4 Ways to Get Your Guest Post Request Turned Down
Guest posting can be an effective strategy for growing your blog and getting your message out to the masses. However, as anything, we can abuse the process when we are not careful. In the last two years, Google has released several updates to their search algorithm that has sent the traditional internet marketing community into a tail spin. It used to be easier to “game the system” with spammy links in order to achieve higher search rankings.
We live in a different era today. Social media triggers, Google authorship, and legitimate guest posting on credible sites carries much more weight. I have personally seen a significant increase in people wanting to contribute guests posts for my blogs.
This has caused many bloggers to put more of a guard up when it comes to guest post requests. In order for you to get your guest post request accepted, you must be able to stand out from the generic guest post request that many bloggers are receiving daily. Here is what NOT to do:
4 Ways to Get Your Guest Post Request Turned Down
1. Send a generic email guest post request
Generic email requests have significantly increased with me. These emails have no life to them. The email is not personalized in any way. It appears that the person is only interested in gaining a link and getting some traffic from me. Here is an example:
Dear Webmaster,
I came across your site “http://www.cpacareercoach.com/” while surfing net and found it to be thematic with our site. We are interested in doing guest post on your site & can provide you with some excellent quality unique content for your site. In turn, we would request you to provide us only 1 dofollow backlink from the body of that article.
Notice several things about this request. They only just recently discovered me. How can they possibly know my writing style, my voice, my purpose, or my audience? Second, the only benefit for me is 400-500 words of content. I’m not just picking on one person because we get emails like this a lot. Sorry, if it sounds like a rant, but I want you to do better. Make your request personal.
2. Make no mention of what blog you are representing.
More than half the time, the aspiring guest poster doesn’t share their website with me. This causes a “red flag” to go up in my mind. Bloggers want to know what site they will be linking to. That is just as important as the content. Don’t make me wonder if you are hiding something.
3. Tell me you want to write a guest post for your client.
As I mentioned earlier, there has been a major shift toward more guest posting in the last 12-18 months. This has caused some of the bigger players to “outsource” their guest posting. Don’t get me wrong, I think we should outsource when it makes sense. However, many bloggers are hesitant about being roped into a “larger scheme.” They wonder if the actions of this outsourcing company could end up placing a bad label on their own blog since they are linking out to it. I’d rather build a long-term relationship with a fellow blogger in my niche.
4. Send me off-the-wall title suggestions that don’t fit my audience.
Another thing you ought to avoid is sending blog title suggestions that do not fit the audience at all. I have had people offer the strangest blog title ideas that have nothing to do with my “job searching” niche. Be careful about offering up random titles. Find out what the theme of the blog is about first.
I hope I haven’t come across as a mean-spirited blogger in this post. The truth is I probably give people the benefit of the doubt more than I should. As I have grown as a blogger, I have begun to see the bigger picture. I still remember what it felt like to have anybody send me a guest post request. It is flattering. Why would you ever say no to free content? At the same time, we should also think about what is best for our audience. What is best for the long-term growth of our blog?
Questions: How do you handle guest post request? Have you seen an increase in guest post request for your blog? Please share your thoughts below.
