I love doing guest blogging. And I love so many genuine guest bloggers who are nurturing the blogosphere with awesome content on other blogs, apart from their own.
Since I’m so much into guest blogging and since I’ve experienced all its goodness, I’ve also made a premium report for all aspiring bloggers to encourage them to guest blog – showing them exactly how – Guest Blogging Champion.
Now, from my experience as a host blogger for the past 1 year, I’ve received some awesome guest posts and hence I have been introduced to those awesome bloggers! Most of them are my pals. I know they offer fine quality content and…… most importantly respect rules!
I’ve already made a post about guest blogging etiquette, expressing my thoughts on how guest bloggers fail to respect rules and how much trouble that is to the host bloggers.
I’m telling again here that it takes more time to proof read, format and hit that Publish/Schedule button on a guest post rather than writing a post myself! All you bloggers who accept guest posts on your blogs will know about this.
Rules?….. I’ve got mine, says the guest blogger
While I have my own guest blogging rules, a guest blogger seems to have her own rules as to how she looks at my blog and treats me and the community at my blog here.
So this guest blogger submitted a guest post a while ago and got it published on my blog. This is the link to the guest post:
http://www.probloggingsuccess.com/copywriters-great-marketers/
From day 1 she was not responding to any comments in her guest post. I usually follow up guest bloggers within 3-5 days if they don’t respond to comments and participate in the discussions at their guest post.
I’m sure all of us are busy, so I send them a quick reminder to attend to comments in their post.
This time, since I was busy with the contest, I didn’t have time to do so. I think its more than a month now between the guest post publish date and when I asked her to respond to comments.
According to the guest post guidelines at my blog, I will remove the links in the guest post if the guest blogger fails to interact with the commenters who took the time to read their post and leave a comment (see who else has the same strict policy).
Here’s the reply I got from the guest blogger in response to my email where I told her to respond to comments and let me know so that I can put her links back:
Hello Jane, I cannot continue to provide feedback to “spammy” comments like “Stacy from Washing Machine Reviews” or “Sam from Top Espresso Machines”…. It is really unfair of you to ask me to participate in your blog comments especially when most of the commentators are there to spam the blog….If you don’t re-active my links, please remove my content so I can use it elsewhere. If you don’t reactivate my links, I’ll make sure to post a feedback about this on MyBlogGuest.com
By the way, MyBlogGuest is an awesome community of guest bloggers and host bloggers and this issue does not directly relate to that community in any way. I thank and highly appreciate Ann Smarty for her support on this matter so far!
Here are my concerns regarding this issue.
She calls my community as spammers
This is the first and the foremost thing that provoked me. ” It is really unfair of you to ask me to participate in your blog comments especially when most of the commentators are there to spam the blog“.
So am I running a spammy blog for over a year and trying to build a business out of it? I will be an idiot to do so; plus I’ve got a better day job rather than trying to run a spam blog (and make money out of it).
Google sees my blog as an authority blog, crawls it everyday (sometimes more than once a day), has given me Sitelinks and the blog has other very good “numbers” and social proof. The blog has a very good community of decent and genuine commentators.
This is such an insult to my awesome commenters and readers, whom I very much respect.
She has a problem with the commentators’ names
I don’t understand this – “….. ”spammy” comments like “Stacy from Washing Machine Reviews” or “Sam from Top Espresso Machines”….” – She seems to have a problem with the names/keywords the commenters are using.
And by just looking at the names she weighs the comments as spam! If you got a moment, just head over to the guest post and have a look at the comments. See all whom she calls spammers and their comments too.
I’m using Commentluv premium plugin on my blog with Keywordname functionality enabled. I want to treat my commenters as good and warm as possible. So I give my commenters a chance to get keyword-anchored backlinks for taking the time to stop and comment on my blog.
So they’re free to use whatever keyword they want to rank a particular blog post/page for. IF there’s a problem with this, I’m sure its MY PROBLEM. What’s her problem now?
I really don’t understand why someone would look at the commenter’s name and come to a conclusion that he/she has left a spam comment. Should she not be looking at the comments?
Oh… and she is blackmailing me!
The moment I read this line “If you don’t reactivate my links, I’ll make sure to post a feedback about this on MyBlogGuest.com” do you know what my reaction was? I laughed out loud.
So some guest blogger approaches me out of the blue, submits a guest post (this means that she is supposed to read the guidelines before submission). Then she doesn’t come back to check the post out.
When I ask her to participate in the comments, she tells me that my blog’s commenters are spammers and hence she won’t respond to them. I guess this is the easiest way out to escape a responsibility.
And now, she wants to use the same content somewhere or get credit for her guest post without respecting the rules. I think she should have a thought that I won’t take the guest post down and hence she went the extra mile and warns me that if I don’t do it, she will go about spreading bad words about me (that’s called feedback).
I am least bothered.
Here’s what I am going to do and why.
