So You Want to Write a Guest Post: An Author’s Guide to Promoting with Guest Blogging

by Jaime McDougall

The publishing world keeps on changing and, now more than ever, it is important for authors to have a presence on the internet. But where do you start? So You Want to Write a Guest Post is an easy to follow guide that will help you connect to bloggers and to write guest posts that get potential readers interested in your book.

Inside you will find:

So You Want to Write a Guest Post
*Introduction
*Guest Post Promotions
*Why I Wrote This eBook
*What You Will Find in This eBook
*A Note

Why Guest Post?
*The Purpose of Guest Posting

Before You Write Your Post
*Finding, Researching and Contacting Hosts
*Where Are All the Hosts?
*Do Your Research
*Site Statistics
*Other Things to Consider

Contacting the Blogger
*A Note

Writing Your Post
*When Words Count: The Importance of Word Count in Your Post
*What if You Go Long?
*Short Shorts
*That Being Said...
*Selling Your Book Without Selling
*Crafting a Catchy Title
*Catering to the Blog
*FAQ: Is Using a Guest Post More Than Once Okay?

Emailing the Host
*What to Include in the Host Email
*Book Cover and Author Pictures
*Book Synopsis
*Author Biography
*Links to Your Website(s), Blog(s), Etc.
*Excerpt
*A Note

The Post is Up!
*What to Do After the Post is Live
*Announce Your Post
*Email Your Friends
*Online Groups and Message Boards
*Other Social Networking Sites
*Your Blog

Stop by the Blog!

The Do and Don't List
*Do
*Don't

Great Guest Posts
*Read and Learn

Guest Post Ideas

So You've Written a Guest Post
*Things to Remember


*Approx. 9500 words

38 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 13, 2011

About the author

Jaime McDougall is a citizen of the world, currently loving life in beautiful Australia.

A love of fiction has always coursed through her veins and she told stories as a child even before she knew how to write them. Settling into one genre was never her style and she has plans for novels in women’s fiction, urban fantasy and more – all with a touch of romance.

She has been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: High School: The Real Deal and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Campus Chronicles. She has also enjoyed writing a column called ‘The New Australian’ in local newspapers as well as various articles online.

Reviews

[Nate LaClaire · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, you’ve written a book and now you need to promote it. In "So You Want to Write a Guest Post: An Author’s Guide to Promoting with Guest Blogging [Revised Edition]," author Jaime McDougall sets out to help other authors do just that by helping to demystify the concept and process of guest blogging. In this handy little e-book, McDougall begins by explaining the “why” behind authors writing guest posts and then offers a step by step guide to finding host blogs, contacting bloggers, writing a winning guest post, providing the post to the host blogger (including what else to send with the post), and finally promoting the guest post and communicating with readers after publication of the post. In addition, she provides dos and don’ts, links to samples of great guest posts (and explanations about what makes them great), and even guest post topic ideas.

Although it is written for authors, there is much to be gained from this book for anyone who might benefit from guest blogging. Bloggers, artists, marketers, or just about anyone else will find this book helpful, even though some of it will need to be adapted for your unique situation. Personally, McDougall has given me the courage to consider doing some guest blogging to promote my own blog and given me insight that will be invaluable when I do.

It is evident that the author has experience with guest blogging and wants to help other authors to market their books using guest blogging. The book is full of tips for success from someone who has learned from experience.

This is well worth the $0.99 price tag. If you’re an author, you should definitely read this book. If you’re not, there might be a better book for you, but I doubt it. Give it a try today.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a review copy of this book free from the author via LibraryThing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[Jencey/ · Rating 5 out of 5]

So You Want to Write a Guest Blog Post an Author’s Guide to Promoting with Guest Blogging by Jaime McDougall
I won this book through a giveaway on Librarything.com. I like other bloggers are looking for references that can improve our blogs and our writing. While this book is written more for authors who do need the help especially now with the expectation of not only promoting their own work but becoming socially adept online. Many publishers now have technology pages for authors as references. So this book is a great added reference to the websites mentioned above.
Here are some of the topics covered in the book. Why write a guest post? Why is this important in marketing your work? Another topic is how to write a guest blog post. The author gives suggestions from the length of the post to topics that can be subjects for guest posts. She focuses a great deal on how to research blogs to find the right one to meet your needs.

My Thoughts:
Like I side before this book is written more for authors, but I found it a great reference for bloggers too. Bloggers need to know what blog tour coordinators are looking for in their blogs and resources to also help promote their blogs. Then they can be sure to meet the author’s needs. Authors can then use this resource to find us and work as a team to promote their work.
Rating:
5/5

[Linda Ulleseit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fast read with good information about writing a guest post for a blog. There's really nothing new here. If you've blogged for awhile, you could have written this book. Nonetheless, it is a concise guide.