read the reactions of various visitors who didn't know what my busiest day was like. It even opened my eyes to how much I do on this road to publication.

Sarah Pearson said...

I've had guests a couple of times. I like it as an occasional thing, it's like introducing a friend to other friends who may not know them. I've never been a guest anywhere though :-)

Jan Morrison said...

I've been a guest and I've had guests but I find it does take a huge amount of time - I'm saving it now for when I have a specific book to flog! Thanks for your advice - I'll earmark it for later...

Alisia Compton said...

I'm going to write as a guest for the first time next month and this post has inspired me to include a guest blogging position on my blog. Thanks!

Laura Barnes said...

I do also hear some people say they don't like guests - that they come to a blog to see that blogger. But I think it depends on the set up and is different for everyone. Just more food for thought.

Laura Barnes said...

Great!

Laura Barnes said...

That's wonderful, Sue. If you are uncomfortable doing something, finding someone else will surely give you better results. How great that you were able to recognize that about yourself.

Laura Barnes said...

I've been asked to do a few guest posts but have yet to seek guest spots. It's not my priority right now since I'm not promoting a book, but I will!

Laura Barnes said...

Did you get a good response? You're right about supportive - usually you just have to ask and receive.

Laura Barnes said...

It sounds like you know what you're doing. Good job using guests for the benefit of all!

Laura Barnes said...

I'm glad the critiques have been helpful. I do tend to steer away from a lot of guest posts because I want to read about that blogger, not their guests. A combined post is a great solution to that.

Laura Barnes said...

They do make you feel kind of cool when you do a post for someone else, don't they?

Laura Barnes said...

Awesome and good luck!

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