I won’t take the post down and I won’t put her links back.
- I have spent my time in proof reading and publishing her post. I made many other genuine guest bloggers to wait in the queue to publish her post on that slot. My commenters have spent their time to stop by and leave a comment on her post. I respect my time and my commenters time. So I won’t take the post down.
- I won’t put her links back because “not responding to comments” means “not following the rules”. As I’ve clearly stated that links will be removed if there is no participation from the guest blogger, I’m doing the right thing.
- I don’t want any similar “threatening” or “spammy” guest blogger to take advantage of this easy technique to submit a post without respecting the rules and try to get links or whatever benefits that they are not supposed to get.
Takeaway
I’m truly shocked by the quality and attitude of guest bloggers that are coming up. I usually do not indulge in writing posts that call names or that invoke some sort of heated discussion. I know that’s not healthy too.
But recently I learned that the more I ignore and keep silent, the more I’m easily used! People take advantage of my silence.
PS: In writing this post, I remember and honor all the genuine guest bloggers who have contributed to my blog and other blogs in the blogosphere. There’s absolutely no offense on those who religiously guest blog and respect rules.
Photo credit: http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/ac75/de-arimasu/Funny/jejeje.jpg
Article by JaneSheeba
+Jane is the founder of Problogging Success. She is an expert blogger, consultant, freelance writer and blog designer. Don't forget to get your hands on two FREE Ebooks she offers.
Jane has written 256 awesome posts for Problogging Success.
I've known Jane for quite a while now and one thing I can say about her services is that she never fails to deliver. Actually, no, she always over delivers.. If you are looking for some to assist you with your blogging needs, that being, an audit of your website, a redesign (or even minor tweaks), and to do that all important site maintenance for you, give Jane a try. You are in good hands.
{ 106 comments… read them below or add one }
Amazing Jane!
It is indeed sad to learn about what happened and how some people, whom you invite to guest blog on your blog, give them the due credit and links etc. turn around and say all this! Unbelievable indeed!
I am glad you didn’t sit quiet and came up with the whole episode. Guess this clears the clouds others or this particular guest blogger may have had about a lot of things.
I just hope and pray that others learn a lesson from this and are more careful as to how they deal with the blog owners at least and those who give them the due exposure.
Thanks for sharing- it sure is a great lesson for everyone and for blog owners as well to be careful of such bloggers!
Oh yes Harleena, sitting quiet doesn’t work so well these days
Things seem to have changed a lot!
Hi Jane,
I don’t blame you at all. I pride myself on being kind and helpful and I like to keep everyone happy – but if I bend to every request that presents itself in my inbox, there would be no ounce of integrity left. You have to have rules and boundaries to keep things fair for everyone. I admire you for all of your efforts in doing that. What’s funny (and I can see why you laughed out loud) is that to post any negative feedback about your blog would only draw more attention it and possibly strengthen it as an authority that will not publish just any old crap, but quality content. Way to go, Jane!
Kiesha, you should have got at least double the ounces of my experiences. You have been accepting guest posts long time ago than me! Its really challenging to be a host blogger!
Oh Jane,
So a vent post! Nice, I like posts where people just vent it out. Now, there is a lot to be said about this but I will try all my level best to keep it short (I know that is tough for me!)
Firstly, when someone wants to guest posts; I would always recommend hanging around the blog for quite some time so that you get a feel of what kind of commentators stop by. If the blogger did feel a sense of spammy comments, then why bother submitting a guest post in the first place.
Secondly, you don’t show up at a blog, go through the trouble of writing something and then not come by to see how the response goes. You always make a way to make it work or at least try!
Well, for each their own but the fact remains that you don’t disgrace a blog and its surrounding and readers when you come by. That is just plain rude.
But sometimes you just have to deal with it! And that is tough!
Hajra, I think your contest post is just the right fit for this happening
That makes a little proud you know!
Hello Hajra,
I agree with you — guest blogging can be a wonderful tool to help get someone links and traffic, but we are humans and we should interact like ones; we’re not link-creating machines, nor are our hosts a carpet to step on for our purposes.
Submitting a guest post should mean that we already know, respect and enjoy a blog, and that we’re glad to let our writing be a part of it.
Eleni, I love this phrase “we’re not link-creating machines” – so true!
Amazing…..Not! This behavior is akin to going to a friends party and bringing some music for people to listen to, sitting in the corner and complaining that they made no friends….and wanting to take their music home with them. Your rules are good and simple. It’s all about respect for the blog you are guesting for.
You did the right thing in how you handled the situation.
Shannon that’s a great analogy! Surely it is all about respect; I think it is one of the most important things to maintain our integrity in the universe.
I think you’re doing the right thing. As you said, you put in some work and commenters spent some time debating it.
But cheer up, it’s one bad case out of many.
