10 Mistakes To Avoid As A Guest Blogger

Intro

Are you interested in guest blogging? Guest blogging is a fantastic way to:

• Expand your reach.

• Drive traffic to your website.

• Become an expert in your field.

To achieve the desired results, however, careful planning and execution are required.

Moreover, that is where most people make mistakes.

This article will cover ten common mistakes to avoid as a guest blogger.

These mistakes can range from overlooking guest post guidelines to neglecting to promote your content after publication.

When you understand these common mistakes, you can maximize the benefits of guest blogging and ensure that your content reaches the right audience.

So whether you're a seasoned guest blogger or just starting, read on to learn about the common pitfalls and how to avoid them.

10 Mistakes to Avoid As a Guest Blogger

Let’s know these mistakes one by one.

1. Not Having a Detailed Plan

Creating high-quality content that meets the blog's guidelines and resonates with its readership is challenging without a clear plan.

A well-defined plan includes:

• Identifying your target audience.
• Researching popular posts on the target blog.
• Developing topic ideas that align with the readership's interests.

You should also establish clear goals for your guest post, such as increasing your website traffic, building your brand awareness, or establishing yourself as an expert in your field.

These goals can guide your writing and ensure you create content that aligns with your overall content marketing strategy.

Remember, guest blogging aims to reach a broader audience, gain valuable backlinks, and enhance your search engine optimization efforts.

By having a well-defined plan, you can create high-quality guest posts that resonate with the target blog's readership and help you achieve your content marketing goals.

2. Not Sticking to Guest Posting Guidelines

As a guest blogger, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is not adhering to the guidelines set forth by your host website.

Guidelines are in place to ensure that your post meets the website's standards and aligns with its audience's interests.

Not following these guidelines can lead to your post being rejected or, even worse, published with changes that completely alter the intended message.

Before submitting your guest post, it's crucial to thoroughly review the website's guidelines and ensure that your post meets all of its requirements.

This includes checking for word count, formatting, style preferences, and any specific topics or themes they seek.

You might also want to look at other guest posts on the website to understand their tone and style.

3. Targeting the Wrong People

Guidelines are in place to ensure that your post meets the website's standards and aligns with its audience's interests.

Follow these guidelines to avoid your post being rejected or, even worse, published with changes that completely alter the intended message.

Before submitting your guest post, it's crucial to thoroughly review the website's guidelines and ensure that your post meets all of its requirements.

This includes checking for word count, formatting, style preferences, and any specific topics or themes they seek.

To get a sense of the tone and style of other guest posts on the website, reading other guest posts on the site would be helpful.

4. Writing Generic Pitches

Every publisher has their requirements. Keep it personalized. Tap into the requirement of the publisher and tailor your message accordingly.

You may find readily available templates of guest post pitches. However, it is not a smart thing to follow. You can take a reference from it. However, don’t follow them mindlessly.

Rather than saying hi/dear etc., address them by taking their name. Say something about their content - which blogs you liked the most? It reflects your efforts. It shows that you invested time in researching the audience.

So, ensure you know the best practices for writing a perfect guest post pitch.

5. Poor Quality Content

Guest posting is writing for other websites. Can you afford to share poor-quality content with other sites? Not really!

Your guest content must be packed with value. Take some time to research:

• The tone of their content.

• The topics they mostly covered.

• Content gaps, if any.

• Existing guest content on their website.

• Guidelines.

Once you have an idea about the above factors, write valuable content. How can you add value to the publisher’s site?

6. Not Aligning With The Style of The Contributor Site

Next on your list is the style of the blog. Every blog has its own way of representing information.

Some prefer a conversational tone, and some prefer a formal one. Some people write short paragraphs and sentences. Many blogs incorporate visual elements to represent information.

As a guest writer, you must research some facts about the contributor site.

7. Targeting Topics That Are Already Covered

This is another BIGGEST mistake that many guest bloggers make. While writing your guest post pitch, wait to select topics. WHY?

Because adding such a topic may lead you to rejections. Put yourself into the shoes of a publisher - would you like to publish repeated content? No, right? Then, why pitch for such topics?

What can you do instead? Take time to analyze content gaps and propose topics people would love to hear from the publisher.

8. Not Keeping Your Outreach Records

Honestly, not all emails will get a response front eh publisher’s side. That is why, as a guest blogger, you may send your pitches to many.

So, when communicating with many, keeping your outreach record is essential.

If you keep your outreach records, it will help you:

• Stay consistent through your messaging.

• It saves you time as you don’t have to look for where you left off last time.

Amazing right?

You can do this by keeping a spreadsheet and marking the following:

• Reached out
• Not interested
• Ready for article
• Sent article
• Published

9. Writing for a Site That Doesn’t Give You a Feature Bio

What is the aim of your guest post? When writing for other sites, you want to position yourself as a credible source of information, right?

A feature bio is like a storefront where you combine your expertise and experience.

So, there is no point in writing a guest post for a site that doesn’t give you a featured bio.

Find a publisher that gives you a dedicated feature bio.

10. Not Leveraging Personal Connections

Publishers who run a popular blog are quite busy. They'd rather work on their own stuff than go through a ton of pitches from strangers.

So if you can, try to use your personal network to make a connection. You might be able to find the blog manager through LinkedIn if you know someone who knows him or her. It never hurts to ask!

Final Takeaway

These were the top ten mistakes that you need to avoid right away.

Have you noticed any other mistakes that guest bloggers make? If yes, then share with us. We will tell you how you can avoid such mistakes.