One of the tips that has been driven into my head over the past few months is the importance of guest posting. It’s a great way to promote your blog while also building relationships with other bloggers. Guest posting is an art, though. I’ve seen some guest post attempts that are downright laughable! It isn’t because the writer stinks (though that can be a problem) – it is just a matter of not understanding how to write a successful guest post.

Guest posting is something I want to do more in the coming months, and I’m even going to start taking guest posts at After Graduation. So, this round up, which is part of the 12 Days of Blogging 2010, is a little self-indulgent! I’ve enjoyed reading these posts to prepare for the guest posting I intend to do; I hope you find some value in them too.

1. Guest Blogging: Tips, Advice, and Best Practices by Bill Hazelton at Sell It! on the Web

What I like about Bill’s post on guest posting is that it is a complete resource for those who want to get started with this technique. He gives you tips for finding guest positing opportunities, advice on staying organized so you keep track of your guest post locations, and an example of how to introduce yourself to other bloggers. From the post:

All you have to do is write an original, compelling article on a subject that fits within your guest host’s topic of interest.  Easy enough, right?  Well, there’s a bit more to it than just that and in this article, I’m going to provide some of the most important tips and “best practices” on guest posting for both the beginner as well as the advanced internet marketer.

Bill’s site, Sell It!, is a great resource for tips on starting your own e-commerce site, and don’t forget to check him out on Twitter @billhazelton.

2.Guest Posts: Are You Writing Them? Are You Accepting Them? by Virginia DeBolt at BlogHer

Virginia’s post for BlogHer (where she’s written over 400 posts!) is interesting in that it isn’t some kind of expert kind – it is a discussion. Scroll down to read the comments, because there are some interesting perspectives there not just on how you can be a guest poster, but also on how to host guest posts on your own blog. Writes Virginia,

It makes perfect sense for big sites like ProBlogger and ReadWriteWeb to want guest posts. The more good content you have, the better off you are. But what about small niche blogs that are essentially a one-person operation? Can guest posts benefit the little guys, too?

In addition to blogging with BlogHer, Virginia can also be found at First 50 Words, where she gives readers writing prompts to help them practice their writing skills, and Web Teacher, a blog about teaching/learning web development. Her Twitter ID is @vdebolt, and you can also follow the BlogHer Twitter account @blogher.

3. Successful Guest Posting Strategy in One, Two, Three by Ann Smarty at Blogussion

In a weird coincidence with this the title, there are three things I love about this post. One, it’s actually written by a guest poster (how meta is that). Two, the advice is spot-on (kind of a given for me to be talking about it here, haha). Three – Blogussion was started by two high school kids and features writing largely by a young audience – some even as young as 13. Essentially, it’s a community that I wish I would have had when I was that age – like minded, goal-orientated writers who want to share their experiences with one another so that everyone learns.

Bravo.

Anyway, Ann writes,

Guest posting is probably one of the most unappreciated forms of marketing that I can think of. If you can use the proper strategies and have your mind set towards creating a quality guest post – you will be rewarded for it.

Because really, only the passionate bloggers guest post. The benefits are plenty and lack of time is no excuse, however, it is something that many bloggers just can’t get around to doing.

Check out the Blogussion blog for the full post, and follow them on Twitter @blogussion. You can find Ann at SEO Smarty and follow her on Twitter @seosmarty. Oh, and she also runs the fabulous MyBlogGuest which is, in my opinion, hands down the best way to find guest posting opportunities quickly, whether you want to guest post elsewhere or want to find posters for your own blog.

4.Guest Posting Sucks! No Wait, It Rocks! Well Heres My Policy. by Gabriele Maidecchi at Esimple Studios Blog

I’m a fan of guest posting, but I know some bloggers who absolutely will not accept them and others who absolutely will not write them. I think there are valid argument for both of these arguments. In this post, Gabriele talks about her personal guest post policy, which I find really helpful in creating my own. Guest posting may not be for you (at least not all of the time). From the post:

To guest post or not to guest post? This dilemma is following me since a while, and I really haven’t wrapped my mind around it in a definitive way.

