What fun is it to follow the herd? Isn’t it more intriguing to read a blog post spiced with just a hint of controversy? While most bloggers wax poetic on the benefits of guest posting, both from the writer’s and publisher’s point of view, OddBlogger Isabelle demonstrates the fun of creating linkbait by taking the opposing view – and Abhi Balani ends up accepting a guest post in spite of himself.
I read “4 reasons why you should not allow guest blogging on your site” and could not resist writing a reply. Here are my three good reasons you should let me guest post:
Granted, you popped up with a “Would you mind sharing this post?” by way of introduction, but the fact is, after reading the post, I didn’t mind sharing it at all. Your content interests me enough to provoke a comment or two that is not entirely self-serving. And rather than write an entire blog post in the comments section, rebutting your “4 reasons why you should not allow guest blogging on your site,” I feel challenged – nay, morally obligated – to offer you a guest post in response.
What rightfully makes experienced bloggers wary of guest posts is the same thing publishers in traditional media experience daily: A lot of utter rubbish falls through the transom, unsolicited. Or, the cover letter is reasonably intriguing, but the effort required to develop the work into a usable, marketable, readable product isn’t worth the time and money. “Thanks, but this does not meet our editorial needs at this time. We wish you the best of luck in your endeavors, elsewhere.”
Rather than try to bend my personality to match yours, I will gamble that, as with Siskel and Ebert, a little controversy and a fresh voice may bring you a few of my regular readers – and they may discover their own reasons for bookmarking your site and sticking around. In turn, some of your regulars may wander over to my blog if they enjoyed my guest post on yours. Of course, it’s up to you to read this post before publishing it, to ensure that nothing I’ve said is likely to alienate your readers. Assuming you deem it worth the risk and give me my byline where it’s due, I doubt even a little alienation will destroy your blog or your following. With any luck, it will be a win-win situation for both of us.
The flip side is that I can write on just about any topic. I wouldn’t be much of a technical communicator if I couldn’t. Even though I write fiction and that’s more the focus of my online presence, I’m an information developer by day. What I don’t know, I can research. What do your readers want to know?
Hint: I’m being “paid” in backlinks. The least you can do, if you’ve read this far, is to read my post, Good Goals Gone Bad.
