Hy everyone! My blog is almost three years old now. So I’m still a toddler. 
But I’ve coached hundreds of bloggers at a variety of levels. My little sister started an amazing blog called Messiful Mama. You should all check it out! It’s for moms who, like me, don’t always have it all together. LOL She was recently asked to do her first guest blog post. It’s a big deal so she asked me for advice. Guest posts are an opportunity for you to BUILD A BRIDGE from another person’s blog to yours. Here are my top 4 must-dos.
1. Be authentic to your voice.
The tendency here is to want to “tone it down” for other people’s readers. But chances are the other blogger read your stuff, liked your style and voice and thought their readers would like it too. Don’t tone it down or shy away from who you are. That is your uniqueness. If they see something different in you that other bloggers they currently follow (edgy, messy, spunky) they are more likely to follow you on your blog. If they don’t like you then oh well.
2. Don’t shift your focus.
Going along with the previous tip, make sure the topic suits you as well. If the blogger who has asked you to be a guest gives you a topic that you wouldn’t normally write about or is against your views or values, politely decline. A good gauge is this…imagine that one of your longtime readers read your post on this other blog. Would they say “Yup, that’s her!” or “Who is this person?”. Remain true to you, your focus and to your current readers.
3. Leave breadcrumbs.
Remember to include (or have them include) a short bio and headshot at the end of the post. Again, these new readers don’t know who you are, but they’er gonna learn today! This specific bio should also give them a sense for what they will find on your blog, so sort of an “about” paragraph about you and about your blog. Don’t forget your url.
4. Shout it out!
Lastly, share that you’ve been featured on another blog. It’s a pretty big deal. While your guest blog post lives on the other bloggers site, feature it on your site as well (as a blog post). It’s great content that you took time to create. So leverage it! Also, link back to your guest post on the other person’s blog. It’s actually good for search optimization purposes. And it just makes sense to toot your horn just a little bit.
And…my sister did a great job! Here is her guest blog post!
http://www.goofsngiggles.com/whysoserious3waysyoullenjoythelightersideofmotherhood/
xoxo
