Guests- The Good and the Bad: Post by Rena J. Traxel

Today we are joined by the lovely Rena J. Traxel. Many thanks to her for returning back to The Writer's Block and sharing with us guest post etiquette and helpful tips.

Photo by Favim

Last month for the first time ever I invited guests onto my blog for poetry month. I was a bit hesitant at first, but in the end felt hearing from variety of voices would be beneficial to me and to my readers.  Here is what I learned from having guests on my blog:

1. Make sure to check all guest posts as soon as they came in to make sure you have everything you need. Or you might end up having to write the post yourself.

2. Allow your guest to use their own voice after all you invited them to your blog because you wanted to hear their point of view.

3. Don’t be afraid to approach a potential guest and ask them to be on your blog. Couple of the people I e-mailed didn’t respond, a couple declined due to time constraints, but the majority were eager to help.

4. Make sure to thank your guest bloggers. I thanked each guest on my blog as well as sent the guest an e-mail.

5. Have a set of rules. Some rules to think about:

·  Do you want the post written in first, second, or third person?  For me I like it when writer’s user personal examples, but this might not work for your blog and that is okay.

·  Desired word count.

·  Deadline for the post. I was a bit flexible with my deadlines, but only because I knew the guests and knew they wouldn’t disappoint. But I think in the future, for my own piece of mind, that I will have specific deadlines and stick to it.

What about you? Do you like having guests on your blog? Why or why not.

Bio: Beware of the fiery haired writer who calls herself Rena J. Traxel. She spends her days brewing up a batch of fantastical stories. To learn more about her head over to her blog On The Way to Somewhere…