• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Social Media Examiner

Your Guide to the Marketing Jungle

  • 🔥 Free Newsletter
  • 🎙️ Podcasts
    • Social Media Marketing Podcast
    • Social Media Marketing Talk Show
    • Marketing Agency Show
    • Our YouTube Channel
  • 🗓️ Social Media Marketing World
  • đź’ˇ Society
  • 🎯 Partner With Us
    • Podcast Sponsorship
    • Email Sponsorship
      • Email Newsletter
      • Dedicated Email Blast
    • Event Sponsorship
      • Social Media Marketing World
  • đź‘‹ About Us
    • Marketing Events
  • Search
  • Social Media Marketing WorldImprove your strategy, find your next big marketing idea...DISCOVER WHAT YOU'VE BEEN MISSING

    Busting the Top 3 Guest Blogging Myths

    by Ann Smarty / October 25, 2010

    social media viewpointsWhat's smarter? Putting all your eggs into your own blog basket or placing a few real fine blog posts on another person's blog?  If you've pondered these thoughts, keep reading…

    Guest blogging has been around for a long time, but it's an especially hot topic now. With the concept becoming even hotter daily, it's quite natural that myths emerge.

    This post looks at three myths around guest blogging that have been actively discussed recently.

    Myth #1: Guest Blogging Is a Waste of Time

    “Why would I spend so much time arranging, discussing and writing a post to get just one or two links from the very bottom of my article?”

    Those who think guest posting is done for link-building—and measure the guest posting campaign by the number of links—completely don't get it. There's so much more to it, which you'll miss if you focus on links. In fact, I've been discouraging guest bloggers from thinking about links overall: just stop building links while guest blogging. Period. Focus on other benefits of guest blogging.

    The most important benefit of guest blogging is building influence. It's a long-term asset which is almost impossible to measure, but is absolutely priceless.

    One thing you need to remember is that when you've built influence, you don't need to care about links at all. Once an influencer creates anything, it will acquire links by itself. When you become an influencer, your followers and followers of your followers will link to and share your content eagerly without you ever asking them.

    Guest blogging is by far the most effective way to build influence. Look at any influential blogger out there—most of them started by guest blogging. Moreover, they now admit that they've achieved online success due to guest blogging.

    leo babauta guest post
    Leo Babauta, creater and founder of Zen Habits, built his influence via guest posting. Here's his guest post at Problogger.net that dates back to 2007.

    However, if you start trying to build links (and thus get the instant benefit), you fail to build influence (long-term benefit of guest blogging). In this perspective I very much like the logic of Robert B. Cialdini, author of Influence: The Science of Persuasion: If you want to build influence, give a lot. This example from the book describes how giving increases your influence in the workplace:

    Because people give back what they've received, it means that you can increase the level of whatever you want from your coworkers and employees by giving it first. If you want more information, you provide it to them. If you want to create a feeling of trust, you offer it first. If you want to foster a cooperative attitude, you show it first. By acting first, you get to set the tone for the type of workplace relationships you want.

    Guest blogging is by far the most powerful way to give. You give high-quality content, share your expertise and people start following you in return.

    myth bustedMyth #1 busted! Guest blogging is only effective when you focus on long-term benefits (i.e., influence-building, networking, branding, etc.) and not on instant results (traffic or links).

    And just for a change, here's a fun little citation about guest blogging from Aussie Mummy's interview:

    I love guest posting, it’s like going on a little bloggy holiday.

    The Conference You've Been Waiting For

    As a small business marketer, you can probably only pick one or two events to attend each year. Get an unbeatable conference experience and expert training at Social Media Marketing World in sunny San Diego, California—from your friends at Social Media Examiner.

    🔥 As a valued reader, you can save $800 if you act now! Sale Ends Tuesday! 🔥

    CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

    Myth #2: Guest Blogging Is Frowned Upon by Google

    Yes, it's about linking… again.

    Attention Agency Owners, Brand Marketers, and Consultants

    Marketing Agency Show

    Introducing the Marketing Agency Show–our newest podcast designed to explore the struggles of agency marketers.

    Join show host and agency owner, Brooke Sellas, as she interviews agency marketers and digs deep into their biggest challenges. Explore topics like navigating rough economic times, leveraging AI, service diversification, client acquisition, and much more.

    Just pull up your favorite podcast app, search for Marketing Agency Show and start listening. Or click the button below for more information.

    CLICK HERE FOR THE DETAILS

    Guest blogging myth #2 popped up once Google webmaster trends analyst John Mueller said in answer to a reader's question that he would rather work on his own site than contribute to another:

    Q 11. I have launched a new blog and it obviously won't rank in Google because none of the reputable blogs are currently linking to it. Therefore, I am actively writing guest posts on other blogs as that gives me a chance to get a link from them. Is Google fine with guest blogging and do links ‘earned' from writing guest blogs matter?

