guest post

Memory keeping with a purpose

by Guest on January 1, 2013

The following is a guest post from Nancy Hann, founder of Traveling with Purpose

Hello there. Happy New Year! I’m so thrilled that you’ve decided to stop by Amy’s Blog Party on the first day of your new year. Let’s get off to a great start.

If you like to read Lemon and Raspberry, I’ll bet you’re also looking for ways to make a difference, whether it’s around your home or across the ocean. I love that Amy posts lots of motivational and organizational info to help us all stay on the right track.

Have you made a New Year’s resolution to make more of a difference in your world? Have you ever thought about using your talents to help others? Are you working on improving your photography? Do you love memory-keeping or being the historian for your family?

There are ways to use these passions to help others as well.

Let’s think about things close to home first:

Who documents the activities in your child’s classroom or sports team?
Does anyone take pictures of activities with your extended family, church, friends, etc.?
What about neighborhood parties or events?

If you love taking pictures and memory-keeping you could volunteer to be the official or unofficial historian for any of these activities. There are always people in any group who either don’t have the time, interest or skill to do it. You could think about putting together an annual digital photo book (like the ones at Blurb) for your group and offer it for sale so others could buy copies for themselves. It could even be a little bit of extra income and what a gift your work would be to others.

Now what about something a little farther from home:

Do you admire the mission and vision of a favorite non-profit?
Are you able to take a few hours out of your month to lend them a hand with photography, memory-keeping or story telling?
Or maybe you can take a week or so out of your year to travel with them to do the same

Consider the possibility of volunteering your time to take pictures and/or do some memory-keeping. Most non-profits have either service projects and/or fund-raising events that can be documented. Imagine taking compelling photos for a soup-kitchen that feeds the hungry or an overflowing homeless shelter in the winter. Often times smaller organizations don’t have the funds to hire a professional photographer and if your skills are high quality you can provide them with photos that will help tell their story to their potential donors, newspapers, foundations, etc.

Do you enjoy writing? Then consider writing a story about an event or service project and allow them to use it in their newsletters or press releases. If you’re a blogger, share about it on your blog. One of the most important things for every non-profit is exposure and awareness. You can help with that for free!

Another option would be to offer to take a trip with an organization that provides services away from home. This could be a humanitarian organization that helps after disasters, a group that trains third world farmers to produce better crops, or works with endangered species conservation or any number volunteer organizations around the world. You’d be amazed how many organizations like this are out there.

I’ve had the privilege of traveling with a couple of different organizations in the last few years and would jump at the chance to do it again when the opportunity presents itself. It was a life-changing experience and I was able to help others as well! If you’d like to read more about one of my trips, please check out my site, Traveling with Purpose. Check out this post specifically about a trip that I was able to go on to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I also had the chance to go to the Middle East with an organization that trains women leaders in a region that doesn’t always honor the important contribution that women make in society. Here’s a Blurb book that I put together for one of those trips just to give you an idea of what you could do. It was eye-opening and made me so thankful for the freedoms we have here in the U.S. I’ll be writing about one of those trips in the coming weeks.

And while we’re at it you can help me out.

If you know of any great organizations that provide either service-oriented or educational travel opportunities, or if you’ve been on a trip yourself I’d love to hear about it. I’m always on the lookout for groups and trips that I can write about.

So, consider helping someone this year with the skills that you already been blessed with. You’d be amazed how great it feels to lend a hand to someone in need.

I trust that your new year is brimming with fulfilling and adventurous days! And don’t forget to stop by and see where we’re off to next.

A little bit about Nancy: I’m the founder of Traveling with Purpose. I love blogging, photography, memory-keeping, travel, helping people and learning new things and this gives me a chance to combine all of those passions in one place. You’ll find a more detailed bio here: http://travelingwithpurpose.com/about-me/

1 comment

The Power of a Mantra

by Guest on January 1, 2013

The following is a guest post from Megan of The Nerd Nest:

For a lot of us, the new year is a time to think about changes. For some reason, changing to a new calendar feels like a fresh start. That’s why this time of year gives us a unique perspective on our lives: we feel like we can leave the last year behind and start anew, so we tend to be more honest with ourselves about what we’d really like to change in our lives. New Year’s resolutions are one way to channel these epiphanies; but we all know that New Year’s resolutions, which in themselves are really just goals, are hard to hold onto once the newness of the year has worn off.

