Blogger Babes is increasing its editorial calendar! Perhaps you’ve noticed that we’ve grown from 3 days a week (which we have maintained since January 2015) to a daily 7 days a week. To keep it up, we’re welcoming new voices—mostly from our Blogger Babes members, guest experts, colleagues, and invited guests (teens, we’re looking for you every Wednesday!).
We’re even taking open pitches. Just last month, we had a blogger share some awesome tips on how to build a profitable blog in under a year. If you’d like to contribute to our blog, contact us today with a proposed title and some bullet points you want to address. We aim to make this blog for you and by you!
Now, we always say to make the most out of your blog posts by making them shareable and search engine optimized. The same goes for your guest posts. Guest posts may not be written by you, but they’re still published on your site and should therefore be held up to the same high standards as your own work. Don’t be afraid to edit them. It’s true that editing someone else’s work is tricky, but luckily, you have us to help you navigate through it. 
How to Edit a Guest Post
1. Don’t forget to check spelling and grammar.
Don’t assume that your guest blogger won’t make any errors; we often overlook mistakes in our own writing, which is why it’s always good to have a pair of fresh eyes look over our work.
2. Don’t be afraid to edit sentence structure or even tone.
You want to make sure that the blog post flows well and isn’t jarringly different from the rest of your blog. Your audience is used to a certain tone and voice; try to stay close to that, even as you retain your guest blogger’s unique voice.
3. Add subheaders.
This will help you better organize your guest’s post. If they already made subheaders, feel free to edit them so that they fit in better with your usual format. Great spots to create subheaders include wherever the guest blogger gave bullet points or numbered lists.
4. It’s okay to link to relevant posts from your own blog.
Whenever the guest blogger references something you yourself have previously written about, link to it within the text or in italics. This keeps the conversation going and works as an endorsement of the author’s point.
5. Keep it to 1-2 live links per post.
That is, live links external to your own blog.
Of course, if the post is longer than your standard 500 words, exceptions can be made. When Michael Akinlabi gave us a wonderfully long post, we left more leeway for more external links.
6. Don’t forget affiliate links.
You don’t want to miss out on a great affiliate marketing opportunity. For example, Michael referenced both AWeber and MailChimp in one of his tips. We have affiliate links for both companies and linked them accordingly.
7. Make liberal use of bold and italics.
You know your audience. Draw their attention to the best points made by your guest blogger. When you have lists or bullets like this one, it’s especially easy to guide your audience with subheaders or bold text.
8. Make a personal introduction to the guest blogger.
Like the one I wrote for this wonderful post by Candis Hickman. Your readers are used to reading you, and sometimes they don’t want to read anyone else. Encourage them by applauding your guest blogger’s efforts and tell them why you highly recommend them. Give your readers reasons to want to read and trust them.
OPTIONAL: Leave the reader personal notes from yourself.
Comment on some of the guest’s words, or remind your audience about how you’ve said something similar. Italics and parentheses are great ways to do this so that it’s clear what you’re saying isn’t part of the body of the post. Note how we added small nods of agreement when Michael mentioned a friend or a program that is already a Blogger Babes favorite. Do this sparingly, so as not to distract from the main point of the post. Whether this works for your blog or not really depends on your tone—it works for our style, so we do it often, as with Michael’s post. Try it out and see how your readers adjust to it.
Have you had guest writers on your blog? If so, how do you go about editing their posts? If not, are you considering it now? Tell us how you handle guest posts in the comments below or share any other reservations you may have.