If you do any marketing online, it’s likely you’ve heard or read that “Guest Posting” is a powerful (often) zero cost marketing strategy. I agree – but sometimes it can backfire, and make YOU look bad, as this true story illustrates.
Due to the fact that it’s so hard to find a good fit for my target audience (Farm CEOs), I’ve not done much guest posting. But my fears about even the little I did back in 2012, on a 3rd party website today materialized today, when I discovered one very popular article had been taken offline without my being notified.
Back in 2012, I wrote 6 guest posts that got accepted for publication by a certain popular website focusing on African businesses, with a section dedicated to agribusiness.
The website had announced invitations for submissions on the above theme from interested persons, and I’d written in to the editor at the time, with hints of article titles I proposed to write. She had enthusiastically replied that they would be willing to review what I had.
So began an interesting exchange in which I prepared each article and sent it in every other week or so, until I had 6 published and LIVE on their blogs.
As at today – 7th Feb 2015 – the guest post shown above is no longer at the same URL…
A lot more happened, in which I published a new ebook, that the editor provided a compelling review of.
I will however cut the long story short by jumping to when, a few months later, something strange happened: she stopped responding to ALL my emails.
Initially, I thought she had gone on leave or was busy. But additional months passed and no responses came to my emails – even when I sent a “hello”.
When, on 4th May 2014, I lost my spontaneousdevelopment.com domain, I again reached out, to let her know, so the links in the bylines for my guest posts on their website could be updated to tayosolagbade.com.
But again, NO RESPONSE – not a sound, from her.
At that point I decided to let go.
So, I moved on, but in order to respect the guest posting rule, I still linked directly from my blog to the articles. I felt it would be improper to republish them from my website.
I did the above despite the fact that several people contacted me saying they read the articles and tried to reach me without success via the old URLs, before deciding to “Google” my name – which brought them to my new website.
As I got this feedback, it occurred to me that I had not taken the pains to create records of the fact that the articles were published as guest posts.
So, I took screenshots of each one and stored on my laptop, making a mental note to use them in my planned Best Practice Farm Business ebook series (which is now live at www.lulu.com/sdaproducts).
And it was a good thing I did that, because today, when I sent the link to one of my guest posts, to a prospective buyer, the article was NOT there!!!
There’s no need for me to say more than I have said above. Below are verbatim excerpts from emails I sent to the gentleman, which say it all.
He had gotten in touch yesterday night regarding my Excel-VB Poultry Farm Manager, Ration Formulator and Feed Formulation Handbook.
After my usual ritual of calling to find out more about his farm business, I sent him the details he requested this afternoon.
Some hours later, he replied with a request for payment details and more information as shown below:
And I responded with the details reproduced below…
Re: Re(Your Enquiry): Excel-VB Poultry Manager, Ration Formulator Software, and Feed Formulation Handbook
Thanks for your message…
1. Attached is a zipped folder containing the generic business plan preview documents – for the Micro Business Plan and the Full Business plan
Take a look through. I have taken out certain sections and left others in – but mostly blank tables and labels.
Note that the performance indicators featured in the tables are discussed in the articles I’ve linked to in response to below titled “5 Powerful Tools for Accurately Measuring Your (Farm) Business’ Health”
http://www.africabusinesscommunities.com/index.php/rss-abc-blogs/200894-5-po
2. Payment details:
<removed for privacy >
Note that you can convert the dollar fees to Naira, using the latest rates at www.xe.com
Whatever that comes to in naira, will be added to any other naira payments you wish to make and paid into the above account.
Let me know if you have any further queries or need clarification.
With kindest regards,
Tayo
After sending the above email, I decided to check that the article was there…a strange feeling pushed me to do it…and it turned out to be a wise move. What I saw made me quickly send a follow up email shown below!!!
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Re: Re(Your Enquiry): Excel-VB Poultry Manager, Ration Formulator Software, and Feed Formulation Handbook Quick update/follow up on the preceding email response…
I always had the feeling that one day my guest posts (published back in 2012) on some 3rd party websites would suddenly vanish and I would be left looking either
like a liar or a fool, with the links to them from my publications and my website.
But I refused to accept the negative thoughts.
Well, after I sent you the link to the article on Africanbusinesscommunities.com, I decided to check it was still there, only to find (as I’m sure you must have by now) that it no longer sits at that URL!
I checked another of my guest posts and that one is still there.
Thankfully, I already copied all 6 of them and published them in my new Best Practice Farm Business ebook series (see www.lulu.com/sdaproducts), and the introduction I used in the ebooks for each article indicates I was conscious something could go wrong in the future…lol!
Find attached a GIFT PDF version of my ebook series, and go to page 9 to see the full version of the article I referred you to in my preceding mail i.e.: “5 Powerful Tools for Accurately Measuring Your (Farm) Business’ Health”
I guess this is further proof that it pays to be prepared – a lesson I have learned the hard way over they years :-))
Accept the ebook as a gift from me …whether or not you go on to buy!
Tayo
Final Words
The way I see it, they could at least have warned me that the article had been removed, so I could update my links.
But then, it could also be said that they did NOT owe me even that. Either way, I do NOT ever want to find myself in that one sided situation ever again. So, it will be VEEERRRRYYY difficult for ANYONE, to get me to ever agree to submit a guest post again.
I think I’ll just avoid making myself look foolish by keeping my content on platforms I control!