Last year, I decided to do something different. Instead of choosing a goal for the year, I wanted to choose a mindset. So my husband Jake and I set out to pick a family mantra for the year. A mantra, which can be a sound, word, or group of words, is meant to create transformation. A personal mantra, then, is capable of transforming your mindset! We chose the phrase “One Step at a Time” for 2012. And yes, keeping this mantra with us was transformative!

We did things that we normally might not have started because they seemed overwhelming. We set up systems that improved our lives, because we thought of big goals as steps instead of just focusing on the impossible end result. For instance, a lot of our steps involved getting organized and keeping our house clean. We’re not good at that. And if you look at this goal as a pass / fail, then we failed. Our house is not organized or perfectly clean. But, you know what? Our laundry is always done. And I know where to find all of my digital photos. The steps we took were, for the most part, permanent. And that is way better than no progress.

More important than the results for me, however, was the mantra itself. If I felt myself get overwhelmed or anxious, I could say to myself, “Okay, Megan, let’s take this one step at a time.” The mindset helped me do better emotionally in stressful situations and helped me learn to manage my time better. Reflecting back, I’m amazed at how many positive changes have come about because of this mantra.

Take some time today to reflect on the mantra that would help you achieve the transformation you’re hoping for this year.

It can be a word, it can be a sentence, or a quote… it can be anything that you want. Consider it your cocoon: something to hold you safely while you grow. I’ve chosen a mantra for 2013.

What will your mantra be?

Megan Anderson is a crafty nerd, aspiring novelist, and avid life documenter. She reads piles of books, loves city life, and blogs about her nerdy family life with her husband Jake at the Nerd Nest. You can also find her at Document Life Workshop, a creative space made to challenge and inspire memory keepers. Get to know Megan better by following her on Twitter.

1 comment

Guest post: 2013 is for Gratitude

by Guest on December 20, 2012

The following is a guest post from Vicki Anne Melo, a creative blogger and entrepreneur.

Today is my birthday!! I feel so grateful to have celebrated it this year in sunny Mexico with my husband’s family. It was a really special day filled with good food, thoughtful gifts, and lots of laughs shared with people I love.

On days like today I really wish I had the time and dedication to create scrapbooks like Amy’s beautiful Project Life book so that I could look back later in life and remember how special days like these are. But with writing at least 8 hours a day and starting a new business in 2013, I know I won’t be able to dedicate much time to it.

Still, I really wanted to find some way to document my life that doesn’t’ take up a lot of time and that I could do no matter if I’m traveling or at home. I’m also not the greatest photographer so the “Photo a Day” idea that a lot of people do just isn’t my cup of tea.

While doing research for an article on my blog called What Do You Want That You Already Have? The Power of Gratitude, I came across the idea of keeping a daily gratitude journal. Basically, it’s just a notebook where you write once a day, every day about something specific you are thankful for with the entries being quite brief, ranging from one word to a short paragraph.

I thought this would be a perfect way for me to keep my memories for 2013! Not only is it not time consuming (we all have time to write a word or a few sentences), but it is something I can do no matter where I am (the notebook can be small enough to fit into my purse and be taken wherever I go). The greatest benefit of a gratitude journal though, is so much more than a simple and unique way to remember my year. I learned that writing gratitude journals have actually been proven to increase feelings of happiness and well-being.

By taking only a few minutes everyday to write down one or two things you were thankful for forces you to pay attention to the good things in your life and by paying attention to them, actually deepens their emotional impact. It’s true that grateful people are happier people and a gratitude journal is a simple way to practice thankfulness.

I also learned that in order to reap the positive benefits from a gratitude journal you should make sure that you don’t just go through the motions. You should make a conscious decision that you want to be happier and understand that by being intentionally grateful everyday is one way in which you can work towards that.

