This is a guest post by Henri from WakeUpCloud.com. See how you can guest post on Teenius by clicking here.
If you haven’t heard the latest news, then you aren’t aware of how powerful guest posting can be for your blog. If someone held a gun to my head and made me choose one marketing strategy for my blog, I would go with guest posting.
I know, I know, social media is right up there, but somehow I feel more love towards guest posting. It is its own kind of social media, because when you guest post, you get to know the author of the blog, so it’s old school getting-to-know-someone stuff.
I’ve talked to many bloggers in the short time I’ve been blogging. One of the patterns I’ve noticed is the fear of guest posting. Bloggers are scrambling to do anything but guest post, because it puts their writing on the line. What if someone doesn’t like your prose? What then? Does the world end? It certainly might.
But don’t worry about me. If the world ends because you wrote a guest post that got rejected, I’m with you the whole way to hell, where we’ll at least dominate that part of reality. Sound good? Alright, let’s get started on how you can actually overcome this fear you think you have.
How to Destroy Your Fear – 3 Amazing Tips
Destroying fear is pretty easy when you realize that fear is nothing but a small child putting on a strong front. In other words: fear is that thing in your dreams that chases you, but when you turn around it turns into a kitten. How lame is that? That’s what you’re dealing with here. Let’s check out ways to kick this kitten somewhere else.
1. Pretend. One of the ways I got published on a big blog was that I didn’t even know I was writing a guest post. I originally intended the article to be for my blog, but somewhere I took a wrong turn and it ended up being an awesome post about how to get over writer’s block, so I decided to submit it to Write to Done, and lo and behold, it got accepted. Pretending is not only for children, it’s for adults too!
2. Just do it. Fear tends to go away when you confront it over and over again. Start writing guest posts for smaller blogs, because let’s face it, they aren’t as scary, are they? Work your way up from there to the big league. Set a schedule where you write a set amount of guest posts each week and get into a groove. It will help. Guaranteed, or your imaginary money back.
3. Use Magic. Today, I choose to call things such as Emotional Freedom Techniques, the Sedona Method and Neuro-Linguistic Programming magic, because they can be so effective that it almost seems like Santa Claus himself made an appearance and eliminated your fears. On a serious note though, I use Emotional Freedom Techniques and the Sedona Method on a daily basis to neutralize bad feelings, so you might want to check them out.
The Truth About Fear
Fear is a part of our lives. Everyone deals with fear. The difference between those that are successful and those that are not, is that the successful people are willing to face their fears over and over again.
Do you want your blog to get more traffic, subscribers and loyal fans? It’s not easy, but once you realize that fear is just a little kitten with some special effects making it look scary, you’ll have much more fun facing your fear and getting stuff done.
 Now write! Henri Junttila is an amazing freelance blogger, who also runs the Wake Up Cloud, a blog about self improvement for conscious people. If you want more life-changing tips, subscribe to his feed now. |
Thanks for letting me jam on your blog, Simon!
Henri Junttila´s last blog ..Making $300/Month Online with Ingela Johansson
It’s an absolute pleasure, Henri. Thanks for submitting the guest post, and I’m sorry it took so long to come live!
Henri, I like it. I really like how you put fear as a little kitten because it really is something simple and small and we let it control us until we face it and keep going on with our lives.
Guest Posting is something that is huge and I have to agree with you about it at least being right up there with social media, if not above social media. In fact, the two kind of connect with each other in some ways which benefits everyone.
Maybe I need to do an article for your blog next!
Re-Tweeting
Eric´s last blog ..Lets Help Each Other
I’m not accepting guest posts on my blog, yet, but I might in the future, so look out for that. Definitely start guest posting as soon as possible!
Why not?
Dennis Edell´s last blog ..The Time Has Come. The Deal Is Done. It’s Time To Move!!
I want my blog to be 100% Henri at the moment. When people think of the Wake Up Cloud, I want them to associate it with me.
And also… I’m selfish
Fantastic! A lot of bloggers do not submit guest posts because they are afraid of rejection. But they should just take note of your second point and just do it. Most big bloggers are happy for the break!
Tom | Build That List´s last blog ..January Blog Statistics – Month 1
And if you get rejected you can always get some feedback on why. Most of the time if you write well, you don’t get rejected because you suck, it’s because the big bloggers are too busy, so start with smaller blogs, or wherever you feel comfortable.
As someone who receives a fair amount of guest posts of varying quality, I’d like to have an input here. I mean, the vast majority of bloggers are nice people (I’ve yet to meet any jerks!), and there isn’t a doubt in my mind that most bloggers would reject an article politely without any snobbery or the sort.
There’s really nothing to be afraid of!
If there’s someone who mastered the art of guest posting, it’s Henri. You’re everywhere! Amazing. I’ve read your newly released ebook Henri. Thumbs up. I’m now a fan of yours. Keep it up!
Liane´s last blog ..Rebuilding Lives: Continuous Support is Needed for Haiti Disaster Relief Operations
Thanks! I really appreciate the compliments
Hey Henri,
I’ve finally overcome the fear of guest posting and am loving it. I’m especially enjoying writing on topic that aren’t in my niche.
