Why People Aren’t Reading Your Guest Post Series

10
February

Since quite a few of my friends have recently hosted rather elaborate series of guest posts on their blog I thought it would be fun to look at some of the reasons why people gravitate to them or avoid them like Tara Reid’s plastic surgeon:

They read your blog because they like YOUR thoughts and YOUR writing

If people wanted to read about what all those other people thought they would subscribe to them. They don’t. They subscribe to your blog. They’ve grown accustomed to your disposition and they like what you have to say. This is especially true if you’re really smart and have really good insights.

Let’s be honest. It’s a bit overwhelming.

An occasional guest post is refreshing and probably a welcome reprieve in which you don’t have to think up anything clever, but a week, two weeks, a month? That’s just lazy. If people are used to seeing 2 posts a week in from you in their reader and then they start getting 5, chances are they’re skipping the extra three.

Why People Are Reading Your Guest Post Series

They get introduced to new writers.

Let’s face it, it’s impossible to keep up with all the talented bloggers out there. Chances are the people that read your blog trust you so if you’ve identified someone talented then by all means share them with your readers.

While they enjoy your writing they appreciate a different perspective all in one place.

Sometimes new perspective, especially if it’s a good fit for what you normally write about (or sometimes if it is the complete opposite – confusing huh!?), provides a nice change of pace. Sometimes your audience might be growing tired of the same ‘ol opinion and genuinely appreciate you mixing it up. Think of it like a married couple trying to spice up their sex life.

One of the twenty people who contributed to the series tweeted about it five times.

There’s nothing wrong with this. You write because you think what you have to say is important and so do they. A series of guest post means that instead of one person self-promoting you have multiple people spreading the word. This means more traffic and potentially new readers. I can get behind that.

Do you enjoy guest post series? What are some other things that draw you into guest post series? What makes you stray away?

———————-

Tweet This: Why People Aren’t Reading Your Guest Post Series –> http://bit.ly/bW0oCX

If you enjoyed this post please consider subscribing to receive future updates or connecting with me via Twitter or LinkedIn

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Ryan Stephens

26 Comments

Category: Uncategorized

http://diamondkt.blogspot.com David

You’re totally going to make my pal Elisa cry with this. And if you do, I’ll hurt you!

Ok, I won’t hurt you. We will just hug it out, bromance-style.
.-= David´s last blog ..Super Sexist Bowl? STFU =-.

[Reply]
Ryan Stephens Reply:
February 10th, 2010 at 10:49 pm
You know me David. Just trying to stir up a little controversy with that headline. I found more reasons to host a series than not.

[Reply]
http://www.ryanjknapp.com Ryan

Guest post series are a good way to get people to your blog, but I wouldn’t cal them a way to relax or get a reprieve.

It takes time to email everyone, get their posts, stay on top of them, format them, etc. It all takes time and effort. Sure, you aren’t writing yourself during that time (or writing less) but it’s still work promoting it and getting people there.
.-= Ryan´s last blog ..Where Would American Soccer Be Without : Lionel Bienvenue EPL Review Show =-.

[Reply]
Ryan Stephens Reply:
February 10th, 2010 at 10:50 pm
That’s a valid point Ryan, and depending on the people guest posting and the nature of the series itself I suspect it could be even more work to host a series.

I have seen people use a week or two worth of guest posts that they put together prior to going on vacation as a way to continue to have content while they’re out of pocket and I think this is a good solution to that type of situation.

[Reply]
http://www.opheliaswebb.com Elisa

Well I suppose since you listed me as a friend I can’t be too feisty about the fact that mine is the only one currently running. I’ve been acknowledged in more than a Twitter list!

Some people like it, some people probably loathe it. Kinda like life in general. Trying to please everyone would be awful exhausting. And let’s face it…it’s exhausting enough being awesome ALL THE TIME. I just can’t fit in anything more!

[Reply]
Ryan Stephens Reply:
February 10th, 2010 at 11:16 pm
@Elisa – The problem with your series is it’s about love.