Also, it helps to elaborate about the things you are thankful for. For example instead of just writing, “I’m thankful for the funny sentences my son says that surprise me and make me laugh”, elaborate more and write down a few examples of what those funny sentences were. This way, when you read your journal many years down the road, it will make it easier to remember that time in your life.

Lastly, get really personal. We are all thankful for good health and clean air and mexican food, but what are the things that you are specifically thankful for from only this particular day in your life. Being specific will help you remember the day easier when you look back by rereading your journal.

Since it’s already the end of the year, I decided to get my gratitude journal ready now so that I can start with no excuses on January 1st. You can buy ready-made gratitude journals or just use any old notebook. I decided to get creative and make my own.

You can see how I made this notebook by checking out my gratitude notebook tutorial here.

I am really excited about writing a gratitude journal, not only because I finally found an easy way to document a little bit of everyday for 2013, but because I’m looking forward to intentionally thinking about the good things in my life as a daily practice.

Whether you write a lot or just a word a day or incorporate gratitude into your Project Life scrapbook, I hope that this post has inspired you to be more grateful in 2013.

Besos,

Vicki Anne Melo is a creative blogger and entrepreneur. Her blog is a source of inspiration and resources for young writers, entrepreneurs, and creatives alike. She also writes a lot about personal development with stories of her own life thrown in the mix. You can check her out here or on Twitter @vickiannemelo.

0 comments

3 Brainstorming Tips: Jump Start your Creative Process

by Guest on August 15, 2012

The following is a guest post from Kam of Campfire Chic. She is my #30Lists partner-in-crime and my closest friend that I’ve met online. She’ll be joining us in September for Onward and Upward 2012, as an alumnus of the 2011 workshop. Kam recently released her first ebook THREE-SIXTY-FIVE and you can read my review here.

Lemon and Raspberry is a fantastic resource for turning ideas into projects and possibly even finding and working on your great work. Amy is full of ideas and does a great job of turning the best ideas into projects.

But what if you have trouble coming up with ideas, let alone great ideas?

It’s called brainstorming, and as corporate or elementary school as it sounds, brainstorming can be a great thing. But like other great things (Nutella), when it is taken too far (like my fried Nutella wontons), you may be worse off than before.

So let’s talk a little about how you can curate and/or refine your brainstorming skills so you can more efficiently go from idea to project to finished.

Types of brainstorming styles you may want to try

Just start listing the words that are flowing around in your head. Maybe you’re thinking of a name for a blog post, a tagline for your website, or a team name for an upcoming trivia night at the local brewery. Just start writing.

A spider web…sticky, gross, usually inhibited by a spider…but what I’m talking about is the structure of a spider web. The center of the web is the hub…the big idea, the foundation for an online class, the theme of an ebook, the driving force behind a week of themed blog posts, or the goal of having a dedicated work/craft space in your home. It’s the center and focus of the whole deal.

Let’s use the example of writing and publishing an ebook. The center is going to be the working title of your ebook, the initial webbing will be things like Chapters, Design, Marketing (find out how to get your customers excited about a new product). From the Chapters web, there will be mini webs for your chapter ideas. If you’re writing a vegan slowcooker cookbook, some of those chapter ideas may include, the mighty chickpea, summer favorites, how many stews can you really make?, and spices. From those webs, you can start writing the basic ideas you have for each chapter…under spices, you’ll probably include cumin, fresh vs. dry, salts, for example.

You get the idea…your ideas are organized in a visual representation that will help move from idea to project.

This was my favorite way to start writing papers when I was in school. This exercise is for somebody looking to put down more than the words floating around in their heads…they have sentences…they have small paragraphs. This stuff may not have connections, or maybe there are missing steps, but it needs to be written down…and an unedited stream of consciousness brainstorm may be what is needed. Just “vomit” up all of the ideas and get them down on paper (digital or real). I like to do this when start a long blog post or working on copy for #30Lists. I can go back later and format, delete, add, and maybe even start over.

What works for me

I have lots of ideas floating around my head, I’m a Pieces through and through when it comes to daydreaming. The trouble I have is capturing those ideas, and working through them to a finished product. I’m not always a finisher, and to be honest, not all of my ideas deserve to see the finish line. When I know it is time to brainstorm, I usually go to my default: Lists.

