What to do when someone asks to guest blog
Marketing blogs often suggest guest blogging on other people’s websites or having guest bloggers on your own site. Guest blogging can be beneficial for a number of reasons. Blogging on someone else’s site can give you credibility as well as a link back to your own site, which helps with SEO. Having guest bloggers on your own site can be beneficial if they add good quality content to your site that your readers would enjoy.
What do you do if you get a random email from someone you don’t know, asking if they can be a guest blogger on your site?
Ask questions…If you don’t know this person but he or she seems legitimate, ask the following questions:
- What do they want in exchange for the article?
Make sure upfront that they don’t expect payment. Check to see if there is a contract or some sort of agreement. - Where else have they written? What books, blogs, etc?
Do they have credibility? A person you don’t know might not add credibility to your blog, but an expert in your field will. - Has the article been published anywhere else?
If the same article has been published in multiple places on the Internet, it will actually harm your website’s reputation with Google. - Do they have references from other sites for which they have been a guest blogger?
It can’t hurt to find out other people’s experiences. A quick email is all that’s needed. - Would there be a link from the article to somewhere else?
Would the article link to another website? If so, whose? Linking to a spam site can also hurt your online reputation. - What will the article be about?
Require that you read and approve the article before it is posted. - AND MAKE SURE UNDER ALL CIRCUMSTANCES THAT YOU DO NOT GIVE THEM ACCESS TO YOUR WEBSITE.
To be safe, don’t give access to people you don’t know; rather, post the article yourself. If you have a relationship with the guest blogger, author access is okay.