Hey Mic, I was not even a bit depressed
But I just couldn’t tolerate her remarks about my blog and my commenters 
Hi Jane,
I was a silent reader of your blog and your newsletter hit me today
I can’t believe this situation, because I’m in the same circumstance like you, accepting guest posts, I’m part of the MyBlogGuest and also I use Commentluv premium. I had this situation and it is very uncomfortable but not with this type of bad tone. If you decide to give extra keywords – is up to you – not of the guest blogger.
In my experience, having a guest post policy isn’t enough. I’ve one and reading the emails sent to me by several of the potential guest bloggers, you see they didn’t read it at all.
I ask a clear confirmation that they will respond to the comments or if not directly, I’ll not go on with the guest post. In that way, so many were “out” for themselves, because their intention was never respond to any of the comments done.
In few cases, I asked to respond to the comments and finally did it and in last case, like you, to remove links – is your home – and you warned about it.
Totally with you and I suggest to expose this case on MyBlogGuest.
All the best,
Gera
Gera, you’re so right about people not reading the guidelines. I get guest post requests from people who say that they’ve read the guest post guidelines carefully and attach a guest post by email to me (while I want them to register and submit the post via dashboard). And when I open those emails I see most of them are acne guest posts!
I have enough guest authors on my guestdietblog at this point that if I got an ultimatum like that from any of them, I would simply remove the account along with all posts from that author, and put him or her on my permanent blacklist. And I’m certain I would not miss anything important. Life is too short to put up with that type of aggravation.
BTW, I am seriously considering a paid guest author model, with a small honorarium up front plus profit-sharing. Paying money would allow me substantially more editorial control. However, I have not worked out the details.
Howard, sure, a paid guest blogging model is so worthwhile everything. I was seriously thinking about it. I will have more quality submissions and I don’t have to waste my time in deleting inappropriate emails and proof reading crappy posts.
Just that I don’t want to put some load over the genuine guest bloggers who are so nice and religiously do guest blogging.
Well, Jane, you can’t please everyone, no matter how hard you try. Don’t bother with that unhappy blogger.
That’s right Marian! Thanks for your feedback
Hi Jane,
It is annoying when some people feel that they are above playing by the rules that they agreed to. Glad you didn’t get black mailed. But I’m sure it is difficult dealing with the aftermath. Thank you for your great Blog…… that you have built up. Keep up the great work! -Stephen
You’re welcome Stephen!
Rules are rules Jane and these rules (I call them guidelines) should be followed if the guest blogger wishes to have his or her content published on a blog. Some guest bloggers may not realise how much time is spend on a guest post and you are correct in saying that it takes longer than publishing your own content.
Stick to your guns Jane as you are correct in your actions regarding this issue.
Glad you agree with me Derek
Thanks for stopping by!
This is great. I think you handled the situation well, Jane.
This has given me an insight into the kind of things to be weary off as I start to accept guest bloggers and guest blog myself. Thanks for making me aware of the etiquette.
k
Kiki, yes that’s why I made a public blog post about this incident so that other host bloggers can know how to handle similar situations.
I really enjoyed your post on Guest Blogging Etiquette, this is a great follow up!
Thanks for stopping by Harriet.
Hi Jane,
I’m with you all the way with this. I do accept guest posts on my blog and also have a similar guest blogging term. This guest blogger should have read the terms before agreeing to guest post on your blog. If it’s only now that she discovered the blog is only “spammy” blog, then she was really blind at the time she wrote that post.
Let her go on and carry out her threats. The whole world will know what type of person she is and only heavens knows who will want to accept any guest post from such a person.
Chadrack, yes I’m sure she didn’t discover my blog is spammy when she chose to write for me (she approached me for a chance to guest post – I don’t know why she chose a spammy blog!).
Thanks Jane. I, like another commenter on this post was a silent reader of this blog until now- this issue of problems with guest bloggers is thought provoking whichever side of the fence you’re coming from.
I’m a newbie guest blogger yet I fully understand and agree with your viewpoint – the least a guest blogger can do is check back and respond to comments on their guest post. It seems unfair that she got what she wanted- backlinks and now she won’t honour her part and respond to the comments (which by the way were mainly genuine- I had a sneak peek).
Apart from the gratification of backlinks, (non spammy) blog comments are also important and add value to posts and this guest blogger should have been honoured by the comments instead of being rude and dismissive of them.
Oh well, you win some you lose some. But overall I agree with your approach and handling of this particular guest blogger.
P.s.- I’ll be in contact about soon about guest blogging here, after reading your guidelines of course
Rita, thanks for sharing your views
You’re most welcome to guest post on my blog!
Thanks Jane for the further info about guest blogging. I just have one quick question which I don’t think was covered in your instructions- once you’ve published a guest post, is the author allowed to later publish that same post elsewhere? I just need clarification because my other guest blogging post lets me publish the article on my site 2 weeks after they’ve published it exclusively on their site. Thanks in advance and keep up the good content
Hye Rita, the answer is Nope! I’ve actually included this in the guidelines – Point number 2 under “guidelines”. Thanks for asking anyway
Wow, that was a super speedy reply
Sorry, I must have missed that mention on the guideline, but thanks for clearing that up. I’ll be in touch shortly with my first article then- hopefully it’ll make the grade!
