tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933068605665852469.post8608522578336047854..comments2023-10-12T05:07:24.408-07:00Comments on 1099 - Mom: Think Twice about Accepting Unsolicited Guest Posts on your BlogUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933068605665852469.post-92164018306621962972016-03-18T18:53:10.814-07:002016-03-18T18:53:10.814-07:00Great article! I am a contributor to various platf...Great article! I am a contributor to various platforms and would never consider pitching someone in this manner. Thanks for sharing. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01637763172620867322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933068605665852469.post-75719640241029147772012-12-06T14:15:53.348-08:002012-12-06T14:15:53.348-08:00Thanks, Melanie! (And I feel your pain about being...Thanks, Melanie! (And I feel your pain about being in the wrong Google account.) I agree that disclosing "no follow" up front is a great way to get rid of spam -- assuming, of course, that they understand and care. I think it's great when you can gift those who DESERVE IT Do Follow tags. It's the beautiful gift that keeps on giving ;)Linsey Knerlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03771495834210418433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933068605665852469.post-33504590791085028982012-12-06T13:20:58.813-08:002012-12-06T13:20:58.813-08:00Gah! I just had a complete response and Google ate...Gah! I just had a complete response and Google ate it b/c I was logged into the wrong account. That is frustrating. The gist: If you engage with these spammy "bloggers" and you use Do Follow links, Google will eventually penalize you. You could lose your PR and your SERP position. Let these people know that their links will be NoFollow and they'll suddenly lose interest. Same if you're selling text links.<br /><br />I use Do Follow for legitimate guest posters with sites that are relevant to my own, but I'm not going to risk my PR5 for some spammer's benefit.Melanie Nelsonhttp://bloggingbasics101.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933068605665852469.post-90609460518714689762012-12-06T09:45:19.029-08:002012-12-06T09:45:19.029-08:00Thanks for all the comments. Aishwarya, I do agre...Thanks for all the comments. Aishwarya, I do agree that a guest posting policy is useful, however, it may not cover all the bases. Many of these "guest bloggers" are not actually reading the blogs to see what the blogs are about or how the posts are formatted. They simply see a PageRank that they want to take advantage of for the Google juice. I have been lucky to have guest posters for my blogs that have done an excellent job, but they were people I knew and trusted, and the bio they used linked to their blog naturally, with no manipulation of the URL/text link for SEO purposes.<br /><br />One other pet peeve is that I have received numerous "spammy" requests in the same year, often from the same "blogger." Many of these are not real bloggers.. they are marketing companies. The names aren't even real.<br /><br />On a few instances, I have allowed guest posts from companies, but they paid for those spots as an advertorial, and it was clearly disclosed to my readers. I think this is a great way to generate advertising income, and I see no problem with that.<br /><br />The problem (and the cause of this article) is that all the guest posting "spam" can be annoying. When you communicate back that you don't do guest posts from unknown writers, some of the responses have been very unprofessional. <br /><br />Moral of the story: Use your best judgement in these matters. Yes, there are legitimate guest posters that want to build traffic to their own blogs, but the majority of these "offers" are link-building machines that add little value to the web as a whole.Linsey Knerlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03771495834210418433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933068605665852469.post-66694831943590623112012-12-06T00:32:26.320-08:002012-12-06T00:32:26.320-08:00Although, I agree with a lot of your points, I sti...Although, I agree with a lot of your points, I still feel you are being a little too harsh on guest posters. <br /><br />I have been guest blogging for clients for over two years and I always take out the time to understand the kind of content the blogger publishes and the guest post policy of the site. I also make sure the articles (actually) offer valuable content and are grammaticaly correct.<br /><br />I don't see whats wrong with sending someone a guest post mail if the blogger is himself inviting guest posts. Why else would you have a "Write for Us" page on your blog? <br /><br />And if you don't want unsolicited guest posts, please mention it on your blog. People like me, NEVER contact a blog if it specifically mentions that they don't accept guest articles from strangers.Aishwarya Vohranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933068605665852469.post-37096701826491538882012-07-28T11:08:42.908-07:002012-07-28T11:08:42.908-07:00It gets worse than that - I get emails actually at...It gets worse than that - I get emails actually attaching a guest post for me to use. Effectively what they're saying is "you're desperate for content and you'll clearly publish anything". Well, actually no...<br /><br />People who make the cardinal sin of sending me unsolicited guestposts get deleted and marked as spam from that moment on...Pete Steanhttp://londoneer.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933068605665852469.post-17797646257149197042012-06-02T07:58:15.128-07:002012-06-02T07:58:15.128-07:00Like the pic you used for this post. May be blogge...Like the pic you used for this post. May be bloggers can also go to an extent of say allowing 2-3 posts every 7-10 days. That way posts without nothing much to offer won't stand a chance of ever appearing on ones blog.<br /><br />If one does not have a limit to how many guest posts they can publish with a given time frame (say in a week or month), then the temptation of publishing any post becomes hard to resist. <br /><br />And so guest posters who are out there looking for blog traffic to milk will always be a constant problem, until some measures are taken (for example, you have decided to stay away from people who don't have their own sites or samples).<br /><br />Liked the post.Philoshttp://eapost.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933068605665852469.post-31071303183887318972012-04-23T07:50:37.589-07:002012-04-23T07:50:37.589-07:00James,
