7 Tips for a Successful Guest Post Swap

Hey, friends! It’s been a while since I’ve written on a particular blogging topic – I touched on staying inspired as a lifestyle blogger a while back, and I’m excited to be jumping in again! Honestly, blogging is one of my favorite things to talk about! It’s been a crazy journey since I first launched Just Bee. I started with only 4 followers on Bloglovin’ in summer 2014, and since then, this blog has grown into such a fun creative outlet, not to mention a wonderful, more-than-4-person community! 🙂

I’m so excited about today’s topic, because collaboration in the blogging world is truly one of my favorite things about blogging! We are all in this big, wonderful, crazy journey called life together, so we might as well journey and celebrate together, right? There are many ways you can collaborate with other bloggers. Today, I want to talk with you about guest posting…specifically, guest post swapping, and the most ideal way that you could go about it!

Guest posting is such a fun way to connect with and work with another blogger. Fellow bloggers understand the desire to push out quality content, reach a growing audience, and connect with others in the big online world! All of this makes it especially rewarding!

So, let’s discuss guest post swapping!!

Many bloggers are open to the idea of “guest post swapping,” in which you and that blogger each write a guest post for the other’s blog and post on each other’s site on the same day. I have had a lot of fun with that in the past. Not only do you get that additional exposure amongst their readership, you also get to connect with a fellow blogger and make a new friend (or even collaboration relationship) in the process! 🙂

But like any other blogging interaction or collaboration, there are ideal and not-as-ideal ways to go about it. Here are my 7 tips for a successful guest post swap!

7 Tips for Successful Guest Post Swapping:

1 // Reach out to a blogger with a similar niche; that way, there’s a better chance that the topics you tend to write about will resonate with them!

2 // Discuss potential topics with the other blogger well in advance! This is important because you may find that your ideas do not actually mesh after all. But that’s more of a worst case scenario. What’s most likely in that category is that you may want to tweak your post ideas just a bit to fit with each others’ blogs.

3 // Share several social media links with each other so you can include these in their guest post on your blog, so your readers know where to find them! Discuss whether or not you’ll want a brief (1 paragraph) intro about the guest blogger at the top or bottom of the guest post.

4 // Think about images for the posts. Decide if you will each design/include your own images in your guest posts, or if you (as the host) will design a main image for the guest post that matches your site’s aesthetics.

5 // Give yourself enough time! People can tell when a post was rushed or put together sloppily or half-heartedly. I recommend giving yourself about a month to accomplish this whole process: 1 week to discuss and hone in on post topics, 2 weeks to draft/write/photograph for/polish your post, and 1 week to send that post’s HTML code to your blogging friend and do any final troubleshooting.

6 // Take it really seriously! Honestly, some people believe that if it’s “just” a guest post, it’s not necessary to keep the quality as high as in your own blog posts. But it’s actually a huge opportunity and open door, so take it just as seriously as you would in crafting your own blog post! That is also the respectful way to go about it for the other blogger, as your content will be displayed on their blog!

7 // On the day that your post goes up on their blog, head over throughout that day and the next week or so, and respond to comments on the post! This is huge, because it shows their audience that you are eager and willing to engage with them, too!

Have you ever guest posted for another blogger? Or swapped posts? What was your experience like, and what advice do you have for fellow bloggers??

** Did you like today’s post? Are you looking to stay inspired as a blogger? You can sign up for Just Bee’s email letters HERE, where you will also receive my in-depth Blogging Inspiration Workbook for free!! 🙂 Once you’re on the email list, you’ll also be the first to know about an exciting upcoming project I’m working on!