Sure Rita, I look forward to reading your piece
Good for you, Jane… stick to your guns.It\’s one caveat in what otherwise is a very beneficial experience for both the blog owner and the guest blogger. Most times it works out fine, but you occasionally get someone like this who is so busy placing guest posts that she shirks her other responsibilities.I\’m glad you didn\’t get so frustrated that you decided to stop accepting guest posts. I love coming to your blog both to guest post and as an avid reader.Cheers!
Haha… I won’t even think about closing guest posting on my blog altogether just because of one careless and irresponsible blogger
I’ve got great guest bloggers like you na 
I’m sorry to hear about your bad luck. I tried out My Blog Guest for a while and had a pretty bad experience, some people were just plain rude, others started making demands about my blog design, and others were keyword spamming. Some of this was my fault because of my lack of guidelines but I was hoping the community would have built in guidelines regarding basic politeness. I’m glad to hear you’ve mostly had good experiences with them though – I’ll look to trying them out again in future!
Guest posting definitely goes two ways, the writer has more responsibilities than just writing! From me here’s a huge well done for standing up for yourself and not letting people walk all over you! Now, I’m off to review your guest posting guidelines and create my own
Thanks Rosemary
Sure do check out the guidelines and you’re most welcome to guest post!
Hello Jane,
I appreciate you shared this amazing “Guest blog” story, and i beleive that you are right, many times same things happend with me but i rejected them.
keep posting.
I’ve bookmarked your blog for next post
Glad that I could be of help, Ajnabii.
Ha! There’s always one, wherever you go and whatever community.
Most bloggers and guest bloggers play the game and it works very well for all concerned. But the ‘something for nothing’ syndrome appears now and again…
There is some validity to the argument that one shouldn’t have to respond to ALL comments, enough spam gets through on most blogs that some comments are simply worthless.
But as you said Jane, a blog like yours has a genuine community and labelling all comments responses as spammers just because of their anchor text is kinda rude and (to be blunt about it) simply retarded thinking.
Thanks for sharing, enjoyed the story. And good for you for not giving in to the games!
Certainly Jym, I never insist on responding to ALL comments. There are always comments that simply add nothing but agree altogether. In this case, a response may not be needed. But labeling all commenters as spammers just because one is lazy to come back and comment is not a good thing!
Hi Jane,
You are certainly not the last one to face this as i am having my fair share of “attitude” problem from my guest bloggers. They thought they are doing us a favor providing us fresh content and can do anything they want, ignoring the comments and fail to follow up the post.
I tend to categorize them as “casual” bloggers who doesn’t know the ethics of guest blogging. In fact i suspect they don’t bother to read the guest blogging guidelines at all. Thus their response can be such extreme when you take down their links as though the fault is not theirs.
We are all kind people but sometimes we just have to act as we need to and i truly support your actions in coming down hard on your guest bloggers when they fail to adhere your guidelines.
Yes, Lye, being kind always doesn’t help.
PS: Just learned that you handed over your wonderful blog to Dev. Well, good luck with your bringing up, I’m sure that takes a lot of energy; but equally pleasurable as well.
Love a controversial post Jane.
Of course I see both sides here however more your side than your disgruntled Guest Author.
The blogger was of course rude to call your comentors “spammy” I can see why. Here she is writing a post on copywriting and receiving comments back from a website about washing machines and Coffee machines. She obviously thought these links were not relevant to her niche. (or were they)
As the store assistant said in “Pretty Woman”
“BIG MISTAKE”
This is where my support for her runs out!
These are just the type of people who could well be here target audience and now she has cut off her nose as they say.
Your website does have top ranking Jane and Google show’s you a lot of love as I can see by your AR and your Google Rank.
You did the right thing and I agree with you I also wouldn’t have removed her content.
After a visit to her website which is a home decor blog I now see she was totally out of line….. Washing machines and coffee machines would be right up her ally. With an Alexa ranking in the 4 million mark…. man … what was she thinking.
Love your blog, work ethic and values Jane……
Sandy Moore
Glad that you totally understood the situation Sandy
Appreciate the comment.
Jane,
This is my first comment I’ve left on your blog (I will admit to a bit of reading past posts for a while), and this one left me with a Yikes! Doesn’t she read the blog to see that it is a discussion oriented blog? A bit of an attitude here. My, my, my. Stick to your guns.
Best wishes,
Leora
Leora, glad that this post made you talk
There’s always something good in all that is bad
This has me wary of even asking for guest bloggers now! But, since my site is still relatively new – I don’t think I’d get anyone to write for now anyways…
Thank you for the article – it has opened my eyes to the world of blogging just that much more.
