How to handle unsavory guest posters looking for a free ride and free advertising on your website or blog
The latest trend in blogging is guest posting. It is a wonderful way for new and not so new bloggers to get exposure and build an audience. The premise is to submit your best guest post to a related blogger’s website.
When people read how well you cover a relevant topic they will feel compelled to visit your website and hopefully come back again and again. Many, now popular, bloggers have used this method to reach a high level of Internet fame.
A Great Marketing Tool (If Use Correctly)
Guest posting in its purest sense is an excellent tool in a blogger’s marketing toolkit. Unfortunately, there have been some rather rude and unscrupulous people trying to take advantage of this system of generosity.
I am approached by many writers who want to write for me on my niche website. Most times I am happy to oblige because sometimes I want a break from writing, but lately it’s become less appealing.
Link Baiting at its Best
I get more and more requests from Internet marketers and company websites who either ask me if they can send (or they simply send) an article to post on my website. They tell me they just want me to include the links they’ve embedded in the article.
The other day a person asked if they could write finance articles for my website and include links within the article. I checked out the link and it went directly to a website for a service I am not crazy about, and don’t care to promote. I’ve done it in the past but have decided to no longer promote those types of services.
Doing Due Diligence is Crucial
I dug a little deeper into the website and saw a blog with great articles on it so I agreed to post the article but the link would have to go to the blog instead of the website home page. I explained that my website is a resource and I choose to link to resources that would be helpful for my readers.
I went further and explained that if they wanted the link to go to the home page they would have to pay an administrative fee because it is a business.
Free Rides Not Allowed
I did this for a couple of reasons. The first reason is a link from my blog would essentially free advertising for this website. The second reason is this is a company that could pay for advertising space but chooses to milk smaller sites for free link juice by posing as a guest poster.
Regardless of the content they will provide, they are still likely to continue getting clicks to their website and draw people from my website years from now. This is one of the factors that appeal to these questionable guest posters who are looking for a free ride.
They Are Getting Rude Now
The continuing conversation I was having with this person did not help them much. It was worded in broken English in spots, so my confidence in their ability to write a great post diminished. I pointed this out and they demanded that I do not judge them based on the conversation. In fact they became very pushy about both their writing ability and linking to their homepage without pay the administrative fee.
Be Smart Set Guidelines
As this trend of guest posting reaches its crest and begins to fall, I suspect there will be more companies that jump on the bandwagon and try to take advantage of the mom and small bloggers who want content.
From my experience I have decided to implement guidelines for guest posters. I’ve created a canned response for people who write me about submitting a guest post. In it I let them know the terms and conditions of writing for my site. The article must be specifically written for my audience.
They may include a link to their blog in their byline, but it cannot be an affiliate link. If they want to include extra links (no more than three) to products or business websites they will have to pay an administrative fee for each link. Also, they must format the article and include a relevant image then submit it as html.
Benefits of Guidelines
I do this because it keeps the riff-raff away and reduces the amount of work I have to do. The way I see it, if they want to write for me they will gladly follow my guidelines. They will understand my website is professionally run and not a place for freebie advertising.
This is part of the voice of bloggers who are tired of being taken advantage of. We work hard to write and design our website/blogs as well as get build a loyal following. To allow fly-by-night operator to come in and profit from our hard work is not acceptable. They must learn the etiquette of guest posting or be refused an audience with my readers.
Samantha Gregory writes about single mom finances and lifestyle upgrade at RichSingleMomma.com. She also writes and edits processes, procedures, and training manuals as well as user manuals for corporations at SamanthaGregory.com
