John begged me to do a guest post on his little personal blog here, so I figured why not? The problem is, however, I don’t know anything about $1,000 meals, wacky foreign cars, or Vancouver. But I’m going to do my best to fill John’s giant green gloves and write about something I know and that I think you guys will appreciate – blogging!
It’s no secret that one of the most important requirements for a successful blog is that it be updated often, usually on a daily basis. John talked about it in 10 Blogging Mistakes to Avoid and in Creating Content. But what do you do if you go on vacation, attend an out of state (or out of country) conference, or have a family emergency? What if you get a new job or a promotion that demands much more of your time than before? What if you just want an extra set of hands to help you out? The solution is guest blogging.
Guest blogging is basically getting a friend to help you update your blog while you’re away or just to give you a little more time for other things. Just about every blog has had or will have at least one guest blogger in its lifetime. It’s a common practice. So why is guest blogging so delicious?
It Helps the Main Blogger
As I said earlier, guest blogging has a lot of benefits for the main blogger. Allowing a guest to post on your blog gives your readers fresh, new content without you having to write it yourself. Your readers get their daily article while you have time for other things. A ton of popular blogs utilize guest bloggers. Michael Arrington of TechCrunch, for example, has a bunch of guest bloggers posting right now while he’s attending FOWA. The readers appreciate the consistent flow of content, and Arrington I’m sure appreciates not having to post it.
It Helps the Guest Blogger
While I’m busy writing this post John is probably sitting at home counting his money for his upcoming February recap. Does that bother me? No. Why? Because guest blogging isn’t just beneficial to the main blogger, it has a ton of perks for the guest blogger as well. For example, when guest blogging I have the opportunity to slyly sneak in a few sexy links back to my own blog. Hopefully you guys will enjoy this post and be interested in reading my other articles (which you’ll find via my sneaky links). I also get to expose myself to a wider audience within the industry. John has a lot of readers who may never have heard of me before. Well now you’ve heard of me. That adds to my personal branding (hopefully in a good way) – definite perk.
It Helps the Readers
At the end of the day, readers want good content to read. Guest bloggers give them new content when the main blogger doesn’t have time to. Rocket science, right?
Overall guest blogging helps everyone: the main blogger gets a break, the guest blogger gets some additional exposure, and the readers get their fill of content. So how about the next time you need a short break, have an emergancy, or are going out of town, why not try to find a guest blogger to take your spot and keep your readers happy?