sambil belajar bahasa inggris biar ada tambhan manfaat!
As bloggers, wanna-be writers and hopeful freelancers, we hear, probably on a daily basis, just how important guest blogging is. We know we should be guest blogging which means we know we should be actively seeking out new blogs and new sites as potential homes for our precious content. And usually, considering we’re “writers,” we think we’re fairly good at putting words on a page and drafting an informative, helpful, hopefully even mildly entertaining piece of work. After all, we can write all day long, but if it doesn’t offer benefit to a site or to a blog, there is no site manager (no matter how burnt out or desperate for content), who is going to put that on his beloved page. And we can’t blame him. Those of us with our own blogs know how thin the line is regarding how willing we are at approving content and promoting it on our site. That said, there’s no lack or articles telling us to get out there and guest blog more, nor are there any shortage of articles on “how-to-write-a-decent-blog.” Good grammar, good structure, good flow, we all know it like the back of our hand. But, sometimes the trickiest part of all of this is not developing the inspiration and enthusiasm to become an avid guest blogger, nor the capacity to write a good, well-written piece of content that we think any blogger would be happy to have on his site. Sometimes, the trickiest part is simply being professional about what kind of a guest blogger you are. How often have you thought you were set to have something posted, a link in tow, and a gold star on your report, only to find your article either not posted or the link cut out? If that sounds familiar, perhaps its time for some good ol’ fashioned Blogging Etiquette. Over my career span as a freelance writer attempting to submit guest posts on an almost full-time basis, here’s some of what I have learned.
Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice
While there are the blogs that are more impersonal and give you the freedom to simply input your contact info, content and picture all into one handy-dandy form without ever making real, personal contact, this is most often not the case. To score the blog that requires contact, obviously you must be nice, kind, polite, etc., but you must also have some kick and spunk mixed in. If you can only imagine the number of “I wanna be your guest blogger” emails and comments that the average high-quality blogger gets, you can imagine just how much they don’t want to read another dull, dry, “pretty-please” email from you. Show a strong voice. Show off your personality. Show that you know the site inside and out, that you have something valuable, catchy, quirky, whatever it may be, and that when it comes down to it, show some spark. Sugar only goes so far. Spice can seal the deal.Make the Host Blogger’s Job as Easy as You Possibly Can
The blogger you’re contacting is already doing you a huge favor by agreeing to publish your work, possibly even a bigger favor by allowing you to post a link along with that content. It’s your job to make everything else as easy as you can. Pitch ideas along with your first request. It saves the blogger the time of responding once to say, “Yes, I’ll look at your pitches” and then a second time to say, “No that doesn’t work, what else do you have?” and so on and so on. If you include the pitches the first time around, you’ll already garner some of his appreciation for your effort to save him time. One glance and he probably knows right then and there if it’s a go or a no.If you do get the go ahead, then do your research and see if there are any guidelines to follow: word count, formatting, “doc” or “doc.x,” attachment or copied into body of email, WordPress or Notepad, etc. Picture included? Are there preferred picture sources the blogger likes? How does he give credit to images? If you can’t find anything, then ASK. The more time you save your blogger, the better from every angle. He’ll get what you want, you’ll get what you want, and the amount of time and frustration will be drastically reduced.
Be Yourself, But Try to Fit In Too
Sure, you have a voice and one of the reasons bloggers allow for guest blogging is because we all appreciate a new voice every once in awhile. But, that doesn’t give you complete freedom to use your voice in the way that you would if the blog were your own. Include it, but limit it. (Unless of course, you’re writing for the sort of blog where it’s very clear that all’s fair in love and war.) It’s easy to pick up on tone and voice, and unless you want to run it by your blogger first, generally stick to a tone somewhere along where the blog is already headed. You’ll spare yourself some embarrassment if nothing else and will be much more likely to get the post published.Don’t Be a Stranger
Don’t be the guest blogger who gets the link and then vanishes. Keep in touch with the blogger, make sure to follow up on any comments that your post receives and continue your own commenting as you have been. There’s nothing worse to a blogger than getting an e-mail out of the blue for a guest post request, posting your guest blog and then+ never hearing from you again. Unless you like making people feel used, don’t do it. It’s the Golden Rule of blogging. Don’t mess with it!While I could probably go on forever about things I’ve learned, these are the main ideas I take with me into any blogging relationship I try to create. See if it works for you. And remember, if they do agree to post you, you better make sure to have some stellar, stellar content to offer. Who knows, they might just ask you back in the future.
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar