Guest Posting: Are We Approaching the End?

June 18, 2013 by Daniel Sharkov|

The following is a guest post from Brett Lindenberg. More about Brett you can learn at the end of the post!

We are not even four months into 2013, but much has already changed when it comes to. For one, the opportunity to contribute to some of internet marketing’s most popular blogs has been taken away.

A few specific examples of popular blogs that stopped accepting guest posts this year include Kristi Heinz of Kikolani.com, Daniel Scocco of DailyBlogTips.com, and Darren Rowse of Problogger.net.

Each of the bloggers listed above have their own reasons for discontinuing guest posts, but Daniel Scocco’s commenton the topic was the one I found most interesting:

“On top of that I will also focus on the quality of posts and not the quantity. In other words, I will only write when I have something to say. I won’t be running filler posts anymore.”

Will More Guest Posting Opportunities Go Away?

In the past there were benefits to publishing a new post almost every day. Generally speaking, the more decent content you were able get out there the more search-engine traffic you would receive in return. There was also the expectation that you needed to publish “fresh” posts on a regular basis so that your audience didn’t forget about you and remain engaged… at least for one more day.

Allowing guest authors to write content for your website is a great solution if you operate a blog with a stringent daily publishing schedule. Guest posters can provide bloggers with the content they so desperately need for free and without the time commitment needed to write and edit a post. When bloggers operate their websites from this perspective, it’s easier to contribute mediocre articles and get them published.

But there seems to be a shift in mindset with the previously held beliefs the majority of bloggers once lived by. Cranking out a new post every day doesn’t seem to be as important as getting something out there that’s both unique and actually worth reading. If more bloggers continue to move in this direction, expect the number of quality guest posting opportunities to shrink along with their changed minds on the best way to effectively market a blog.

What Does This Change in Mindset Mean For You as a Guest Blogger?

If you contribute guest posts to other blogs as part of your marketing strategy you need to be aware of this shift in mindset among the gatekeepers of popular blogs. Why? Because as this mindset shift continues to be spread among major blogs, more owners will begin to implement this strategy for their own websites as a result. Everyone wants to feel like they are doing the “right thing” from a marketing perspective and if blog owners believe publishing mediocre content from contributors might hurt them in the future, more bloggers will continue to reconsider their guest post requirements in 2013.

What You Can Do About It.

If the trend continues, guest posting opportunities on high-quality blogs are going to become increasingly scarce in 2013. To get ahead of this shift, there are two things I believe you can begin to do proactively in response to this change:

1.)
Take advantage of guest posting on big blogs while you still can.

I was fortunate enough to get ahead of some of these changes. In late 2012 and early 2013, I was able to get a couple posts published on DailyBlogTips.com before the submission guidelines changed. I’m glad I took the time to take advantage of this opportunity while it was around as doing so resulted in a significant amount of referral traffic to my own blog.

My Point : Don’t wait for a larger percentage of major blogs stop publishing guest posts. The longer you wait to start contributing to these blogs the more time you’ll be allowing for these blogs to update their submission guidelines.  Take advantage of these high-quality blogs while you still can.

2.)
Elevate Your Content

The era of submitting a 400 word posts with rehashed content is nearing the end. Acknowledge this fact and change your strategy. The time to write really strong, unique content in your unique voice is upon us. Try writing ultimate guides like thisor an ultimate list like thisas an alternative to a minimally acceptable guest post.

If you plan on using guest posting to promote your blog in 2013, the core strategy still works. You just need to be aware of some of the mindset changes that are occurring among major blog owners to improve your odds of getting published.

Your Thoughts

What do you think – will guest blogging still be a good way for bloggers to expand their presence in the coming years or will they have to look for other ways to promote their blogs and content?

About the author: Brett Lindenbergis the owner of 500aMonth.comwhere he provides large-scale guest blogging services for his clients.

Share on Google Plus

About Unknown