If I am coming up with a name for something, I write down all of the words and strong keywords that I feel encompass the project. For example, I was working on coming up with a team name for the San Diego Color Run recently and needed a fun name for a co-ed team of people who don’t know one another. I started listing words that had to do with color in hopes of coming up with some sort of fun alteration. After about 10 minutes, Tough Ombre was born. I did the same “word dump” to come up with the name for Campfire Chic.

When I’m brainstorming for blog posts, I pull up my editorial calendar and take a look at what I already have on there. Pull out my list of blog post ideas (in fact, I have 365 blog post ideas for you) and start filling in the blanks and emailing myself with “homework” to do while on my lunch break at work…the homework being drafting the posts.

Try it!

Say you are a blogger who is going out of town for a week. You would like to have a week’s worth of blog posts scheduled and it is too late to request guest blog posts from your blogging friends. Your task is to come up with 5 blog topics that you would like to write about…sounds easy, right? Try to stay away from “Wordless Wednesday” “Favorite Things Fridays” or other content-less types of posts when brainstorming. What did you come up with?

Where do you go from here?

Brainstorming and generating ideas is a fantastic start. But it is only the start…the next thing you need to do is to act on those ideas and eventually finish the idea, if there is a finish.

Here are some resources that may interest you:

Setting SMART Goals
365 ideas for blog posts, scrapbook pages, & art journal entries eresource
The Finishing Manifesto ebook
Onward and Upward 2012 – the online workshop hosted by Amy!

Kam is the blogger behind Campfire Chic. When she isn’t brainstorming new blog posts, adventures to take, or ways to survive her day job, Kam enjoys listening to podcasts, reading comics, and eating carbs. Her new ebook THREE SIXTY-FIVE has 365 ideas for blog posts, scrapbook pages, and art journal entries. The book is designed with you in mind and gets you brainstorming even more! Buy it today.

3 comments

How to make time for your GREAT WORK

by Guest on July 23, 2012

The following is a guest post from L&R sponsor The Nerd Nest! I’m super excited to share this with you, as this is a topic Megan and I have discussed previously via comments and tweets back and forth, so I know she cares about it AND this is a perfect little taste of what is to come in my Onward and Upward online workshop! I’d love if you commented below with any questions you have for Megan or for me. Megan and Jake are starting a series this week – Getting It Done. Click on over to check it out!

My name is Megan and I make time for my great work.

What kind of Great Work would you like to accomplish in your lifetime? Do you dream of becoming a noteworthy blogger, an amazing photographer, a tattoo artist, an award-winning chef, a corporate ladder climber, or an explorer of the world? Perhaps you share my dream of becoming a published novelist, or Amy’s dream of helping others to accomplish great work.

Whatever you want your great work to be, I’m here to tell you that no matter how busy your life is, you can find the time to work towards actively creating great work.

Here are four ways you can fit great work into your life:

Add Your Great Work to Your Routine

I wrote the first draft of my novel while I was a full-time college student, a part-time job holder, an avid scrapbooker, and parent to a precocious toddler. It may seem impossible to accomplish all of those things simultaneously and well, but I did. I found time to create my great work by allotting a small amount of time every day to work on my novel rough draft. Some days I’d write three hundred words before bed, sometimes I’d clear an afternoon and write a long chapter at a coffeeshop. By making writing part of my routine, I wrote the first draft in less than a year.

Now that I’m in the final editing stages for my manuscript, working in small bits everyday doesn’t work anymore. This stage of my work requires me to hold thousands of little details in my head as I’m working: it’s something that can’t be accomplished in small bits here and there. Now I work in several hour chunks each weekend.

Be flexible about adding your great work to your routine and match the time you’re spending to the type of work that needs to be done.

Find out what works best for you and commit to it.

If you’re working on a mural, sketch a bit everyday and then spend several hours once a week or a whole day once a month painting. If you’re working on becoming a great cook, challenge yourself to try a new technique every week or every day. If your great work is social activism, research daily and work towards making the world a better place on weekends. Add your great work to your routine, and you’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish in a seemingly short time frame.

