Opportunity Rocks
I may as well start, using a symbol. Let’s use Nick’s Links for an example. I hook up with Nick’s weekly email; he offers a wide variety of information, breaching a wealth of business strategy topics.
Nick’s offering a service in exchange for consumption. His provision affords his brand more traffic and exposure. The array of business topics appeal to a wide readership, especially those who consume information and possibly need Nick’s other services.
While Nick’s free service warrants time and resources, Nick places himself in a situation to strengthen his brand and introduce more people to his personality and other services.
It’s clever. He adds value, and he attracts consumers and opportunity for his brand. He’s not begetting so many links (oops) per say, but he’s getting something better. Opportunity for others to know his personality/brand. What he does from that isolated instance is up to him. Exposure offers limitless potential.
I have written a number of guest posts, and deeply appreciate the opportunity. It enables more people to come back to Content Muse, follow me on Twitter, offer me clientele, and furthers opportunity to learn and share the community.
Guest posting wasn’t about the links or the anchor text. It was about the opportunity to share my brand. My gracious hosts help/ed me build my brand. One could cornerstone a kingdom on guest posting. As mentioned above, the true treasure of a guest post is the granted opportunity.
Disgruntled editors oppose those who seek guest opportunities for other reasons, such as getting a link and using the guest process as a cog in a larger, online marketing machine of questionable direction. I was once asked by someone, “How many [guest opportunities] do you think you can get per week?” (I vomit in my mouth.) I’ll assume this expert‘s chops were salivating with visions of scale.
No, it’s not a scaled process. Opportunity should not be a scaled, but rather a highly respected enterprise.
Rule of 3′s Company
Comedians can teach marketers a lot. For example, the ‘rule of three‘ is oft employed, the proverbial ‘set em up and knock em down’ of comedy. Comedians, such as Seinfeld, are incredible observers, implementing popular and mentally available scenarios, something we can ‘relate’ to, in their pieces.
Recognized scenarios create the needed ‘point A to point B’ train of thought, so the comedian may derail logic with a punchline. We’re caught with our ‘outside the box’ pants down. Assuming, whether conscious or unconscious, makes us better targets for the impending humor.
This is a well-loved George scene, where George begins doing ‘the opposite,’ prompted by Jerry. In this case, the opposite benefits him.
Doing something different benefits publishers hosting guests. To date, I have not opened the Content Muse gates to guest authors, but I entertain the notion.
Content Muse has hosted nearly fifty posts thus far, all by yours truly; however, I don’t want the Musers to get restless, and as a derivative of my playful personality, like to keep people guessing.
Be on the lookout for one of Muse’s mates to breach the scene.
Team Edward or Jacob?
The subheading is a Twilght reference. I am comfortable in my masculinity to admit I’ve perused the series’ pages and employed the books in tutoring.
“What are you into reading?”
“Twilight.”
“(uses the force.) How about Lord of the Flies? Your class is reading that, and I have also read it” (smiley face)
“Meh. I like Twilght better.”
[paraphrased]
“Understood, my wonderful student, my consumer. I shall relay my content and services in your terms, becoming familiar with the series to do so.”
[gives customer a smile 
and enters the magical world of the Cullens.]
Metaphors help relate information. Allow me to use another to demonstrate another guest posting insight pertaining to both authors and hosting sites.
Guest posting is a community action. When good content provider/host relation is found, the opportunity affords community participation and mutual benefit.
How many of you are familiar with the World Wrestling Federation? I watched a decent amount of WWF as a kid. The federation would hold Saturday Night Main Event matches in the eighties, one variety being ‘lumber jack’ bouts.
It was often the main event of the night, a one-on-one bout, with the unique element being wrestlers from both sides, blackhat and whitehat bad and good supporting their represented peer by ringside.
That’s pretty cool. It’s kind of like Revell, Hathaway, Barker, Dyson and other peers coming to see my writing on sites other than Content Muse.
I appreciate the support. I want to give my mates a good show and bring value and opportunity to my host in an equal or greater fashion they have supplied to me.