    John Mueller: Making and promoting a new site takes time and effort. In general I would recommend putting that work into your own site, instead of creating content for other people's sites.

    It's much better to create great content for your blog and to let other sites refer visitors to your site on their own. Good luck!

    The fact that John hasn't directly said that guest blogging is good resulted in hundreds of posts elaborating further on that:

    guest post byline

    A guest post usually contains the author's byline with a link back to his or her site. Google is rumored to devalue these links because they “were not built naturally.”

    Now, let's make it clear:

    • Nowhere on the web will you find a direct statement that Google thinks guest blogging is bad.
    • Guest blogging can't be considered bad once you emphasize quality. (Therefore a link is well-deserved because you got it by providing quality content other people appreciated, demonstrated by lots of sharing and links.)

    Here's my way to deal with all the “Fear Uncertainty Doubt” around Google: If I do a good job, Google will never be able to ruin my business (and most probably will never attempt to).

    myth bustedMyth #2 busted: If you write high-quality guest posts people eagerly share and link to, you will be loved by everyone (including Google).

    Myth #3: Blogs Accepting Guest Posts Lose Identity

    …Therefore guest posting is bad.

    While the previous two myths were about writing guest posts, this one is about accepting guest contributions. Some people believe and eagerly state that they would unsubscribe from blogs if they see guest posts published there (“If a blog can't provide high-quality content on its own, then it's wiser to subscribe to other peoples' blogs directly.”)

    I call this one a myth because it's just an opinion, and moreover, it largely depends on the quality of the guest posting.

    I've just taken a look at my feed reader: Social Media Examiner, Mashable, Search Engine Land, Search Engine Journal—I, along with hundreds of thousands of other people, subscribe to those blogs exactly because they feature guest contributions daily or weekly. Guest posting is what makes those blogs so powerful. It's what adds variety of perspectives and styles.

    Guest contributions make a blog's content captivating: I'm forced to check those feeds daily (unlike other feeds I have in my reader) because I'm excited to read something different: different opinions, different news, different advice.

    Of course, it all comes down to strict editorial standards, but featuring quality guest posting is doable and well worth the effort.

    guest post variety

    Now, I don't mean to say all blogs should start accepting guest posts now. There are many personal blogs reflecting the blogger's identity that have built a following exactly due to that personal touch.

    personal blogs

    That being said, there's no definitive answer to whether guest contributors may make a blog lose its identity. What's for sure is that guest blogging will really change your blog, make your audience more varied and probably change your blog's future.

    myth bustedMyth #3 busted: Guest blogging may make your blog less personal, but for most blogs, adding variety is not a bad thing.

    What are your thoughts on guest blogging? What other guest blogging myths are you aware of? Share your comments in the box below.

    3 Days of World-Class Training—Zero Travel!

    Social Media Marketing World

    Travel to Social Media Marketing World off the table? Get all of the great content at a fraction of the price with an On-Demand ticket.

    That’s full access to recordings of every keynote, workshop, and session—the ones people travel thousands of miles to see. Don't wait. Get your On-Demand ticket and enjoy actionable content that you can watch anytime, anywhere.

    GET YOUR ON-DEMAND TICKET NOW

    Tags: Blogging

    About the authorAnn Smarty

    Ann Smarty is an experienced blogger, manager at Social Media Promotion platform and author of Social Media Promotion Guide, and owner of MyBlogGuest.com—the ethical community of guest bloggers. If you are serious about guest posting, join us! Follow Ann on Twitter; @seosmarty and @myblogguest.
    Other posts by Ann Smarty »

    Get Social Media Examiner’s Future Articles in Your Inbox!

    Get our latest articles delivered to your email inbox and get the FREE Social Media Marketing Industry Report (37 pages, 50+ charts)!

    Industry Report Cover

    Worth Exploring:

    Facebook

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Instagram

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    YouTube

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Linkedin

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Web3

    Next Frontier Explore More →

    Social Media Marketing Industry Report

    Get Free Report →

    Social Marketing Trends

    The data you've been missing!

    Need a new plan? Discover how marketers plan to change their social activities in the 15th annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report. It reveals what marketers have planned for their social activities, content marketing, and more! Get this free report now and never miss another great article from us. Join more than 400,000 marketers!

    Enter your email to get
    our free report:


    Footer

    Your Guide to the Marketing Jungle
    Copyright © 2023 Social Media Examiner®
    All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy.

    Helpful Links

    • About us
    • Our content via email
    • Our podcasts
    • Our YouTube channel
    • Our live show
    • Our industry report
    • Sponsorship opportunities
    • RSS
    • Accessibility