While some people think it’s a very awesome way to get your name out and gain more traffic and readers, some others tried it and decided it’s not as good as they say it is.

In the end, I believe it’s pretty much a matter of just trying and deciding whether it suits your needs or not.

Check out Esimple Studios for the rest of the post and follow her on Twitter @esimplestudios.

5. Be Yourself When Writing Guest Posts by Nasrul Hanis at Guest Posting Tips

Guest Posting Tips is an entire blog devoted to the topic of guest post. The post I chose to highlight here isn’t long or life-changing – but it is one that is super important to keep in mind. The whole reason you guest post is to make new connections, so make sure you’re introducing yourself as you, not just writing free posts for the other blogger. Writes Nasrul,

Some writers might think their articles will be regarded as low-class articles if they maintain their own styles of writing. NO. Being somebody else is not the solution to expose yourself. And even your article had pulled a lot of comments and feedback, you can’t be proud of it as it is not you in the article.

Check out Guest Posting Tips for more topics on this subject and find Nasrul on Twitter @bloggerdaily.

6. The Five Unwritten Rules of Guest Posting on Blogs by Danny Brown

If you only read one post about guest-blogging, read this one. Danny Brown writes,

If you’re a blogger, you may have been asked to write a guest post by another blogger.

Or, you might have offered a guest post yourself to a blogger you admire.

Either way, writing a guest post opens you up to a whole new audience and can increase your own readership into the bargain.

Blog readers that may never have heard of you otherwise now have their eyes on you.

Add to that the credence that comes with someone else thinking enough of you to have you on their blog, and a guest post is a pretty big thing.

The advice he gives in this post is just…awesome. So awesome that I’m not going to dilute it with a ton of my own comments here. Just go to Danny’s blog and read it already! Oh, and you can find him on Twitter @dannybrown.

7. 4 Ways to Increase the Chances Your Guest Post Submission Will Get Accepted by Bamboo Forest at Blogging Teacher

This is another guest post about guest posts. I’m a total geek and love that! We’ve all been in this situation, too – facing rejection. In a guest posting situation, it often sucks because you’ve already written the post, which may not fit well with another site. Bamboo Forest’s post helps decrease the chances of that happening. From the post:

Imagine a beautiful girl walks your way.  As she approaches, she begins to smile, and the first thing you notice is a big piece of purple fruit loop stuck between her teeth.

The above might be a game changer, you know?

When submitting a guest post, it’s vital you fulfill a certain criteria otherwise the publisher receiving it may lose patience and reject it even if it’s quality. This is particularly true with larger blogs that receive endless submissions.

Check out Blogging Teacher for the rest of the post, as well as more great bloggin tips from Paul Cunningham (@paulcunningham on Twitter). you can normally find Bamboo Forest blogging at Tick Tock Timer and Pun Intended or on Twitter @bambooforest.

8. Top Blogs: Do They Accept Guest Posts? by Thursday Bram Hyper Modern Writing

I have a confession to make. I’ve had a blogger-crush on Thursday since…gee, probably since I wrote for b5media. That’s a long time, yeesh. Thursday is one of those bloggers that pops up just about everywhere, with Hyper Modern Writing being her web content writing blog for freelancers. What I like about this post is that she not only writes about finding guest posting opportunities with some of the top bloggers out there, but she also covers the idea of getting paid to be a guest poster. Writes Thursday,

Here’s a secret: The grand majority of top blogs will accept a submission. There’s a secondary question that can be equally important if you’re trying to earn a living online, though: do those blogs pay for submissions?

To learn more about making money as a guest post writer, check out Hyper Modern Writing. You can also find Thursday at ThursdayBram.com, at Constructively Productive, and on Twitter @thursdayb.

9. Guest Posting on Top Blogs by Annabel Candy at Get in the Hot Spot

Like Thursday, Annabel is a blogger that I keep seeing pop up everywhere online. She’s been a guest poster on Problogger, Dumb Little Man, Zen Habits, and more, so she’s overly qualified to give advice on guest posting for top bloggers. In this post, Annabel talks about the advantages of guest posting, finding the right blog for your post, scoring the posting spot, and more. From the post:

I bet if I said I could get you a free advertising deal which put your brand or blog in front of your target audience you’d be more interested.