But you will soon be haunted by those guest bloggers Jason. Lol just kidding
As long as you know how to handle them, you should be fine!
Of course, guest blogging has its own positive and negative sides, about which the majority of bloggers knows. But that’s great that you decided to tell about it from this point of view, it was very interesting for me to read it. And you can understand it by yourself from the number of comments below your post))
Indeed Amanda, guest blogging is both a blessing and a curse (recently due to the increasing number of bloggers that have a strange attitude!)
Hello Jane,
I’ve been reading your blog lately — congratulations, you write well and your personality shines through.
I guess you’re right to value your time and effort to proofread and publish the guest post; nevertheless, I would be veeeeery tempted to delete it and erase every trace of the person off my blog.
On the other hand, you sure ticked her off by not giving back the post (since you had already made your rules clear) and the chance to use it elsewhere – sleek move!
Hi Eleni, Indeed I could have deleted the post without a second thought. But I respect the time of my commenters who bothered to type out a comment to that post. Deleting that post simply would delete their comments as well.
Plus it would not be possible for me to showcase this happening.
Being a blogger with long experience — you’re right!
This is indeed an interesting post about Guest & Host blogging. Not willing to say but here it goes…Guest blogger should be thankful because guest blogger is having the opportunity to reach wider audience/readers on host blogger’s website. If there are commentators on the articles it means the more users will click on the link given in the article.
As for CommentLuv plug-in it helps a lot to see a preview on what other users have posted on their site & how many comments they’ve done on the site.
Yes Dennis, I think this guest blogger totally doesn’t know about Commentluv.
once again your explanation is very good Jane! keep rocking and i’m sure that your “Pro blogging Action Plan ” is win in small business book awards 2012:)
I’ve made it in the book awards Sai
Thanks for all your support!
http://bookawards.smallbiztrends.com/marketing_2011/problogging-action-plan-1/
Maybe she doesn’t really understand the purpose of commentluv premium plugin. LOL I am not sure, but can she still find reliable blogs that wouldn’t allow a commentator to make use of keywords.
Beth that’s what I want to tell her!
So she did your blog wrong, huh? Jane you are intelligent enough to know that you will not give this person’s so-called posting back, right?
Where I grew up we have a saying for this type of talk… “YOU GO GIRL”! !
This is your house and until someone else is willing to contribute some rent, it is your way or the highway.
I honestly have not seen your rules, but I have read enough of your postings(I am not a stalker..lol) and your “About ME”, to know they are probably FAIR.
Love to see people stand up for themselves, too many people getting pushed around these days!
Thank you for your plain (Jane) speaking! Your straight forwardness is much needed in the blogosphere. ringahding~
Hey Bryan thanks for the wonderful (non-spammy haha) comment! I won’t be giving this blogger another chance to post on my site (I’ve already disabled her roles at the site).
You know I am no serious blogger, but am very serious about business. Thus, I am reluctant in guest posting. Do you think I should offer guest blogging on my site? Even though it is not really a blog style-site?
And big props to you for standing your ground!
Amazing!You always make a way to make it work or at least try! Thanks for sharing this.
I just read your guidelines. They are very comprehensive, and reasonable. In fact, I saw a few things in there that I want to add to my own guest author guidelines (which are substantially similar to yours).
I may try writing an article on “self improvement” although the one I have in mind may be only marginally on-topic for your site; I have discovered some lifestyle and dietary tricks that have substantially improve my own cognitive abilities, and the enhanced ability to focus has allowed me to increase both the quantity and quality of my writing output. But my primary focus is lifestyle and diet, which might not be the sort of thing you want on your blog. I’ll work up something and submit — the worst that can happen is that you decide you don’t want it, in which case I’ll just publish it on my own blog.
Speaking of which, if you have something to say about diet or exercise, I would enthusiastically welcome a guest post from you. You are certainly a better writer than most of my current guest authors.
Howard, I’m flattered
Yes I do write about diet and fitness.
On a side note – I just removed the self-improvement option for guest blogging; just getting too many spam on that side lol.
Well, I guess that rules out what I had in mind to contribute.
You are still welcome to be a guest author on my blog if you have any interest in doing so.
Oh I’m sorry that it ruled out the possibility of you guest blogging here Howard. But I do have other sites (Tech Buzz Online, Merry Relationships and my personal blog janesheeba.com, which talks a lot about self improvement) – you can try out there if interested
I’m sure that all your readers can’t wait to read your post about guest blogging etiquette! It is a very important topic, about which not many people write
I love guest posting and really enjoyed reading your post on it. In fact, I have sent over 50 guest posts out and I have come across the strict websites that ask me to respond to comments. How can I respond to a comment that just says “Nice post!” and the name is “Buy Cheap Dresses.” Hmmmm, that sounds really legit.