Improve Your Skills

I started writing my novel in late 2009. In 2011, my second draft was finished and I felt blocked. My work wasn’t where I wanted it to be, and I was struggling to figure out how to make the product match my vision. I was too close to the work: I knew how much time and effort went into each sentence and character, so I was reluctant to make the cuts that needed to be made. My solution? I shoved my manuscript into a dark filing cabinet for six months, read a lot about writing and editing, started working on my second novel’s character profiles, and thought a lot about what I want my debut novel to say about me as a writer. I pulled the manuscript back into my life at the beginning of this year.

I knew my work wasn’t yet Great Work, so I did what I needed to do to get it there. Many people in my life were worried that I was giving up on the novel. I’ve heard more than my fair share of, “You’ll never finish at this rate.” That didn’t matter: I trusted my instincts and this draft is so much better–greater–than I though was possible.

Taking the time to improve my skills was what my work needed.

Even though I don’t actively work on my novel manuscript every day at this stage and I didn’t work on the manuscript at all for six months, I’ve done something to improve my creative writing skills every day. I read great literature and think about the techniques employed. I read books about creative writing, editing, literary theory, and the English language. I blog daily, which helps me to improve the conversational tone in my writing. I write children’s stories for fun for my kids. I write poems. I do writing exercises. I write lists. I research human psychology and interaction to create more realistic characters and plots.

I’ve found that improving my skills not only makes my great work greater, but it also makes me work more efficiently. By spending time developing skills, I make a better use of the time I set aside to do my great work.

Making time for improving skills is just as important as making time for your great work directly.

Try learning a new technique, reading an expert in the field, and expanding your view of what skills may be needed to accomplish your great work. Be careful not to let your skill-building take away from your great work completely: be confident that you already have the skills to start your great work. Building skills should help you to grow, not hold you back from accomplishing your great work.

Make Your Great Work Your Priority

You can’t really make time. If you feel there’s no time for your great work, then something in your life has got to go. Think about your priorities. What do you waste time doing? What can you cut from your life? What brings you no joy?

I’ve cut a lot of things out of my life: shopping, web surfing, TV watching, money making, and commute times have been the most meaningful cuts. I still do all of these things, but I don’t let any of them take up very much of my time. I try to only focus on things that I value in my life: my family, my creative outlets, daily tasks, and my great work. I use unnecessary time wasters to relax and make sure I’m not overworked, but I don’t get too caught up in them waste away the valuable hours in my life. (Setting a timer is a good way to make sure you’re not wasting too much time on a purposeless task.)

My great work is not my top priority: my family is. I look at my small children and am very aware of the relentless passing of time. I realize that I only get this time with them once. I realize that my time with my husband is precious. I have my whole lifetime to write novels. I’m in no rush. But that does not mean that I don’t make my novel a big priority. I do want to accomplish my great work, and I make sure that it is prioritized over things in my life that do not hold great meaning to me.

Try this exercise: Write a list of all the things you do daily or weekly. Order this list, starting with the things you think are most important in your life and ending with those you don’t think are important.

Then write down the time you spend on tasks for a whole week.

Compare those two lists.

Does the time you are spending on tasks reflect your priorities?

What can you cut out to make time for your great work? Is there something missing? What life changes could you make to find greater happiness?

Take it with You

Those ten minutes in line at the grocery store or post office? That twenty minute commute? The time it takes for your lunch to be served or reheated? All of that time can be used for your great work.

When an idea for great work strikes, you want to be ready for it.

There are lots of ways I make my work portable. I can’t drag my composition books of notes everywhere with me or delve into the aspects of my work that take a great deal of focus and concentration, but I can still make use of seemingly wasted time. When I drive alone, I turn the radio off and think about my great work. At a red light or when I’ve reached my destination, I record an audio file on my cell phone and send the file to Evernote for safekeeping. I bring a notebook with me when I know I’ll be waiting in a line so I can write instead of flip through magazines. I keep my drafts on an online server so I can work on them from any computer. I write poems on napkins in restaurants while waiting for my food. I go straight for a notebook when I’m done showering.

