Posting guest articles on your blog is an excellent way to vary the content your readers receive, benefit from increased traffic to your site, and make connections with others in your field. However, you can't just post any old article someone sends your way. Here are a few points to include when outlining guest post guidelines.

Tip #1: Describe your audience

Hopefully, if someone is guest posting on your blog, they'll be familiar with your writing style and know what type of readers your blog attracts. Providing a few specifics, however, will help the writer target your readership effectively to provide an entertaining piece for them and more traffic for you and the guest blogger.

Tip #2: Provide a link to a previous guest post

If this isn't the first time you're accepting guest posts, you may have already had a few external writers produce content for your blog that was a big hit. Send your future guest writer a link and let them review the material to give them an idea of what you're interested in posting.

Tip #3: Set a word limit

Some writers need added direction, and giving them a word count can be a helpful "signpost". You want to avoid posting articles that are excessively longer than what you normally write, as it will disrupt the flow of your blog. Another danger is a guest writer sending in a short post sloppily written just to get the link benefit.

Tip #4: Ask for accompanying photos

Blog posts are much more entertaining with photos or some type of graphic. Instead of spending time trying to find the perfect image to accompany their post, ask them to send along a few of their top picks. If you have limited storage space on your server, request that it be hosted on another site (like Flickr). Also specify the size in pixels so that you don't spend excess time resizing photos.

Tip #5: Two social media efforts are better than one

Writing an article for your blog is a great opportunity for a guest blogger, because they get access to your audience. However, make sure to ask that the writer promote their article through their own social media mediums, like their Twitter account, Facebook fan page, StumbleUpon, et cetera, so you receive the maximum advantage.

Tip #6: No duplicate content

Specifying that the content be original is an absolute must. If you're concerned with SEO (and who isn't?)Google does not look favorably on the same content appearing all over the internet. If your guest blogger is really excited about a new article he or she just posted on their blog, and thinks it would be a great fit for your audience, it is still best to say no. You can suggest that they write a follow-up article or a part two for your site, a similar post from a different viewpoint, or some other angle on the same topic. Publishing a carbon copy will only be a detriment.

Tip #7: Add author byline rules

Your guest writer will want to add an about the author section at the end or beginning of their article, with a link back to their site. You should set the specifications of this as well. How many links will you allow back to their site? Can they add their Twitter user-name? How many sentences should they write? This part of the article can be just as important as the post itself.

Tip #8: Ask them to email their idea first

When finalizing your guest post guidelines, don't forget to ask them to send their pitch first before writing the article. This will save them time spent cultivating a post that you can't use, doesn’t fit with your blog, or that your readers will hate.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jasmine Stephenson is a guest blogger for Pounding the Pavement and a writer on the subject of becoming a nail technician for the Guide to Career Education.