Well, with blogging giving away your best writing and getting free advertising are the same thing ~ it’s called guest posting. You just need to change your mentality and stop thinking of guest posting as giving away your best work and start thinking of it as free prime time advertising. It’s definitely worth giving away your best blog posts because one guest post on a top blog like Zen Habits or Problogger may send a few thousand new readers your way.

Get out Get in the Hot Spot for more from Annabel, and find her on Twitter @getinthehotspot.

10. How to Get A-List Bloggers to Accept Your Guest Posts from John Chow

Want advice straight from the horse’s mouth? This is the post you need. Not that I’m calling John Chow a horse. He just has one of the most popular blogs out there, and one that gives tons of readers the chance to guest post every month. At the same time, he gets tons of guest posts every month, probably more than anyone could ever publish, so his tips can help you learn specifically how to get accepted on his blog, and on other really popular blogs. Writes John,

Getting your post onto an A-List blog is one of the best ways to boost your traffic and increase your credibility. It’s also one of the best, if not the best, no cost promotion idea. Here’s a few tips to improve your chances of having a big name blog accept your guest post.

For the full post, as well as tons of tips to help you make money online, head to JohnChow.com – and don’t forget to check him out on Twitter @JohnChow.

And now, an additional treat for you all – I’m going to highlight some awesome real-life guest posts from around the web! If you’re looking for some examples of high-quality guest posting action, these are prime samples. They’re not about guest posting, but rather about other topics that fit both the host and the writer well. When a blog and guest team up successfully, it’s always a little piece of web magic, in my opinion!

• Are You the Complete Package? – a guest post by Tom Webster from Brand Savant on Brass Tack Thinking by Amber Naslund and Tamsen McMahon
• Miss Destructo’s Weapons of Brand Construction – a guest post by Amber Osborne from MissDestructo.com on Go Speed Raser by John Raser
• How to Audit Your Social Media Efforts: 20+ Questions to Ask Yourself – a guest post by Kwame Boame from Sociatic on Techipedia by Tamar Weinberg.
• What Can Argentine Tango Teach You About Brilliant Blogging? – a guest post by Farnoosh Brock from Prolific Living on DragosRoua.com by DragosRoua
• How Anchors Free Us – a guest post by Molly Cantrell-Kraig on Sucessful Blog by Liz Strauss
• You Are Your Product – a guest post by Johnny B. Truant from The Internet Made Awesome with Johnny B. Truant on Clay’s Blog by Clay Collins
• How to Advertise Like a Rum-Guzzling Pirate – a guest post by Jeff Copeland from Simple Weddings and The Nifty 150 on IttyBiz from Naomi Dunford
• You Are Not a Cog – a guest post by Seth Godin from Seth’s Blog on Escape from Cubicle Nation by Pamela Slim
• 9 Personal Introductions that Instantly Grab Your Attention – a guest post by Vik Tantry from There’s Money Everywhere on Think Traffic by Corbett Barr
• Change Your Language, Change your Life – a guest post by Joy Tanksley from Being Joy on The World’s Strongest Librarian by Josh Hanagarne
• Are You a Guest Blogging Backlink Bitch? – a guest post by Frank Angelone from Social Tech Zone on Not a Pro Blog by Jordan Cooper

I think that’s an appropriate way to end the list, don’t you? Of course, the guest posting list doesn’t really have to end there – today, I’d like to invite you to not only share your favorite posts about guest post, but to also share guest posts you’ve done on other sites or guest posts people have done on you site – no matter what the topic. Go ahead; brag a little! Give us some awesome examples of what a guest post should be.

Check out the rest of the 12 Days of Blogging:

12 Writers Writing
11 Tweeters Tweeting
10 Guests a-Posting
9 SEOers Optimizing
8 Affiliates Selling
7 Facebook Users Updating
6 Launchers Launching
5 Golden Rules
4 Podcasting Hosts
3 Ebook Tips
2 Ethics Debates
And a Partridge in a Pear Tree (ebook coming soon!)