Guest blogging is picking up buzz. Mainly because guest posting is best way of link building and provides instant result. However, as in every process some etiquette should be followed. This post deals with etiquettes that are required in guest blogging.
Many believe that guest posting etiquettes should be followed by guest bloggers leaving out publishers. Guest bloggers are equally important as publishers (provided the content is of high quality). Content are not tapped from thin air. It requires effort and the effort is put by the guest blogger. Therefore, publishers should follow some etiquette too.
Etiquette for Guest Bloggers:
Read the Publishers’ requirement:
The crucial step in
guest blogging is to know the requirements of publishers. Every publisher will have different needs. A certain publisher might demand for specific topic while other might be open to ideas. It is guest blogger’s duty to meet all the requirements of the publishers. If publisher demands for 700+ word article provide the same.
Contacting publishers:
Not all accept
guest post right away. Some prefer to be contacted and pitched regarding the post. Even if you are sending post to a community member like My Blog Guest it is crucial to know the publisher. Of course, if the publisher had invited to send guest posts then its okay.
Provide Unique Content:
The most common complaint from publishers is that guest bloggers provide either spin content or copied content. It is understood that for guest posting purposes unique content is mandatory. I would like to emphasize that not only the content should be unique but also the whole idea.
Responding to comments:
After a publisher has published a post, it is the duty of guest blogger to respond to comments. A guest blogger might not be available all time. However, a guest blogger should ensure that he visits the post regularly and stays abreast with the discussion. The best way to do this is by signing up for comments notification/updates.
Etiquette for Publisher:
Here are some etiquette for publishers
Respond to email:
Many publishers will fret and fume at this topic. Their argument is that ‘it is hard to reply to every email’. Yes, it is hard to reply to every email but reply should be made. Have you ever sent a guest post to Problogger? Staffs of Problogger, without fail, reply to every email. As a publisher, you should respect the time put in by Guest Bloggers.
Intimate of changes:
Publishers should inform regular contributors of the changes. For instance, if you had promised to provide 2 links and later decided to cut into 1 link, do not forget to notify your contributors.
Changing the links:
Some publishers consider themselves as smart. They promise dofollow links and after a month change dofollow into nofollow. Such practices are unethical and indicate disrespect towards guest bloggers. Moreover, it is the duty of the guest bloggers to check regularly and ensure that the links are unhampered.
These were some of the simple rules for guest bloggers and publishers. If you have something to add either as a guest blogger or publisher then you are welcome.
That’s exactly what happened last spring when Google rolled out their notorious Penguin update. From Google’s perspective, Penguin addressed a major problem caused by websites who linked to dozens, even hundreds, of other sites in hope of raising their rankings on search results. This created major headaches for end users, who wound up having to sort through dozens of low quality results in order to find something of value.
