Guest posts. We’ve all seen them. They may bother you, they may not. Too often, they are a plague on otherwise great blogs.
What’s wrong with them? Simple: They aren’t written by the blogger I subscribed to. When I’ve subscribed, I like the content and the style of the founder, and more often than not with guest posts, both change.
Guest posts disrupt the experience. When I see that a blogger has chosen to add guest posts, or even another writer, I don’t pay attention to that author. I begin checking who the authors are on the blog consistently, and begin reading only if the original author has written the article.
I don’t think I’m alone. I’m willing to wager that guest posts get less comments, less clickthroughs, less time-on-site than the founder’s own posts. They also dilute the author’s brand, a fact that’s not nearly as measurable but just as important.
So what do we do about them? They obviously serve a purpose: driving traffic, links, and attention towards the guest author. They also add content on days the founder may not want to write. But when there are too many of them, I start to barely pay attention. How can we keep the good (links, attention, and traffic, etc.) while preventing the gradual loss of interest?
Finally, do you feel the same? Am I overstating my case? Let me know what you think.
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