I get lots of emails from people offering to do guest posts, so I thought I would say something about that to everyone.
Most of the emails I get are obviously spam. The basic idea is that someone writes an article for me of dubious quality in exchange for some links to irrelevant commercial sites or badges for my sidebar, that have nothing to do with gardening. I suspect what’s going on is there are people willing to pay enough to get these links onto my site, that others are trying to make a living writing guest posts to go along with these links.
Increasingly these guest post offers are looking less like spam. They sometimes refer to websites that I know are associated with guest post spammers, but are making better offers for higher quality posts, often citing some of their other work. Even though I suspect they intend to include some irrelevant commercial links into their guest post, at least they aren’t coming right out and saying it. These people sometimes say things to suggest they have done some research, and either read my blog or found a good online summary of it somewhere.
I’m even starting to get some compelling stories that come with guest post requests. The latest from someone who says they are a graduate student and wants to publish an article related to their studies here, because they feel the theme of my blog goes well with what they do, and they hope a post will make them better known. In emails like this, it can be very difficult to find any sign of spam or intentions of spam.
I think all readers of this blog must know by now that I would like to help people in general, and in particular like to use my blog to help others. I have also published some guest posts in the past.
I’m afraid I just can’t accept guests posts, with the possible exception being from other established bloggers that have some existing relationship with this blog.
I toyed with the idea of accepting some posts, but not from spammers and not with commercial links. The problem is I don’t really have any way of knowing for sure who is a spammer or not, or what links are commercial. Even answering these requests, involves possibly sending an email to a spammer, and can result in further unwanted emails. Also, mostly, this blog is a personal expression of who I am and and what I want to write about. Negotiating guest posts takes time, and doesn’t always add a lot to my content.
If you’re looking for a place to make a guest post, I suggest starting your own blog or finding a place on the Internet that accepts ad hoc posts. If it’s relevant to this blog, send me an email and ask me to link to it. I honor most requests like that. Then what you write is your own to do with whatever you want, no one has a say in the content, and it’s not a part of mine or anyone else’s blog.
Are there any other bloggers out there with guest post experiences?
