Guest posting is so very important as a blogger. You introduce yourself to new readers. You get some new traffic. Hopefully, you end up with some new subscribers.
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Last Thursday, one of my bloggy friends sent me a link and basically said, “This person takes guest posts. You write about these things. This could be a great opportunity for you.” Heck ya! I’m all over that. I quickly jotted down a topic I thought would be relevant to this blogger’s readers. I even outlined the post with the talking points I wanted to include. I went to bed feeling pretty good about the guest post I was going to write the next morning.
When I sat down at my desk to start typing the next morning, nothing happened. What’s going on here? I had even outlined everything. All that was left was to fill in the blanks. What was going on was my fear of rejection. My brain was telling my fingers there was no point in writing that post because the other blogger would likely send it back anyway. And even though I do guest post often, I realized that I play it pretty safe. I submit posts to those same blogs over and over again that have either accepted my posts in the past or have solicited a guest post from me personally.
I know I’m not the only one that suffers from this silly fear. And it really is a silly fear. What finally took me over the hump to submission was realizing that it really does not matter if this particular blogger accepts that piece or not. There are 1 million other bloggers that accept guest posts. If it comes back, I will submit it to someone else. If all else fails, it can go on a user-generated content site or here on my own blog.
Don’t let that fear of rejection paralyze you from submitting those guest posts. You are not going to somehow lose that post if someone rejects it. It is still yours, and you are still free to publish it on another site. And they may just take it! You will never know if you don’t try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Angie Nelson
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I heard a great piece of advice at a seminar once: fear is part of the fight-or-flight response. It’s not like you’re being chased by a lion, so what are you fleeing from? Or fighting against? Go for it!
Oh did I ever, Courtney. I not only submitted that post, I also rounded up a few other sites I would have otherwise never stuck my neck out on. It was quite empowering to conquer that fear.
You’re a great writer, so I would be amazed if what you write didn’t get accepted
That said, I know how you feel … there are a few different sites that I have seen that take guest posts that I’ve bookmarked for if/when I ever get the nerve to send them something! I need to just do it … you make some good points — if they don’t take it, I can send it somewhere else or post it on Hubpages or something like that.
Thanks, Anna. And thanks for the recommendation. It gets so easy to throw things up on HubPages, Wizzley, etc., but that rarely gets me *traffic* which is what we all really need at the end of the day. I often forget to follow my own advice, though.
And I see you are taking guest posters now! I will definitely send you something soon. I’ve just now started understanding how important guest posting is and I could kick myself for not doing more of it these past few months.
I would be happy to have you!
Thanks Angie! As always, you have perfect timing! With the most recent Pagerank release, I am reminded of how effective guest posting is. While I know PR is not really as important as I make it out to be in my head, I still like the feeling of being validated by the Giant.
I plan to be venturing out and doing more guest posts. But you are right, there is a huge fear of rejection!
I’m feeling the same way, Miranda. I know it is not a huge deal, but we have all been working so hard. It’s nice to see that is being noticed. It’s also kind of a bittersweet moment for me. I took a big jump. I bet it is a long time before I see another one.
yes while guest posting we all have a fear about the rejection but if we work hard to write then it will surely accepted.
Its nice to hear that others have fears or submitting guest posts. Makes everyone feel that they are even
You certainly are not along, Sharon.
Rejection will always be a part of life. The only thing we can do about it is to learn to accept it and learn from it. I had my share of rejection when it comes to guest posting. However, I have learned the reason why I have been rejected and have adapt accordingly.