Book Review: So You Want to Write a Guest Blog? by Jaime McDougall

This is a very informative resource tool for authors!

So You Want to Write a Guest Post: An Author's Guide to Promoting with Guest Blogging by Jaime McDougall.

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 210 KB
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0052F477U

     Genre:  How To/ Nonfiction
     My Rating:  4.5 of 5.0

Product Description
The publishing world keeps on changing and, now more than ever, it is important for authors to have a presence on the internet. But where do you start? So You Want to Write a Guest Post is an easy to follow guide that will help you connect to bloggers and to write guest posts that get potential readers interested in your book.

Review: I wish many authors would read this informative pamphlet and at $0.99 it is money well spent!
Jaime works with promotions at Pump Up Your Book so she has first hand experience to add to this work. Jaime approaches the Guest Post topic in an easy format with concise explanations, examples and suggestions.  I can say that as a reviewer (and publisher) I would love to see authors read and follow this informative guide.  I know from experience as a reviewer and as a small publisher, with new and backlist authors, that it is surprising how many authors have no clue what it takes to promote their book.  The publisher hopefully will give help in promoting but the larger burden these days falls on the author.  The bottom line of success may well be a result of the author's own efforts to promote their book.

This “How to” is short and easy to read but FULL of good advise. Here are some, but not all, of the items covered and my brief comments regarding the topics:
•    The Purpose of Guest Posting - Jaime briefly but assuredly expresses why authors should be concerned about Guest Posting.
•    Finding, Researching and Contacting Hosts - Jaime sets out something that should be basic but isn’t necessarily clear to authors... research the blog hosts you submit to. She provides tips where to research too.
•    When Contacting the Blogger - Jaime provides wonderful suggestions and samples to help make a professional contact with the right Blog hosts.
•    When Words Count: The Importance of Word Count in Your Post - I agreed strongly with Jaime’s suggestions in this section.  It is not all about word count but it does matter.
•    Selling Your Book Without Selling - As Jaime notes, the Guest Post is not to be just an ad for buying your book.  It is a tool to draw a reader in let them know about the author and the book and to direct and encourage the reader to buy the book. This is a time when courtesy and subtlety are nice.
•    FAQ: Is Using a Guest Post More Than Once Okay - Jaime discusses the pros and cons and some etiquette rules of this question in a unique way that I liked. I recently followed an Author Blog Tour which included a giveaway. I was a little surprised to see repeats of the same GP during the one tour.
•    What to Do After the Post is Live - Jaime provides input on what to do with your post including announcing your post and making contacts to encourage visits.
•    The Do and Don’t List - Jaime does a nice summary of the dos and dont’s for a quick guide and wrap up.
•    Guest Post Ideas - Jaime provides some topic examples and suggestions that could help an author begin to prepare guest posts or expand on their repertoire of posts.

This is a wonderful resource tool and I encourage authors to use it to help their promotional efforts be more efficient and effective.

I received the eBook from the author for an honest review.

Jaime asked me to add a footnote on this tour blog:  
'Thanks to the wonderful reviewers who have hosted me on this tour, I will be coming out with a revised edition in August with more content'. :)