Why it's worth asking for guest contributions

My husband, who is a musician, was recently contacted by a classical music blogger to ask if he wanted to take part in a series of guest posts/mini interviews about 'the first classical music recording that got me fired up.'

Great idea - a simple question, a simple request, aimed at someone who is not only likely to have something interesting to say to readers of a classical music blog, but who also may be (or become) one of the blog readers.

Blogging blurs the boundaries between the publisher and the reader - bloggers are kind of both, or at least they are potentially both.

Why not make guest posts or guest interviews a permanent part of your blog content plan? You could try asking for an entire guest post on a subject your guest specialises in, or a lighter request might be the single question/quick answer approach. Don't ask for much - 50 to 100 words max - that way you're more likely to get a 'yes', since busy bloggers may not have time for an entire post. Pull together three or four entertaining answers or quotes from people and you have an interesting blog post. You could even make it into a regular series.

Your 'guests' are highly likely to promote the post to their own blog readers, so providing handy exposure (and possibly new readers) for your blog.