Guest posts: I don't get it!
Imagine yourself on a sunny Tuesday morning. You've got some time on your hands and you decide: 'I'll go and visit with my friend Mary!'
So you head on over there and knock on Mary's door. Turns out, Mary isn't there! But Alice is. You don't know Alice, but she's nice enough. She offers you a cup of coffee and you two talk. But at the end of the day: Alice is not Mary!
And you really wanted to visit with Mary.
The same principle applies to guest posts!
I feel the same principle applies to guest posts! Which is why I don't get their popularity. Don't get me wrong. I know they're a great promotional tool, and a good way to get your name and blog out there. But as far as reading guest posts goes: I'm not a fan.
When I go to a blog, I go there to read something the owner of the blog wrote. Not someone else. Sure, a guest post can offer something new, and quite often provides valuable information. But that's not really the point, now is it.
So even though guest posts can be interesting, I still feel they're the equivalent to encountering a stranger when you go and visit a friend.
Am I the only one who feels like this about guest posts? Let me know!
I like them both for my own blog and reading them.
As far as the reading goes, I enjoy learning about a new blogger and reading their stories. It gives me a chance to meet someone new and consider reading their blog.
Regarding them on my own blog, granted my blog is my name so it seems a tad awkward to have a post written by someone else but I like to give my blogging friends some exposure. Those who have written posts for me while I was away are people I admire, respect and appreciate so it's only natural I'd want to share their words on my site. Well, natural for me.
I can see why someone wouldn't like them but I guess it's just "to each his/her own."