Along with all the advantages that guest blogging offers to the host blogger and the guest blogger; guest blogging is a two edged sword, a curse in some forms. I have been doing a lot of posts here about guest blogging, I built a list of 500 plus blogs that allow guest blogging, there’s another list of 120+ sites that pay up to $150 for guest posts, I have guest blogged on several sites myself, but I do not allow guest posting here.

The reason being very simple that people do not come to read guest posts. Most of the times if I am heading towards my favourite blog and I find some guest posts there routinely instead of my favourite blogger I may stop visiting that blog altogether. Similarly I don’t like multi author blogs.

Now I don’t want to give the impression that I hate all guest bloggers. If they are providing some unique perspective and not the rehashed stuff that we are so used to see that it induces “nausea” I am ok with it and love reading those posts.

For example look at Pro blogger, any guest post that appears there has to literally be dripping with gold dust, they are of such high quality. My posts were rejected twice and mark my words my guest posts have never been rejected anywhere. I don’t miss Darren there. But most of the time guest posts on my favourite blogs speak of a lack of quality.

What I am against is the kind of emails that you receive saying, “ We can write a unique article on any topic, up to 500 words and we just need a do follow link in return.”

All for the sake of a do follow link. While they need to run and promote their business I would like stay clear of such people because that can destroy my readership-my business.

Dear bloggers, especially those who have just started their journey. The first day that you begin your blog, you have a tab inviting guest posts.

Why is that?

Have you begun your blog to be over written by guest authors or you think that you will not have enough ideas to continue everyday. If you don’t have ideas go and learn them, for its better that people read your opinion than your blog be run by others.

What I would like on my blog as guest posts are real experiences by people, their unique insight with making money online, building niche sites or being successful. What I like in my guest posts is that people should not only come and go for a link but for offering value.

May be I am asking too much, yes, we have just started this blog and I can offer nothing in terms of traffic or even a high PR link and that’s why until we deserve such posts we are not open for guest posts.

The future of guest posts:

Sooner or later Google will catch up with this art, that which is being exploited so much. Guest articles that are spun or written just for the sake of a link will penalize both the host and the guest and then will begin a new era where bloggers stay clear of any kind of guest posts.

I have had people asking me link to their Payday loan sites or Washing machine or Viagra sites with guest posts. Now why should I link to all these sites and how can I link to all these sites and believe blindly that there will be no penalties. In this age where every link appearing even as a humble comment is scrutinized why do you think that you can take risk with allowing un related links with guest blogging?

First build your readership and then let your blog inspire them to write great articles for you.

Three of four days back I sent a guest posting request to Daniel of Dailyblogtips and all that he had to say could be summed up below.

“2012 was a year where I entered into app development and I was thinking that my blog would be taken care of by guest authors and occasional posts by me. But every other day I would receive a couple of emails from readers saying that they want to open posts written by Daniel. So from 2013 onwards there will be a focus on quality and no guest posts.”

In the future the worth of a link will be determined by determining how hard will it be to get a link there than by the page rank of the site.

The future of guest posts has just started becoming more and more visible and while you may love someone take care of your blog at no cost, there is a cost to be paid in the form of reader engagement.

The reason people come to you is to read your stuff and that should be your priority.

I can see some of the businesses collapsing in 2013, that were set up to ease the process of guest blogging or to provide guest posts.

The quality of those posts count above everything else and if whatever you write and accept has quality then it can stand the test of time.