guest blogging

‘Do What You Said You Would Do’: 3 Blog Post Headline Fails

'Do What You Said You Would Do': 3 Blog Post Headline Fails I was at a conference in Washington D.C. in the late 90s for an exclusive group of winners. We came from 31 school districts and 26 states. Our proposals had been chosen from more than 5,000 from across the country, to be funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

Five years of funding, with an average of three-quarter of a million dollars to each of us to support academically at-risk middle schoolers in their learning challenges.

The feds present that day wanted to make sure we knew both how special we were and how much was expected of us.

The first presenter walked to the podium in that Hilton ballroom. We leaned forward with pens and notebooks, poised to record all the stuff we would need to know to implement our grant projects.

She removed her glasses, peered out at us and paused.

The Surprises of Guest Posting

By Judy Lee Dunn 12 Comments

There are a bazillion bloggers who have talked about benefits of making guest appearances on other blogs. One of the best reasons to write guest posts is to reach new audiences and grow your own blog.

But sometimes when you write a guest post for another blog, things happen that weren’t even in your brain. You see, the thing is, you never know who is reading your post. And that makes guest blogging unpredictably fun.

For instance, just this week, my guest post for Write to Done showed up on the Holy Caw! All the topics that interest us page of Guy Kawasaki’s mega-popular site alltop.com. (If you didn’t know, alltop.com is now the authority in sorting through the flood of blog posts and articles that are published daily. Their goal is to filter through all the stuff and aggregate the best for you.) Because of the Holy Caw appearance, my guest post was shared on Twitter a whole bunch of times and got tons of traffic.

The next day, I got requests for an interview from a national magazine for writers and for quotes for an e-book. So what’s my point?

Daily Rituals with Our Animals: Saving the World One Family at a Time

By Judy Lee Dunn 45 Comments

I am pleased and honored to welcome Robyn M Fritz as my very first guest poster on CatsEyeWriter blog. I knew the decision would be tough—and it was. Just a note up front. I didn’t judge any of your entries by how many comments your post got. I used my trusty 3-E’s criteria: Does it educate? Does it engage? Does it entertain? Robyn’s post did all three beautifully. I was struck by what a simple—yet powerful—concept she blogged about, by how she touched both the head and the heart. Oh, and by the way, I also chose three runners-up. I’ll feature those bloggers in my post next Friday, June 24. Okay, enough of me. Here’s Robyn:

We start and end the day at our house the same way: in a big pile on the bed while I tell my kids, one by one, with many hugs, how much I love them. And why. Every day. Every night. And I get lots of hugs and kisses in return.

What astounds me is that this astounds other people, who say they don’t even do this with their human families, let alone their animals.

Let alone their animals?

No daily rituals?

I have the world’s best family. They are two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Murphy and Alki, and Grace the Cat. I am the only human here (honestly, I can’t imagine a man I could put up with for 20 minutes who could put up with me for 10). I have extended family and friends I cherish, but the day-to-day life at our house comes down to us (and my crystal partner, Fallon, and the rest of the Alchemy West Committee, but I digress).

In the morning, when we’re finally awake, I roll over on my back and call my kids. We start with the eldest and work down. Murphy flops down beside me, her face snuggled into my neck, while I gently massage her back, and rub her ears, which makes her grunt appreciatively. When she’s ready, she gets up and Alki takes her place.

Alki, my tricolor Cavalier, snuggles up, but what he really likes is a neck and chest rub. As quickly as he deems appropriate he will sit up, turn sideways so his butt is planted at my hip, tuck his front paws to his chest, and flop over backwards across my abdomen (where my bladder also resides). Somehow he’s always perfectly aligned, so I don’t even have to move my arm, just scratch.

Grace the Cat comes when she feels like it, but not until she’s sure I’m awake. She likes to peer close and lick my nose, or squeeze between the blanket and comforter, which pads her in case I fall asleep and accidentally roll on her (not pleasant for either of us). She loves to be petted and praised.

I make sure I tell each of them how much I love them, how great the morning is, and what we have planned for the day. Then it’s up and at ‘em.

At night everyone gets a treat before our evening gathering. Then Murphy cuddles in my lap while I pet her and tell her how much I adore her, how happy I am that we’re together, how she’s the best girl dog in the universe, and we review the day and tomorrow’s plans.

Alki’s turn is usually a deep massage, which he loves. Everything else is the same, except he’s the best boy dog in the universe.

It’s then Grace the Cat’s turn. She purrs while getting petted, then paws me and climbs on my shoulder to lick my head (I assume this is a cat thing). She hears the same things, except she’s the best cat in the universe (because she’s the only cat we don’t have to divide it by sex).

I have very little time to read in bed.

Every morning I greet the day and my kids with a smile and words of praise. Every night we end the day with praise and thanks for the day just ended. They greet me back.

The truth? Some days I adore my kids more than other days, which is exactly how they feel about me. Some days I adore more than other days. But I have my kids, and they have me. And we have our days, and nights.

We are a family. In its simplicity and routine we have found our way to love, and we use these rituals to deepen it. If we somehow skip them I feel incomplete, and by the looks of them, so do my kids.