It's great that you were able to use a ...James,<br />It's great that you were able to use a guest post and adapt it to fit your blog. Not everyone has had such luck!<br /><br />Anna,<br />In life -- and business -- it is often best to "got with your gut". Glad you followed your instinct on this!Linsey Knerlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03771495834210418433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933068605665852469.post-45479604515720345372012-04-23T07:13:19.045-07:002012-04-23T07:13:19.045-07:00I have gotten a bunch of messages like this, and I...I have gotten a bunch of messages like this, and I have learned to ignore them. The main reason is because something felt "iffy" about it, and your post just confirms that for me.Annahttp://realwaystoearnmoneyonline.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933068605665852469.post-88901552726852727412012-04-15T06:56:32.753-07:002012-04-15T06:56:32.753-07:00I accepted an unsolicited guest post recently. Th...I accepted an unsolicited guest post recently. The article was written pretty well, but I had to make some modifications to it. Typically I wouldn't accept an article this way, but I provided guidelines and they were followed by the guest blogger so I accepted it.Jameshttp://shortroadtoretirement.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933068605665852469.post-35902129494406359422012-04-11T08:39:27.662-07:002012-04-11T08:39:27.662-07:00Thanks for stopping over, Jessica! I'm a big ...Thanks for stopping over, Jessica! I'm a big fan of your blog :)<br /><br />I think it's great that you use tact and honesty when placing guest posts for others. I know that there are a few out there who do this, and I only wish they were the ones reaching out -- instead of the others. I appreciate you sharing your experience!Linsey Knerlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03771495834210418433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933068605665852469.post-1457227919847488062012-04-10T18:44:48.069-07:002012-04-10T18:44:48.069-07:00I actually write guest posts for a few blogs. I do...I actually write guest posts for a few blogs. I do not solicit in the manner that you have described (although I receive them regularly with my own blog). The niche that I write for tends to use "how-to" articles for guest posts with less emphasis on personal story so writing them for the site owner isn't a moral conflict. I get turned down at times but most people know who I am because we have connected on Twitter or through each others blogs before I've sent a request. <br /><br />These types of requests that you describe are exactly the reason why I have adopted a guest posting policy. I never expected to have one. Although I bet these "writers" would ignore that policy if I posted it anyways.Jessica, The Debt Princesshttp://www.thedebtprincess.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933068605665852469.post-28794260896782539902012-04-09T17:04:44.555-07:002012-04-09T17:04:44.555-07:00Thanks, Christina! Your story is a good one, and ...Thanks, Christina! Your story is a good one, and the reason why these rules, of course, can't be applied straight across the board. I'm also very glad that these posts helped to bring traffic to your blog! I wish everyone was able to report back with such positive results :)Linsey Knerlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03771495834210418433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933068605665852469.post-35696196173442025362012-04-09T15:40:22.055-07:002012-04-09T15:40:22.055-07:00Appreciate you stalking (erm, I mean stopping by.)...Appreciate you stalking (erm, I mean stopping by.) Pinterest is fast becoming a superb way to connect with other small biz junkies! Thanks for your comment!Linsey Knerlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03771495834210418433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933068605665852469.post-69503273840042658902012-04-09T15:39:36.463-07:002012-04-09T15:39:36.463-07:00I've gotten many of those e-mails, and I am we...I've gotten many of those e-mails, and I am well aware of the fact that they're paid link-builders. But then.... aren't all bloggers paid link-builders in one way or another? :-) <br /><br />I only allow guest posts from such sites in which the content is relevant and helpful to my readers AND I absolutely must be comfortable with the sites they are linking to. (no payday loans!) <br /><br />I end up telling a lot of these guest posters, "no thanks" - especially the ones for which grammar is a real problem or the site being linked to is scammy. <br /><br />BUT... I've had three guest posts from link-building freelancers go viral and those posts have made me a decent chunk of change, so I don't always turn them away. <br /><br />I think the lesson here is that you have to be comfortable with the guest posting arrangement and tough enough to say "no" if it's not a good fit for your site.Christina @ Northern Cheapskatehttp://www.northerncheapskate.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933068605665852469.post-74071032366763547532012-04-09T15:16:07.564-07:002012-04-09T15:16:07.564-07:00This is perfect post to help people discern the di...This is perfect post to help people discern the difference. I am not a blogger but I sure like stalking them :0) Found you on Pinterest by the way....thanks for the read.Don Brownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933068605665852469.post-9698417019369951892012-04-09T12:45:06.484-07:002012-04-09T12:45:06.484-07:00Thanks for your feedback, Lindsey! That's grea...Thanks for your feedback, Lindsey! That's great that you happened upon genuine posters that met your need for content in a legit way. I think there is still hope for guest posting programs, but there are still a lot of people who have a hard time discerning the "real" bloggers from those who are simply link placement machines. So happy to hear that you've had some good experiences, and I appreciate you stopping by to share :)Linsey Knerlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03771495834210418433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933068605665852469.post-52831956182755955252012-04-09T12:40:29.125-07:002012-04-09T12:40:29.125-07:00I have accepted a couple of guest posts unsolicite...I have accepted a couple of guest posts unsolicited, but I was obviously talking to a real person about real content. They were upfront about why they wanted to post (both times were because their blog/book fit into my current series topic) and I maintained full editorial control. I would never accept a post that came outright and suggested I might need to pay for my content. What an insult!Lindseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14127474116860774939noreply@blogger.com