Remember what they have supplied – limitless opportunity for my brand to make an impression on present and future readers.
A guest opportunity, a guest opportunity, my content kingdom for such..
As ever, I find myself in accord with your thinking. Altogether far too much time is spent recouching or reimagining perfectly reasonable concepts into bastardised versions suitable for the impatient and lazy.
I appreciate your commitment to the fundamental principles.
thank iain .. i noticed Ann Smarty has a post on Koozai about scaling the process. I looked over her thoughts. I know she has MyBlogGuest going, so I would expect her to be a proponent of the processes’ popularity. I get a little jumpy at the mention of “scale.” In my experience, attempting to scale places a brand/person in a position to sacrifice quality. I believe one can do more in making the most of each given opportunity.
Yes. But a post like this vs dozens of posts on how to scale guest blogging… Hmm I guess the majority is heading in the opposite direction, and then they wonder why Google devalues link type after link type.
you make a great point, and thank you for reading. right- for every post of this sentiment, there are posts instructing on how to leverage the process. i guess it comes down to each scenario and testing.
if a larger organization wants to fuel its guest posting processes, more power to them. In terms of bringing in traffic and dollars, a scaled process may work well in some industries.
This post champions sentiments of branding more than immediate income, and perhaps my sentiments better benefit individuals and small businesses, who really want to make a personal impression. Mack Fogelson is one peer who comes to mind who uses the guest post process well in helping brand her personality and her aligned business. On the other hand, AJ Kohn, aside from his regular columns (Marketing Land) is at present opposed to guest posting, yet deservedly recognized as a thought leader in the space.
Let’s just put it this way – guest posting, the way it was meant to be, is about a personal brand, period. Unless a company has scalable human resource each of whom is an equally bright personality deserving attention per se and capable of coming up with original ideas on a regular basis, it just cannot be scaled, or else it becomes something else – but that’s a whole different story already. Guest posting – and blogging in general – has never been supposed to be about mediocrity but about extraordinary, outstanding individuals.
wow. so well said on all accounts – I enjoy the way you express scalable human resource. Right, sure the sentiment exists. I just don’t think it works well in practicality. Perhaps on a small scale.. for example, I’m very happy to share the Saloon with Patrick and Sean; we have shared visions about its direction and function. cheers for sharing your words here.
Ha, but the Saloon is the thing in its own right! It’s more about art and banter than scalability
What does it say about me that back in my WWF watching days (and I’ve actually referenced the WWF in my writing before… you can take the boy out of the Redneck SE Idaho town, but you can’t take the redneck SE Idaho town out of the boy…) I was always pulling for the black hat wrestler? “Mankind with a keyword-stuffed spun article from the turnbuckle!”
Seriously though, someday I will be the Ric Flair of SEO. I hope the search marketing world is ready for a serious figure four leglock. (woo!)
Thanks for coming by, Dustin – appreciated. I was a major advocate of Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat who defeated Macho Man for the intercontinental belt in wrestlemania iii (the same one where Hogan slammed Andre the Giant, the lovable Fezzik in The Princess Bride. I support you becoming the Ric Flair of SEO and having many successful steel cage matches, “SEO Nature Boy.”
Wow. What can I say… I’m blushing a bit. Thanks so much Anthony for the kind words and mentions of my latest curation project.
This is another fine addition to the muse library (congrats on 50 posts!) but the point that resonates most with me is your take on guest posting – and that it’s about an opportunity to spread and grow your brand, and should never be done for the linkz.
Furthermore, I think this approach, when taken for the right reasons as mentioned, forces writers to seek out hosts that align their content with their brand, keeping things contextual for the robots and relevant for the readers. Hear here.
thanks for reading and adding to the discussion, Nick. you know I enjoy the conversation and company. we’ll have to clink glasses of whisky to CM’s 50th in the coming week.
Agreed. The great thing about Anthony’s posts are that they’re consistently brilliant and always make you think (especially in comparison to the rest of the industry.)