The one thing that you have to watch out for when it comes to guest posting now is that people will accept your guest posts on a newer site and then delete your links down the road. This is why it’s best to write for sites that are reputable and older.
I *never* approve null-content comments like “Nice post!” or even any of the longer variants of that on my guest blog. They are all spam, without exception. Unfortunately, they are about 99% of the comments I get. Fortunately, only about 2 or 3 a week get past my spam filter so that I have to delete them manually.
Thoughtful comments I keep, and encourage my guest authors to acknowledge and respond.
Hannah, sure no one can respond to a comment that says “great post”. There *may* be one or two spam comments that slipped through the spam filter. But do all those websites you mention only have spam comments? And do they strictly want you to respond to those comments?
I can see your guest blogger has some distorted notions of “spammy” comments, you’re better off to discover such at this point. You are remarkably doing good and sticking to your work morals and rules is very commendable. Keep it up and you have all our support. Truth always prevails so hers is an empty threat (of blackmail). Thanks for sharing this with us!
Thanks for your support Amy! I appreciate that very much!
I find it quite amusing about the whole ‘spam because they used keywords’ issue. End of the day a link is a link regardless of anchor text and I’d much rather have a genuine comment from Mike@Bathroom Robes than a comment that just says ‘Great Post I’m bookmarking your blog’ from someone who sticks John as the name!!
Louis, I couldn’t have said that better
Thanks!
Oh Jane my friend – I guess you could tell I was fired up after reading this post this morning.
I shared it on Google+ and promised to come back later to comment. In the meantime I got an email requesting a guest post and I looked over the writing samples they sent and sure enough, just like clock work no responses to comments on the very first post I checked!
Since I was already motivated by reading your post, I was on edge and almost a little rude when I flat out turned down the offer.
Imagine how silly I felt when I got this response “I’m sorry but Akismet won’t let me comment”.
All I could do was laugh, laugh, laugh – because he is so right! That darned Akismet will block your comments without a second thought and with no chance for appeal. I thought everyone got rid of that old unreliable plugin by now.
Then I went back and took a closer look at some of the other samples they sent and they were right, they were responding in most cases.
So I just had to come by and share that funny story with you guys.
But that doesn’t take away from what you said in this post. You are dead-on target and you absolutely did the right thing! (of course)
A guest post is exactly that. A \\\’guest\\\’ post and as a guest to your home/blog, they should be respectful. As they say \\\’when in Rome, do what the Romans do\\\’. In other words, Your blog, your rules. You are the host and they are the guest. You did the right thing!
Just tried to submit this comment and it tells me I didn’t spend enough time on the page and should read the post through! I did read it through and the comments also! I am a fast reader. And a fast typist!
Claire, yes I’m using Commentluv premium and I’ve set a minimum amount of time that users have to stay in order to be able to submit a comment. I’ve set this time to be 20 seconds.
This is to keep the bots (which auto submit comments instantly) and spam commenters (who don’t read the post but type “great post”) right off the bat.
And yes, you’re indeed a fast reader and writer
hey jane,
i am facing the same problem,few time ago thier was guest post on my blog and few readers on my site ask thier queries through commenting then the guest blogger refused to spent time in answering them.
i have removed that post few days after that,but at end whoz in lose,thats me i have lost my readers confidence in my blog
nad also my blog reputation.
such kind of guest bloggers should be spammed alsways
That’s exactly my problem Sumit. Deleting the post is much easier, but that makes our blog an insecure place to comment. People lose their links and their valuable comments which are really assets to their business.
Hey Jane,
Yes, it is important to follow the guest blogging guidelines when guest posting. Now, to your experience:
I have seen many bloggers sharing their bad experience with guest bloggers. I have got bad experiences too – spammy and too generic guest blogging requests. But, this one is much worse. I am sorry you had to go through this – but again, it adds more to your own experience, right?
Well, first off, I respect you for your response
Yes, why should you take that post back, the post you spent time on proof reading and publishing (and your commentators spent commenting)? I think not responding to comments is going to hurt the guest blogger’s own reputation.
Anyways, thanks for the post,
Jeevan Jacob John
Jeevan indeed it adds a lot of value to my experience! I’m also so glad that I could stand up in discouraging this sort of behavior among guest bloggers.
Guest blogging is such a useful idea. Thus, I do agree with Mr. Jeevan that not responding guest blog is one way of hurting guest bloggers because it do means that what you write is not that interesting to the writer’s article. I think writers should respect the idea of each guest bloggers.
Thanks for your views James.
Hi Jane
Does she replied to the comments recently in her post http://www.probloggingsuccess.com/copywriters-great-marketers ?
It is my first time that i read about topic you have mentioned and definately gain a lot…
And i try to make practical approach for the same..