Great ideas can come throughout your day, not just in the time you’ve allotted to do your great work. Make sure you have a way to store them until you can use them.

Think often about your great work. Infuse it into your life through thoughts as well as routine to insure that you spend your time doing your great work instead of deciding what to do.

Making time for my great work has given me fulfillment. It’s allowed me to follow my passions, to learn, to grow, and to create work that I’m proud to call my own. Even though my life seems so full sometimes it might burst at the seems, slowing down to look at the big picture of what I’d like to accomplish with my life has given me more meaning and purpose. These ways of making time for great work are simple, really. They make big dreams manageable. And that’s how great work is created.

How will you make time for your Great Work?

Megan Anderson blogs with her husband Jake at The Nerd Nest, where they share their nerdy adventures in coding, books, memory keeping, social issues, crafts, food, and everyday life with their two nerds-in-training. Be sure to join them this week for their series Megan and Jake Get It Done to find more productivity tips. Then Follow Megan on Twitter so you won’t miss what comes next!

0 comments

My name is Amy and I am a NERD

by Amy on July 17, 2012

My name is Amy and I am a things-that-are-magical nerd.

(Not to be confused with a magic nerd)

Obviously, I realize this needs to be explained.

I’m guest posting over on The Nerd Nest this morning – kicking off their new series Spread the Nerd.

Click on over to find out exactly what I am a nerd of!

1 comment

guest post resouces

by Amy on May 2, 2012

When you are receiving a guest post for your own blog:

0 comments

5 Tips for Crafting a Guest Blog Post from Idea to Submission

by Guest on April 23, 2012

The following is a guest post from L&R sponsor and real-life friend Kam of Campfire Chic. This girl knows her stuff, so be sure to bookmark this post!

Amy has written about the importance of good copy before, but how does that tie in to writing a guest blog post?

A guest blog post is…

Your opportunity to give readers a reason to subscribe to your blog/buy from your shop
Your opportunity to show the blog host that you read his/her blog
Connect with new readers
Mutually beneficial when done well

A guest blog post is not…

To be taken lightly
To be re-posted anywhere else on the internet
A way to shamelessly promote an item/service of yours without some sort of tie-in

Today I am going to share some tips for crafting a guest blog post that not only entertains readers but also benefits both you, as the guest blog post writer, and the blog host.

1. Brainstorm

Make a list of the themes of your blog, consider the types of posts you already published that new readers may find particularly interesting. For each idea, list how you can incorporate links to your previous posts on similar topics to get readers to click over to your blog.

Example: If you are sharing a post about scrapbooking while traveling, you can probably link to posts you published about your essential tools, how you plan ahead for a scrapbook page, and to a post about how you plan for a long trip. If you recently created travel scrapbook kits you are selling online, this would be the perfect time to promote them!

Narrow down your ideas to 2 you really think are winners.

*Amy’s note: Having trouble coming up with ideas? Here are 365 blog post topics to start with.

2. Do your Research

First, do your topics match what is being shared on the host blog? If I am going to share a guest blog post about scrapbooking, I need to make sure that the host either blogs about scrapbooking or find a way to tie in this idea with the themes she does talk about…maybe memory keeping, traveling, or general crafts.

Here’s a question…has the blog host already posted about this topic? If you are a long-time reader with an excellent memory, you may be able to answer this question easily, but if you’re anything like me and apt to second-guessing…do some research. Search the his/her blog using a search bar or tags/labels, if available. Search the different dedicated pages to the overarching topic.

Be sure to bookmark or make note of blog posts on the host site that may support your post. Linking to Amy’s books for her cruise in Alaska or how she prepared for December Daily would show that I read her blog and will really streamline the guest post in with her work.

Using my example above about a scrapbook-themed guest blog post, I would search Amy’s site for keywords like ‘scrapbook’, ‘travel’, ‘kit’, road trip’, ‘mini-album’, and ‘scrapbooking’.

3. Write Your Pitch

You came up with your idea, you made sure there wasn’t a similar post already, you found additional posts to link to from the host site, and you’re ready to start writing…but wait! Let’s get it cleared first!