Interesting point Nick in regards to why you should guest post. If it is an online marketing or branding campaign then is shouldn’t be about the links. If it’s an ‘SEO’ campaign then it has to be considered, no?
thanks for that, my friend. I am going to use the ‘brilliant’ quote coupled with your picture, and model an ‘about MusE’ page after yours at primary keyword | secondary keyword | Brand …haha.
not that i wasn’t before, but seriously, your blog is mighty fun. it’s like the ‘let’s light off firecrackers in the loo to stir things round here a bit’ or ‘let’s hang after school and expand our minds through unique and intellectually stimulating SEO chatter’ of the space. I’m sure others have thought the same.
Love it man, (jetpack login w/ twitter) so did I inspire you, or has this always been here?
Anyway, This was perfectly timely for me … as you know, I’ve been asked to do a bit of guest posting myself recently and (as you alluded to above) I have to remember not to rush in … ie, I need to keep the integrity of my voice. It’s an opportunity and needs to be respected.
btw, allow me to pick your brain (once again) … chris says to guest post … gaz says to build up my own site first … what’s your opinion?
Pretty sweet show you’re puttin’ on over here muze, cheers brother.
much obliged for the read, thoughts, and inspiration for further thought. The login was a nice derivative of ensuring Twitter was recognizing my share button since my last redesign. Hat tip to Gaz for pointing that out and to you for thoughts on the subject in your guest post. Dan Shure had mentioned in the past making it easier for my readers to comment via twitter..
i like where your head’s at regarding the need for respect. yep. if you have respect for what you do then you won’t make the wrong decisions about building your own blog and guest posting. In regard to the latter, be mindful of Nick’s sentiment in the comments about finding a good match. I highly respect all the people and aligned brands where i posted. i suggest you take your time in finding a good match as well
remember people read blogs outside of our SEO industry too (for example, maybe write a post helping/targeting mommy bloggers and look for such to host you – it may not get “inbounded,” but you may gain more readers/clients)
thanks again for coming on the show
Good reading!
Myself I stopped for now to do guest posts, because really somehow I got tired and if I have something to say, I’m gonna do it on my blog
plus, I’m always wondering from an user perspective, how many people see and click in the links you (like all) put in the post. I’m willing to click only when I know there is some information behind it (like where people are working, twitter account, or an article), but from what I learnt during my SEO experience so far is that people are not really clicking on the links. So, are we putting those links just for SEO purpose? Could be, but I don’t see the value on it.
Always good to read stuff you write Anthony!
you know i appreciate when you come by, Alessio. Right on – I think a lot of your thoughts are in accord with AJ’s in regard to why you keep your thoughts on your blog. Admittedly, as AJ mentions in his ‘why I don’t guest blog’ post, I’ve seen commenting peers address the domain author rather than the guest author, and yes, you are less likely to get traffic and clicks on your hyperlinks.
Additionally, you bring up a good point about UX/links I’ve been thinking of lately. From a reader’s perspective, I believe my good links may get passed over. When I say ‘good links,’ I don’t mean ‘the affiliate or anchor links/terms I’m trying to promote/rank for.’ I mean the actual, helpful links to better educate readers.
For example, not many people clicked on my linked sentence in the third section on metaphors, leading to Purdue’s writing lab page. Purdue is a HIGHLY respected school for many reasons, writing and composition being one. If someone wanted to improve their writing, through my prompting, which is part of why i’m here doing this
, they can through my link. However, it’s hidden in my chosen anchor text; because for me to say “Click this link going to the Purdue writing lab. it will make you a better writer!” interrupts the flow of writing. I kind of feel, from a UX perspective and to be more helpful, going back to traditional “resources” at the bottom of the page would be better.
To conclude, I truly champion guest posting. I can honestly say I had a lot of fun writing for every host and incredibly enjoyed my interviews. It DID help me share my brand. It DID help me build good relations with the hosts. It DID further fuel my passion to make my brand stronger. I DID have fun doing something I love and sharing it with others’ readers. I DO plan to write more of them and have guests here
thanks Anthony for the answer! regarding links and UX. fact is people are not clicking not because they don’t trust you or something, but because most of the people do not dedicate too much time on reading stuff. They see your post, they come and read..but let’s be honest, who is clicking all the links and see what you are proposing to them?