Let me play Devil’s Advocate for a moment:
First, your guest blogger did not comply with your participation rule; I do wonder, though, if there shouldn’t be a reasonable time limit on such things (“must actively reply to all comments for one month after the post is published,” or some such). This isn’t the issue here, but is one that has occurred to me since I rarely unsubscribe from comments and often see the true spam and comments that are left on posts three years later. I don’t think any blogger should feel obligated to track their guest post comments for YEARS, though they may want to do so.
Second, backlinks are the currency of the Internet. As the blog owner and “publisher,” it’s in YOUR best interests to edit guest posts so that they do not reflect badly on you. But that’s a right you have reserved – you could have let the post go EXACTLY as submitted. There was no arrangement for services here – the guest poster wasn’t hiring you to edit a book. I don’t charge guest bloggers for my time and effort spent editing; if it’s too much, I just reject the post or ask them to edit more carefully. So I do think you ought to consider deleting the post. The only reason I still comment and guest post on certain blogs (hi, Brian B!) is because the bloggers removed my post at my request because they did something that wasn’t originally part of the “deal.” On the one hand, you did give notice that you would remove links if the blogger didn’t participate in the discussion – so you certainly have the right to do so, on that basis alone. But I’m wondering if that guest blogger would participate more actively now, if they understood that these were not spammy comments at all? And I’m wondering if it’s right to continue using the content – to your benefit – after taking back the “payment” of the backlinks?
Finally, threatening to do something harmful to someone in order to make them do what you want – even if it’s just legal action to make them comply with a legal request – may be considered extortion (not blackmail – blackmail is when they try to get you to pay or to do something in exchange for not telling your deepest, darkest secrets or crimes). The guest blogger should have just left the feedback if that was the plan, if you said no. They may, anyway. I suspect that’s the part that’s really upset you the most, and it would be good for other bloggers to understand this – do what you’re going to do, but don’t make threats.
Hey Holly thanks for this comment, which I truly enjoyed reading
1. I’m certainly not the kind of blogger who wants guest bloggers to reply to EVERY possible comment for the rest of their lives. I want them to follow up and interact with people who took the time to comment on their post. It is actually beneficial for them. Plus if people ask more questions and invite discussion, the guest blogger who has actually written the post will be the best candidate to engage, although I’m totally willing to step in and add my response.
2. I did not take the post down, not because I want to use her content for my benefit. Its for two reasons – (i) I don’t want to disrespect my commenters. My blog wouldn’t be a stable blog if I decide to do this quite often, people will totally ignore me. And I truly don’t want to ignore my commenters and take their time lightly. After all, they didn’t do anything wrong in all this issue! (ii) It is clearly stated in the guidelines that the payment of links will be taken back if they don’t interact with people on their post – not that I will return their content so that they can go about doing the same on a bunch of other blogs too.
3. Blackmailing involves threats. And to get a negative feedback on a community just for doing nothing wrong and taking action as per the guidelines is certainly threatening my business. If I had offered some bad product and if I get a bad review that’s totally fine. But what if someone “threatens” me to give them something or they will simply put up a negative feedback about my product? I see this as blackmailing.
And one more thing about taking the time to proof read and editing guest posts. Yes indeed I do mild edits. Coz, the post is going to be published on MY blog and I should see that the quality of the guest post is up to the standards. I cannot publish a post just like the way it was submitted, even if the content was great – I would still want to check on the formatting and grammar and other things.
I have returned so many guest posts after proofreading them; if I find that I need to do a lot of editing or rewriting, I simply ask them to do it and resubmit or take it as rejected. So spending time on formatting was not one of my biggest problems here
Thanks so much for your questions Holly. I appreciate your comment very much indeed.
Given that the author has been replying to most, if not all, comments, it seems you’ve made your point.
I do tend to write “guest posts” in the guise of comments, don’t I?
#2 is a good reason not to remove the post and redirect the URL; I hadn’t considered that. However, I think I’d have been inclined to replace it with a note at the top saying “The original post was removed at the request of its author.” A post about guidelines, disagreements, and the RIGHT way to handle them could easily have replaced the content. That way, everyone who had commented would still keep their backlinks and the disputed post wouldn’t serve anyone.
Still, this is a little like giving parenting advice – it’s YOUR blog, and you have every right to handle the situation as you see fit. Threats and such don’t sit well with me, either, so I can see why it rubbed you the wrong way.
The only time I’ve asked that guest posts (or comments) be removed from others’ blogs is when they add Infolinks and such without my knowledge and approval. I understand WHY bloggers opt to use these products, but when applied to something under my name, I’m concerned about potential APPARENT conflict of interest – that someone who doesn’t know what these plug-ins really are will take the links as my recommendation or endorsement of a product, when in fact I have no control over what appears. Given that the addition of links constitutes an unauthorized derivative work (and I never sign over all rights), I do have a leg to stand on. And when it’s happened, the bloggers in question have been pretty gracious about it. I generally don’t mind if the blogger places links back to their own posts (Kiesha does this, I’ve noticed) but to me that’s not just editing.