I think you’re 100% correct in that we can’t possibly please everyone. Not only would it be exhausting, but I suspect it would seriously dilute the product you were putting out.

I’ve been thinking about these ‘series’ a bit over the last few days and when I set down to write this post I wasn’t sure where it was going to go. I think that one point or another I’ve felt all the emotions associated with the reasons in the post, but I think it’s a good sign there were more positive than negative.

[Reply]
Elisa Reply:
February 10th, 2010 at 11:34 pm
Ryan, you know you love love. You are a big softie who curls up with the backlog of these posts, a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and a box of tissues exploring the deep chasms of your heart and soul.

And yes, I obviously agree with your assessment that the pros outweigh the cons.

[Reply]
http://lifeaftercollege.org/blog/ Jenny Blake

I like guest post series in general, but to me their success REALLY depends on the topic. The topic has to be meaty and interesting enough to support 10, 15, 20 posts, which is where I think some series’ go wrong. And I do tend to feel bad for the bloggers who post toward the end of the series. It’s a tough spot to be in – almost like they have to kick twice as much ass just to get half the readership and comments, given that people’s attention can fade if the topic has been beaten into the ground.

That said? I AM LOVING ELISA’s series!! Each person has brought such a different perspective so far. But also because I’m a girl (who knew, right?), and I like girly things like love posts, slumber parties, chick flicks, and cupcakes.
.-= Jenny Blake´s last blog ..Help a Reader Out: How Do You Make Decisions? =-.

[Reply]
Ryan Stephens Reply:
February 10th, 2010 at 11:21 pm
Great points Jenny re: importance of topic & sympathy for the bloggers who go near the end of the series. I think you’re right about the fact that Elisa’s guest posters (perhaps under her guidance) have done a really great job at exploring a lot of different angles. You’re absolutely right though that at some point it’s easy for the posts to start feeling a bit redundant, and there’s not necessarily a magic number for when that starts happening. It’s different for every topic.

I remember feeling pretty overwhelmed trying to come up with something for Matt’s ‘change’ series. I ended up reading all of the posts before me and extrapolating things that I thought were the best and using them in my own post where I took a business perspective — something different. It was a lot harder than a normal blog post, but I guess that’s the nature of the beast.

[Reply]
Jackie Adkins Reply:
February 11th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Depending on which side of the fence you’re on, guest post series are either a really lazy way to fill up content or a really smart way to do it when you’re busy. Guest posts in general, in my mind, should be considered sacred almost. Your readers trust you and what you decide to put on your blog for them to read, therefore guest bloggers should be chosen very carefully. It’s as if you’re saying, “Hey, readers, I heart you guys so much that I wanted to introduce you to my buddy Phil who has some really great stuff to say. Enjoy.”

So basically, don’t let just ANYONE guest post. I know that wasn’t really a comment on a guest series, but, oh well
.-= Jackie Adkins´s last blog ..How to Fully Embrace Your Social Media Efforts =-.

[Reply]
Ryan Stephens Reply:
February 11th, 2010 at 8:56 am
I think for the most part we’re on the same page Jackie. Just because it’s a guest series doesn’t mean you have to accept all comers. You don’t HAVE to accommodate everyone. It’s RARE I accept guest posts and when I do I thoroughly discuss (who does that sound like?) the content of their post as well as the implications and follow up.

I think there’s truth to all the reasons I mentioned and we do trust you, which is why we’re at your blog so don’t betray that trust by letting just anyone post just anything on your property.

[Reply]
http://akhilak.com/blog Akhila

I actually found that the guest post series was a great way to get people to talk about social change. A lot of bloggers who wrote for my series didn’t focus on this issue in their own blogs, but they were able to contribute to it anyway! That’s what inspired me the most – seeing people coming together to talk about social change, regardless of their day job. It demonstrated that our generation does care about social issues, and that’s something I always hope to highlight and emphasize through my blog. In fact, it’s one of the main purposes of my blog – to encourage our generation to take action and speak out about meaningful social issues.