To be honest, I’m doing this very very few times, and I’m pretty sure even others are not doing it , even if they say : YEAH, I click all the links. Bullsheep!
People are interested in what you write maybe, but if you ask them to find more related stuff to your post thanks to the links you are putting, they are not willing to click on it. Too much information, too many posts to read.
It’s like when people is tweeting a thing WITHOUT even reading it.
That’s my take on it. and I wanna add that I really like AJ Kohn
hmm.. well, I may do some testing to see if resources, whether after each section or at the bottom of the page, would get more clicks. As far as curation and getting people to come back to a particular post, I would think a resource section, something readers can reuse, would be intriguing.
You’re right. I don’t click on every link, but I do get anxious about potentially missing out on something (would I be more prompted is the anchor text was less mysterious? maybe). Furthermore, I think you can begin to ‘brand’ yourself as someone who does leverage good outside resources. For example, when AJ (yes, he’s the man) offers a hyperlink, I’ll click on it; following suit with his messages, he links to things I want to read and which support his central message (which is not a mind-blowing enterprise-that’s WHY links SHOULD be in the text)
yep. agree. I’m just struggling to the fact that people have too much input and they do WANT to follow everything.
I’m using RSS feed (nope, to me RSS is not dead): the best thing I did is to delete a lot of feeds I used to follow just because they were coming from big SEOs or “influencers”. But I realize I did not have the time to read everything, and this was leading me to read everything but with less attention. So I decided to follow less things, but when I read something I try to read with more attention.
I would like to spend more time reading stuff (not only SEO of course), but I don’t have all that time.
That’s why I don’t get when people tweets 100 posts per day. I even asked some of them: what do you think? answer: I didn’t read it yet. SO why THE HELL did you TWEET that thing?
for example…your posts? I always read them carefully because I like your style. BUT I do NOT follow your links. Because I don’t have the time to look to more information. I’m reading you, because it’s your thought I’m interested in.
Great stuff as always, Anthony. And I love the discussions going on here. I’m more apt to follow links if they’re set up in a concise, but engaging manner. Like the Seinfeld link in this post. (Absolutely loved Jerry’s response to Neil’s story.) Solid gold retort. There are a few NY Times posts out there that seem to be a bit on the dramatic, soapbox-ish side (see: recent review of Guy Fieri’s restaurant in Times Square), but the story worked in that it drew so many secondary sources from Yahoo, Entertainment Weekly, Huff Post and others, discussing how epically scathing the review was.
More importantly, I clicked simply because of the basic anchor: “scathing slam of a review”. It wasn’t, as you mentioned, a long, “CLICK ME NOW TO READ HOW TERRIBLE THIS REVIEW IS”. The anchor was direct and informative all the same.
And I digress…
Guest posting should always be about building a relationship first and foremost. When you cultivate the outreach by reading, learning and sharing thoughts on a blog before anything else, you become more valuable down the road over the likes of outreach efforts like the email carpet bomb of: “Good blog. I’d like to write about [brand] and think you’ll like it”.
Congrats on the 50th musing!
i have not read the review. i will check it out. thanks for swinging by my 50th. it’s been fun dressing up the place. guest blogging is kind of like playing music with other bands. if i highly respect a band and musicians, and myself and craft, why would i want to do nothing but put on a good show?
So true. Put on a good show that takes weeks to prepare versus stringing together a 15-minute gig at high school prom. Less Wedding Singer, more Rolling Stones.
Good stuff, Anthony! Going against the grain, or at least pausing to evaluate why we do something is great instruction.
I appreciate you chasing after the complete opposite of “tuna and toast,” because it raises the standard and challenges others in the industry to think & move beyond the current strategies.
Thanks for fostering community participation with your thoughts!
thank you for adding to the conversation, Annalisa. sometimes people are resistant to “the other,” whether due to an aversion to different or anxiety regarding unfamiliarity. convention is bound to be broken.
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