It's definitely something you should consider doing as a blogger.
If you have a blog, having occasional guest bloggers appear on your own blog, is often a good idea as well.
A blogging friend of mine was asked about doing some guest blogging on a brand new blog. She had never heard of the concept before, and wasn't sure what was happening.
In fact, she was even mildly concerned about the offer from the new blogger. Her fear was that the new blogger wanted to use her content unfairly.
That is very undertandable.
Not all bloggers are aware of writing posts on other people's blogs. It's simply not something that is discussed on a regular basis. If guest blogging is discussed at all, it's often as a favour from one blogger to another.
There is seldom any planning involved, and the guest blogging event is rarely well publicized.
An exception is my friend Darren Rowse of Pro Blogger and his already announced lineup of guest bloggers. Darren is going on vacation, and is taking the concept of guest blogging one step farther.
He is turning his blog into a temporary group blog, featuring multiple posters, over the course of an entire month.
I have the privilege of being one of the many guest bloggers, asked to send in some posts.
Darren calls the collection of leading bloggers his Dream Team.
As with most of Darren Rowse's ideas, it's well thought out, and includes high levels of planning and preparation.
As such, his guest blogging event will be a success.
On the other hand, my friend received very little information about her offer to do some guest blogging. As a result, she was uncertain about what was taking place with her posts and her blog.
Whenever you request guest bloggers, make sure that you tell the bloggers what to expect.
Provide details of times and dates for posts. Let the guests know when and where their posts will appear. Be sure to include links back to the guest's home blog.
Turn guest blogging into a win-win situation, where everyone benefits, including the host blogger, the guest bloggers, and especially the readers of the great new posts.
Happy guest blogging!