Jane, thanks for bringing the whole issue out in public and I am sure many guest bloggars will take a notice of it and I am not sure whether you have put a link of this post in yoour terms for guest bloggars, if not yet, you can just put so that the new guest bloggars are also aware. I fully agree that it is total blackmail and at the same time saying comments spam is also an insult to the great blogging community here.
Lalit, that’s why I make things public. At least such casual guest bloggers will stay away from some of the serious blogs! Thanks for stopping by
Hi Jane, that blackmail attempt is pretty ridiculous, but gave me a good laugh.
That’s also a fantastic idea about requiring guest posters to answer comments. On more than one occassion I’ve had received and posted an excellent guest post that covered detailed content I was unfamiliar with. Then, when I got comments I had no idea how to answer them! What a pain having to email the poster to convince them to come back and respond….or worse, having to do extra research myself to answer questions. I like your approach and am strongly considering adding it to my guest post guidelines.
By the way Jane, I’m really enjoying the site so far. I’ve read a half dozen posts already and can see I’m going to need to spend quite a bit more time later and reading all these gems!
Geoff I totally understand! Author of the blog post is the one very suitable to answer to comments. Thanks for sticking to Problogging Success
The term ‘SPAM’ gets thrown around way too much these days, when most people really should just call it what it is, and that is self-promotion. Spammy would be if I sent your guest poster an email, unsolicited, and tried to promote my espresso machine site.
I make no apologies for building a site about espresso machines and trying to make money by promoting Amazon products. That blog is my new project and I intend to devote as much time as possible to making it the best I can make it. I write well and promote only the finest products.
Your guest blogger was short-sighted and simple, and the incorrect usage of the term ‘spammy’ is just proof of that…
Great article…!
I am glad you didn’t sit quiet and came up with the whole episode. Paying money would allow me substantially more editorial control. However, I have not worked out the details.
I have seen the site lists from this http://guestpostblog.weebly.com/ which allow guest blog author in it. Within that quick response and I got benefits shortly. You can also benefit by visit that link as mentioned above.
I try not to sound too egotistical when I say this, over the past 12 months I have certainly been one of the \’faces of guest posting\’ simply amazing. Regular writer or Guest writer get solid Backlinks and traffic to your blog. Keep it up Jane, you can\’t excuse for it.
Good morning Jane!
This really comes as no surprise. In the off-line world there is an ever escalating view that ‘me’ or ‘I’ takes precedence over ‘you’ or even ‘we’. It was only a matter of time until people with such attitudes showed up in the on-line world.
I had a scenario in my business recently, where I heavily discounted my service so that a family could take advantage of something that might otherwise have been beyond their means (and I’m talking well over 50% discount and waived the security deposit). My team went beyond what I would ordinarily ask of them to ensure that the family had as much help as possible to maximise their enjoyment. All I asked was that they respect the property and pay a small local charge whilst they were there. More fool me!
Not only was there damage when they left, but they left me with the bill to pay locally as well as the repair costs. It leaves a real sour taste and hesitancy about trying to help out others in the future.
I now have clear ‘rules’ in place and I think you are quite right to enforce yours rigorously – wish I had done, it would have saved me a lot of grief and money!
Wow! I would love to let you loose in me house
You sure rock at organizing!
Hey Jane. I would have done the same.
If guest bloggers don’t reply to comments then its bye bye to the links that they left. It is as simple as that.
The rules are there for a reason and if a person can’t follow them then they will have to face the penalty.
Great article and thanks for sharing your experience with us.
Hey! Jane
I think you did one thing wrong here,
See, she wrote a guest post and after writing she didn’t replied to comments and its a violation of your guest posting guidelines right? And violating this guideline will result in personal link removal right again?
Here, According to me, the most professional way of dealing was only to do what you mentioned in your guidelines and that is “link removal” only rather than naming her (indirectly through her post link) in front of thousands of your reader. I know she did very much wrong, blackmailed and all. But from your part, dealing with this situation should be professional..So you could you have simply removed her link and mailed her that it was due to so so reason and don’t reply her with whatever excuse he comes. That’s it.
Let’s take an example of what professional companies or people do, Suppose someone violated Google adsense guidelines by fraud clicks than result would be that he/she would be PERMANENTLY BANNED and here adsense don’t mention the names of the publishers in any of their page who violate their rules and I don’t think any company do this.
Hope It was clear.
It was my personal opinion and ***I am not at all connected with her in any manner***
Don’t mind me
Raj – rajnblog.com
Raj thanks for your suggestion. But I don’t want similar blackmailing happen to me again, plus I didn’t want other bloggers to become victim of similar guest authors.
I appreciate your motto, and i am sure that this post will work as a warning message for all guest authors.
I am myself planning to write some guest articles but just waiting to have some posts done in my blog itself. I’ll come here as a guest author very soon.