It’s been a long time since I accepted a guest post on this blog. How long? Well, the last one I accepted was in December 2011; you do the math. lol I used to have a lot of reasons why I didn’t accept guest posts on this blog and most of my other blogs; the only one I readily accepted guest posts on no longer exists; it made money, but the extra work wasn’t worth dealing with it.
I’m actually a nice guy trying to help 🙂
I never really wanted to accept guest posting unless I knew the person asking the question well. Sometimes I was the one asking someone I respected to write a guest post for me, like I did with my friend Scott Thomas about copyright laws; very illuminating, something I should have paid more attention to. 🙂
The last time I broached the subject was in March of 2019, titled Why I Won’t Share Your Guest Post Or Your Expert Articles, where I mentioned 3 fairly personal reasons why I wasn’t accepting any more guest posts and probably wouldn’t promote anyone else’s articles if I was asked (although I will link to articles I come across that I think will benefit my readers; you can thank me later lol).
You’re probably asking “if that’s the case, what’s this article about”. It’s another attempt to educate people who are still trying to get their articles on a blog of mine. At least 5 out of 7 days a week, I get a request, and what people are doing is wasting my time and the time of others because they’re missing a few things they should and shouldn’t do.
So, this is my version of the old Schoolhouse Rock commercial cartoons that used to show on Saturday mornings on ABC back in the 70s, and they were very helpful. I’m not quite that creative when it comes to comedy, and I don’t know how to draw, but I’m going to mention some of the types of requests I get, and hopefully educate folks who are doing it horribly wrong. Let’s get started.
1. What’s my name? I’m not asking you, the readers, I’m asking those people who are requesting being allowed to write guest posts. Not leading with the person’s name in your email suggests one of two thing: either you don’t know the name or you’ve written a spam letter to send to everyone without thinking about whether your article fits their page or not. Some people might forgive the slight, but anyone with a bit of pride or lots of followers won’t.
2. How well written is your email? I’ve seen some of the worst grammar in emails that I’ve been sent, along with many that have entered my spam page. Why would anyone want to put something horribly written on their site unless they’re writing the same kind of tripe and their blogs aren’t going to be hurt by more badly written content?
3. What’s my blog about? You should know that and be able to determine if your content might reach the minds of people who stop by and read what I have to say. If I’m writing about blog tips and you’re sending me an article about the latest soccer tournament, you’re out of touch with me and my readers; I’m not bothering to waste my time formally rejecting you.
Here’s a part of a recent email I received on my business website, where I talk about leadership, health care finance, diversity and related subjects; it was the lead in the email: “Especially as remote work opportunities increase, starting a career in business is a great option for young adults with disabilities.” No greeting, no telling me who you are or who you represent, and if I want to reach out to you, you’ve given me a link that I’m too smart to ever click without knowing whether it’s taking me somewhere or trying to do damage to me and my computer.
Asking an open question to all of you; how professional do you think anyone doing any of these things is? I’ve never asked anyone in over 30 years if I could write a guest post for them, yet I’ve written at least 50 of them, though many of those blogs no longer exist. There’s a way to ask people if you can write for them, even if they reject you, that might encourage them to visit your blog, consume their content, and possibly leave a name and link back to their site, which might be valuable if their blog is highly ranked.
For once, I’m keeping a blog post relatively short for me; I hope I’ve made my point. Now, go enjoy your Sunday!
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