Writing a “Guest” Blog Entry

There are numerous ways to gain publicity for your book on the Internet.  One is to go on a “blog tour” during which you are interviewed by various bloggers concurrent with the release of your book.  Naturally, this takes planning.  You have to contact bloggers to get them on board; they have to send you questions; you have to answer the questions and send your reply back for inclusion in the other person’s blog. 

Another, somewhat similar, way is to offer to makes a “guest appearance” on someone else’s blog by writing a blog entry for them.  Not surprisingly, there is a right way and a wrong way to approach a blogger with a request to pen a quest submission. 

Joan Stewart is a professional publicist who also writes a widely-read, FREE, weekly newsletter of publicity tips called The Publicity Hound (sign up by using the link on the right).  She’s run into the lazy types who want free publicity but expect her to do half the work.  Here’s an excerpt from her latest newsletter in which she explained the right way to do it. 

Somebody emails me, offers to write a guest blog post and then asks, “What would you like me to write about?”

I barely have time to figure out what topics I can write about. The last thing I need is a guest blogger who I have to baby-sit.

Pitch a blogger the same way you’d pitch a journalist. Let them know, without coming right out and saying it, that you’ve read their blog. You know the kinds of topics their audience loves, and you have an idea that’s a perfect fit. Also, explain your area of expertise and why you’re the best person to write about it.

Better yet, pitch two or three ideas. Include a link to your blog, but do not tell the blogger to “visit my blog, take a look around and let me know what you think.”

If you want exposure to my audience, make my job so easy that publishing your post on my blog is a no-brainer.

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