That being said, I agree that as my series continued (it was really long as I wanted to accommodate everyone!) I do feel bad for those who posted towards the end. There was definitely a lot more interest in the beginning. Overall, though, I think it was a great series and decision on my part
.-= Akhila´s last blog ..You don’t just define your community – your community defines you =-.

[Reply]
Ryan Stephens Reply:
February 11th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Something I didn’t explore in the post, but something that would make sense to continue discussing in the comments is “How do you feel about participating in guest posting series?”

I think a lot of people welcome the opportunity to have a prompt (thinking up posts is hard works sometimes), and the opportunity to write about something a little different than their normal niche.

A couple of other questions:
> How long is TOO long? How many posts?
> What are some ways we can keep the posts at the end as fresh as the ones near the beginning?

[Reply]
Akhila Reply:
February 11th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
I think 10 posts are enough for a guest post series. More than that gets to be extremely long, and the later posts simply don’t get enough attention, unfortunately.

It would be interesting to split the same “broader” topic into 2 or 3 smaller topics. That way, you have several mini-groupings of posts, and the later posts continue to be fresh and interesting. It’s definitely not an easy question, though.
.-= Akhila´s last blog ..You don’t just define your community – your community defines you =-.

[Reply]
http://www.lifewithoutpants.com Matt Cheuvront

Good points here Ryan. Here’s my reasoning behind “The Inconvenience of Change”.

1) I was packing shit up, quitting my job, moving to a new city at the time, so the actual time I could invest in my blog was less.

2) I wanted to write about “change” – but it had been done a million times over, so I wanted to present it in a unique way.

3) I had several behind the scenes conversations with people about the topic – their stories were varied and unique – if I thought we’d get 50 of the same posts, I wouldn’t have done it.

4) It brought a ton of amazing (new) people to my neck of the woods, that’s never a bad thing.

With all of that being said – I took it a step further and converted it into an ebook, something tangible for my readers to take with them – I think that presents real (free) community value.

Will I do it again anytime soon. No. But I thoroughly enjoyed it every step of the way back in May. Good post weighing both the pros and cons here.

[Reply]
Ryan Stephens Reply:
February 11th, 2010 at 8:52 am
I think your preparation to have discussions and feel people out prior to the series was partially responsible for the success of it. Doing the work upfront to ensure that there’s going to be a variety of perspectives is probably something a lot of bloggers neglect in their guest post series.

Ryan Knapp talked about the time involved could be just as much as blogging yourself. Did you find this to be true despite the fact that you’ve indicated you had less time and that’s one of the reasons you did the series? Or is it just different in that much of the time is more upfront as opposed to during the series itself?

Thanks for the comment Matt!

[Reply]
http://www.emilyjasper.com/ Emily Jasper

To agree with comments above, meaty topics are great. And like most things (interviews, auditions), placement and timing are key for the contributors. I know I was early in a series that had been leaving posts up for 2-3 days, then mine was up for only 8 hours with no notice. The series got a sudden rush of posts (good), but the people who had already contributed got shafted for the after deadline writers (bad).

I don’t know if I’ll host a series any time soon, but I do love having guest bloggers. I find that in relationships where there’s mutual respect, the guesting approach can be very beneficial. I do love to see new bloggers who I might not have normally run across. And I like having the option to write about something outside my normal blog parameters. But it’s like a business relationship, not a friendship where it won’t “hurt” the other blogger if you screw up/dump the post/ignore the promotion/or whatever. I don’t feel you have leeway to be so flexible that you hurt the relationship because you don’t deliver (from either side).
.-= Emily Jasper´s last blog ..If You Want My Money, Treat Me Like a Customer =-.