Amy recently posted a great set of guidelines for guest posting on L&R and she does a fantastic job of being specific with her request for a pitch. Why write a pitch? Because the blog host should know what you are planning on sending in before you start to write. It’s only fair and it gives you and the blog host time to work out any kinks and decide if the post is going to be mutually beneficial. Also…s/he may be writing up the same post! (In that case, pitch the idea of swapping posts on the same day to drive traffic back and forth…you host his/her post on the topic and s/he hosts your post!). Another idea is to start the guest blog post on one blog and finish the post on the other. Amy shared some reasons why a self-hosted WordPress may be a better choice than Blogger on Campfire Chic and continued the discussion in more detail on Lemon & Raspberry.

Be sure to include: Why you think the post is worthwhile, dates you would prefer (for example, I prefer a Monday or Tuesday publish date over Saturday or Sunday), and an example photo if you have one available.

4. Write the Post

Once your pitch is accepted, start writing! Even with a deadline, it does not hurt to get the post drafted early. I suggest giving yourself a deadline of two days prior to the agreed upon deadline to build in time for adjustment or modification requests from the blog host.

Make sure your post has:

A title with strong keywords (How to Plan Ahead for Scrapbooking While Traveling). Some blog hosts may simply put “Guest post with Kam from Campfire Chic” as the title. Seeing that in a reader will make very few people click over (sad, but true!)
Some sort of ‘takeaway’ – What will readers learn from this post?
The links you found earlier with quality anchor text (instead of click here use the links within a sentence “I am planning for our annual trip to Mammoth and hope to make a mini album similar to my December Daily album to document our trip on the go”)
A call to action that will prompt readers to visit your site, subscribe to your newsletter, follow you on Twitter, or purchase from your shop.

5. Before Submitting

Double-check to make sure you included anything requested of you by the blog host (a third person bio at the end, your photos are the proper width, etc.)
Double-check your spelling and grammar. It is difficult to catch everything as you write, so take a break and come back to it or ask somebody to check it for you
Know how the blog host would like you to submit the post (via email with images attached, host your own images, through some sort of eform, in a WordDoc, etc.)

Don’t forget: Make sure you know what day your post is going up so you can help promote it as well! Don’t leave it to the blog host to promote your post, help out!

What kinds of guest posts to you like to read?

Do you have any other suggestions for those writing guest blog posts for others?

Kam shares other blogging tips, handmade inspiration, and tales of adventure on her blog, Campfire Chic. She lives in Southern California where she is able to spend plenty of time outdoors, blogging, creating, and working on Project Life. Kam to learn more about Kam you can follow her on Twitter and subscribe to the Campfire Chic newsletter.

Final note: L&R will be releasing a super efficient guest post template next week!

2 comments

guest posting resources

by Amy on April 11, 2012

When you are writing a guest post:

0 comments

Guest post guidelines now available

by Amy on April 9, 2012

There comes a point in your blogging when you start to get emails from god-knows-who about guest posting.

Here is a word-for-word example from someone writing from some payday loan website. This is one of the more polite, well-written ones:

I am emailing you regarding the possibility of submitting a guest post for your site, lemonandraspberry.com. I noticed that you have accepted guest posts in the past and I would like to write one for you as well. If your site has submission criteria for guest posts, I apologize that I missed it.

Please know that I am willing to write an article on any topic you choose. In exchange, I only ask that you allow me to place a discrete link to my website in my bio at the bottom of the post.

I should also clarify that no work is required on your part. Once I complete the article, then you can review it to make sure that it fits your website’s style, content, and quality.

If you would like to see some samples of past articles I have written, or if you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter please don’t hesitate to email me.

My favorite was the guest post offer from a magician. True story.

These are always by some company I’ve never heard of, who clearly has never read Lemon and Raspberry, who offers a product/service that has nothing to do with what L&R is about, offering to write a post on “whatever subject” I choose.

Give me a break.

I don’t really see how they expect that to work. Why on earth would I ask some stranger to write a post when I have to come up with the idea and have no idea of writing skill?

And yet, I get an unsolicited offers every week or so!

SO!