When I hear that other families don’t do this, I wonder how their days, and family lives, really work. Do they just zip by, without remark, or appreciation? Does it matter?

I think it does. Could we change the world by doing this one simple thing—by beginning and ending our days with love and peace and respect for our families, regardless of the bodies they live in?

I say yes. I say we save the world, one family at a time, by honoring our families, day and night.

Simple daily rituals. It’s a start.

What are your rituals? What do they mean to you?

Robyn M Fritz MA MBA is a writing coach and author of Bridging Species, winner of the 2010 Merial Human-Animal Bond award. Check out her writers’ services and purchase her book at Alchemy West Inc. You can find her blog at Bridging the Paradigms. You can also follow Robyn on Facebook.

Filed Under: Guest Posts Tagged With: blogger's voice, guest blogging, storytelling, writing

How to Get More Gigs than 95 Percent of Aspiring Guest Bloggers

By Judy Lee Dunn 32 Comments

I see a lot of talk out in the blogosphere about how easy guest posting is:

How to find a bazillion A-list bloggers who are eagerly waiting to publish your post.

How to “write a guest post a blogger can’t refuse.”

How to get a perfect guest post written while you sleep.

(Okay. I made that one up.)

It isn’t that the posts aren’t helpful. It’s just that they don’t tell people the cardinal rule for success. The one thing that most affects the answer they will get when they propose a guest post.

The one thing you can do to be noticed more than 95 percent of bloggers who propose guest posts

Here it is, three simple words the advice givers gloss over. The thing that will open the door wider for you:

Do your homework.

When I was writing for magazines, I learned how important it is to find the right publication for my article and to get the topic and content right. In other words, how to write for their unique audience.

Same thing with guest posting.

One of the best ways to impress a blogger is to show her that you read her blog, understand her topics and even know what she has written about lately.

Subscribe. Follow what they write about.

In your pitch (email inquiry), show you have been following the blogger by referring to a post they wrote and suggesting a follow-up guest post that goes into more detail on one of the points (or offers a different perspective).

Explain why you think your article is a good fit and how it creates value for the blogger’s readers.

Watch the discussions in the comments and contribute. And pay particular attention to what readers are saying, what kinds of questions they are asking, what they need more help with.

Then propose a post on it.

Or read some of the guest posts bloggers have already published there.

Then propose something different.

Remember: There are no new ideas, but there are millions of spins on old ideas. Put your voice and personality into the post. And it goes without saying, but make it your best post.

Because that is what will drive people to your blog to get more of you.

5 places to look for guest posting opportunities

As you go through this list, look at the blog with two questions in mind: Do I want to blog for them? And, Is their audience a good fit?

Some things to consider:

• The reach. How many readers do they have? How many comments do they get?

• Promotion. Are there cross-promotion opportunities (social media, etc.)?

• Audience. Sometimes looking at their advertisers gives you a good sense of this.

• Blogger as person. Check the About page to find out more about him/her.

• Topics: Can you spin a post to cover any of the topics they write about?

Now, where to look:

1. Your blogger friends.

If you are a newbie blogger, blogs of friends are a good place to start. It’s a good way to learn, refine your work and develop confidence.

Just be sure that if it’s a reciprocal thing, it makes sense for that person to guest post on your blog. (More about this in a future post.)

2. Blogs you already read.

Which blogs do you regularly read? Which blogs are you already known at because you have left comments?

The great thing about this strategy is that you know the topics and can even refer to the blogger’s past posts in your pitch.

In other words, you have already done your homework.

3. Do a Google or Twitter search.

For instance, if your niche is marketing, a Google search with the terms of “guest bloggers needed in marketing” will turn up tons of opportunities, as well as titles of and links to guest posts bloggers have already written for marketing blogs.

Double win.

On Twitter, you can do searches more specific to your niche (or genre if you are an author) and find out who is putting a call out for guest bloggers.

4. Visit My Blog Guest.

I have not used this, but have heard good things about it. It’s a community where bloggers can find out about guest posting opportunities, network and reach new audiences.

5. Browse Alltop.com.

If you are brave enough to turn it up a notch, visit this site. As you probably know, Alltop.com is a collection of the “best of the best” blogs out there. You can search both within your niche and outside it.

Choose the blogs that look interesting and might have things in common with yours. Be prepared for some stiff competition, but if you read and study one of these popular blogs first, who knows?

What about you?

Have you started your guest blogging journey yet?

Are you thinking of starting?

Do you have tips to share or more questions?

If this post was helpful, why not sign up for email delivery of CatsEyeWriter blog?

And, if you are in the Puget Sound, Washington area and want to learn more about how guest posting and other traffic-building strategies can get you on the road to monetizing your blog faster, go here.

Filed Under: Blog as Marketing Tool Tagged With: blogging tips, guest blogging, traffic building

‘Do What You Said You Would Do’: 3 Blog Post Headline Fails

Daily Rituals with Our Animals: Saving the World One Family at a Time

How to Get More Gigs than 95 Percent of Aspiring Guest Bloggers

The one thing you can do to be noticed more than 95 percent of bloggers who propose guest posts