[Reply]
Ryan Stephens Reply:
February 11th, 2010 at 9:49 am
@Emily – I definitely think looking out for the best interest of the people contributing to your guest series is crucial for the success of not only that series, but their collaboration with you in the future. For example: I call prime real estate Tuesday through Thursday morning.

Monday’s are usually too saturated to break through the cluster and people check out Friday. If I was guest posting I’d definitely want my post to go live Tues, Wed or Thurs morning.

In the second half of your response you do a great job highlighting many of the reasons I think guest posts (and series too I guess) can definitely be successful and a good experience for both parties.

Cheers!

[Reply]
http://tdhurst.com Tyler Hurst

Never understood guest posts unless one of the authors is REALLY popular. Isn’t it a better idea to link to others in your posts?
.-= Tyler Hurst´s last blog ..Creativity: process AND habit =-.

[Reply]
Ryan Stephens Reply:
February 11th, 2010 at 9:52 am
In terms of writing on? Or hosting one Tyler? Or both?

I definitely think the ideal situation for a guest poster is to be able to contribute to a high traffic blog in the hopes that some of those readers will wander over to your domain and subscribe.

But I also think there’s an opportunity to just change the pace a bit by offering your audience someone new sometimes. A different perspective, or someone with an knowledge of something you audience might be interested in that you don’t have the expertise to execute effectively. (Damn, how’s that for alliteration?)

[Reply]
Nisha

Count me in the “aboid them like Tara Reid’s plastic surgeon” camp. No offense to the many people that have done them, but I just don’t see a lot of originality in them.

[Reply]
Ryan Stephens Reply:
February 11th, 2010 at 9:46 am
Nisha – Aside from the lack of originality are their other things that turn you off about guest series?

What are some things that would entice you to follow a guest series? What topics could hold your interest for that long? What writers could draw you in?

[Reply]
http://www.theskooloflife.com Srinivas Rao

Hey Ryan,

I have some interesting takes on this. As part of what was interviews with up and coming bloggers I would run guest post weekly. That guest post always did really well and so did the interview. Hence the reason we launched BlogcastFM. People seemed to like discovering other people. But, you’re right without any balance between my writing and guest post it lost its effect. That is why for written content at BlogcastFM we’re doing things like giving away the free blogger gems ebook instead having written posts. Anyways, not to be self promotional, but I just wanted to use that as my example. I think once a week was actually a perfect amount and a perfect way to introduce new writers. It all comes down to balance.

[Reply]
http://www.smallhandsbigideas.com Grace Boyle

Good post, Ryan! I actually have a post coming out next week about this since I’ve been into guest posting (for others and hosting on my blog). Actually, when you had Rich guest post for you it spurred my thought of why people guest post. There are many different philosophies (as there should be) and I think each blog is uniquely different.

I like how you’ve weighed the pros and cons. I’m referencing you in the post
.-= Grace Boyle´s last blog ..Guest Post: Puppy Love – Saying Goodbye To Home =-.

[Reply]
http://www.bcromlish.blogspot.com Bryan Cromlish

I think a guest post series CAN work, it just depends on what type of blog it is in the first place.

It may come off as lazy if you have been blogging consistently for 3 years and are only now doing a guest post every week.

It just depends.

In general, I think a guest post is to give the blogger a break and also give exposure to the other blogger. Often you cannot expect as much conversation with those posts. Those readers dont know the new blogger posting– they may spend more of the time taking a look at their site than commenting on the blog.

[Reply]
http://www.lifeschocolates.com Sam Karol

My apologies for being wayyyy behind on commenting here. That said, thanks for including me in your list of friends who have hosted guest post series! I think you make some great points, and there are definitely pros and cons to these series.

My reasoning behind the Appreciation Revolution was that I had been writing about appreciation a lot myself, but I wanted to show that there are so many different ways to appreciate the things and people in your life. Everyone brought a unique perspective on the topic, and it was great! I think the success of a series depends largely on the topic and the quality of the posts. It can work, but it doesn’t always. Great insight!

[Reply]

Ryan Stephens Marketing