Gordie´s last blog ..You’re A Bad Parent If …
That’s one of the perks. You get to kind of “blow off steam” and write about something completely unrelated if you want to. It’s refreshing for me to write on a few health blogs just to get my mind off the usual stuff
Great tips. It is surely useful for me because i am in my way to optimize the guest posting for my blog.
Dana @ Blogging Update´s last blog ..Blog Goal, Preparations, and Result Review
Awesome! Start guest posting as soon as you can. The benefits are worth it.
My only problem is my laziness. Any remedy for it.
Agent Deepak´s last blog ..MARKETING vs SELLING Your Blog
Yes. Be lazy about being lazy.
Yes Guest posting is an awesome way to promote your blog .. Easy and most possible way for all the new bloggers.
John Smithr´s last undefined ..Response cached until Sat 6 @ 13:21 GMT (Refreshes in 23.98 Hours)
Definitely. And if you really can’t do guest posting, then at least try submitting some articles to article directories.
I can definitely relate this this fear, but you’re so right that you’ve got to just do it! What’s the worst that can happen, really?? I put off guest posting for a long time and recently did my first one here. I’m definitely looking forward to guest posting elsewhere in future!
Ruth – Web Career Girl´s last blog ..Can You See the Bigger Picture? How Your Effort Will Pay Off In the Long Term
Yeah, just do it once and see how easy it is. That’ll dissolve your fear in an instant!
Henri Junttila´s last blog ..Making $300/Month Online with Ingela Johansson
I think a bigger fear then rejection is not wanting to “give up the good stuff” to other blogs…what advice do you have for them?
Dennis Edell´s last blog ..Welcome Aboard Part 2! All The Info You’ve Been Waiting For…
Well even if you write awesome posts on your blog, what good does it do if no one is reading it, or if just 20 people are reading it?
It will have a much better chance of going viral on a big blog, which will give you exposure, traffic and subscribers!
My biggest block or fear to guest post will be the grammar, since English it not my first language and sometimes I don’t even know whether my article has any grammatical error. But of course I’ve written some guest posts in the past, I’ve yet to submit my guest post to big blogger as I don’t think it’s the right time, so I’ve submitted to some small blogger.
I got to agree with you Henri, fear is a part of our lives, we have to face it no matter how, when we can face it and resolve it, that means we’ve grown up.
Nice guest post Henri.
Regards,
Lee
Hi Lee!
One thing you could try is to submit articles to Ezinearticles.com, which is the biggest article directory. You will receive residual traffic from them and you will get to practice your English.
I have written thousands of articles for them and that is how I learned to write well and fast
Henri Junttila´s last blog ..How to Use Article Marketing to Increase Your Blog Subscribers
Great post, great tips. what did you mean when you said “start writing guest posts for smaller blogs and then work your way up from there to the big league”, How can you tell if the blog is big or small?
You can use an SEO plugin for Firefox that tells you their alexa rank, which is a good indication of their traffic levels (not always, but it’s okay).
You can also see if they have a lot of comments and so on.
Henri Junttila´s last blog ..You and I, We Will Lead the Way
Hey Henri.
Check out this experiment I conducted with Alexa and two of my sites here: http://samswebguide.com/2010/03/02/alexa-traffic-rankings-inaccurate-room-for-improvement/
The results have made me think differently about alexa and traffic rankings. Are there any other public tools that you’re aware of?
Robyn from Sam’s Web Guide´s last blog ..Microsoft’s New Courier Tablet Video Demo
Retweeted! Guest posting is necessary if you run your own blog , its part of being active in this business .
I love this post. Even retweeted it! I have not made a guest post yet, but I plan to make many in the future (Just need to finish my blog redesign so people don’t immediately exit
.
On a side note, it’s somewhat ironic that a guest post is written about getting over the fear of guest posting! But great post nonetheless.
Patrick Toerner´s last blog ..Amazing Way to Get 100% Unique Articles for Free!
Patrick – Guest posts about guest posting are very popular…try one after you start guest posting; give your personal experiences with it.
Dennis Edell´s last blog ..UPDATED – $100 – 10 Winners – Comment Contest! ‘Till Months End…
Excellent post Henri.
I think I use the “Just do it” method more often than any other. As soon as I discover a task that is necessary and helps me in a major way to succeed, I just do it, as long as its honest and completely ignore the annoying fears.
I always say to myself, “Rejection is the worst that could happen; after all, that’s not that bad.” I try to aim for larger blogs for guest posting because I believe that the best way for someone to grow is if they tackle something bigger.
Robyn from Sam’s Web Guide´s last blog ..Will SEO Be Necessary in the Next 5 Years?
Sounds like you’re already rocking it, Robyn! Keep going!
Great post, this is one of my weaknesses. I still haven’t done any guest posts, but I know I need to. Thanks for sharing your insight, it really has helped inspire/motivate me to, just do it.
That’s a nice article.
NavaPavan´s last blog ..Password Protect Your Files With Protect Me
I firmly believe in guest posting as it gives you an already created reader base , plus a backlink to your own pretty blog . Having a guest post is better than link exchange in my opinion , with new google ranking strategies .
Sourish | Start A Blog´s last blog ..Importance of Social Media
I couldn’t agree more, Sourish. Guest posting is a very powerful way to build links to your blog, just remember to do some keyword research and optimize your posts!