Guest Blogging Pros & Cons for Buyers, Sellers and Resellers
Guest blogging is one of the most powerful strategies I’ve used in my blogging and digital marketing journey. In simple words, guest blogging means writing an article for someone else’s website or allowing others to write on your site.
It looks like a simple exchange, but in reality, it works like a small marketplace. There are three main players in this system:
- Seller (Website Owner): The person who owns the website where guest posts are published.
- Reseller (Agent / Affiliate / Author): The middle person who rents the publishing space from the website owner and connects it with businesses or bloggers who want to post.
- Buyer (Blogger / Business): The person or business that provides content (or money) to get their post published for backlinks, traffic, or branding.
Over the years, I’ve worked with all three roles. I’ve been a guest blogger myself (buyer), I’ve managed websites that accepted guest posts (seller), and I’ve also acted as a middleman helping businesses place their posts (reseller). Each role comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages.
In this article, I will explain all the advantages and disadvantages of guest blogging, using my own recommendations and personal thoughts.
Benefits of Guest Blogging
Here, we will discuss the benefits of guest blogging by looking at three different roles, in simple words.
Advantages for Seller (Website Owner)
I remember when I started my first website, I thought I had to write every single article myself. Honestly, it was tiring. Then I opened my site for guest posts, and things changed. Let me share why it helped me so much.
1. Fresh and Free Content
As a website owner, getting guest posts means I don’t have to write all the time.
- I don’t get stuck with writer’s block. Guest bloggers bring in new ideas.
- They often write on topics I never thought about.
- My website stays active, which makes Google happy.
- I personally saved hours of work because others were ready to share their knowledge.
There was a time I had no time to write because of family events. Guest posts kept my site alive. Without them, my blog would have looked dead.
2. Chance to Earn Money
Some website owners (including me) charge for publishing guest posts. It make me rich with a lot of other benefits too.
- Bloggers and companies pay for backlinks.
- Even a small fee per post adds up quickly.
- The site itself becomes an income source.
- Personally, I used this money to cover my next sites and team expenses and much more.
When I first charged just $20 for a post, I thought no one would pay. To my surprise, I started getting regular requests.
3. Builds Website Authority
When I allow experts to write on my site, my website looks more professional.
- Readers see that different voices are trusted enough to be on my blog.
- It shows that my site is connected with industry experts.
- This makes my site stand out compared to others.
- Personally, I noticed people started quoting my blog as a source after I published guest experts.
One guest post on finance got me so much attention that even other blogs linked back to it. That never happened with my own solo posts.
4. Extra Traffic from Guests
Guest bloggers don’t just write and forget. Most of them share their post on their own social media.
- This brings new visitors to my website for free.
- Some of them become regular readers.
- My site gets more exposure without extra effort.
- Personally, I’ve seen sudden traffic spikes just because one guest shared their post on LinkedIn.
I once got 1,000 new visitors in a week just because the guest promoted their article. That’s traffic I could never buy so easily.
Advantages for Reseller (Agent / Affiliate / Author)
I’ve also worked as a middle person in guest blogging. This means I connect bloggers or businesses (buyers) with website owners (sellers). Many people ignore this role, but trust me, it has its own benefits.
1. Steady Income
Being a reseller has given me another income stream.
- I earn a fee or commission every time I connect a blogger with a site.
- I don’t need to own the site myself.
- The work is more about managing contacts than writing.
- Personally, I’ve built a nice side income from this.
I started small, just helping a friend place an article. Later, I realized I could do this as a service for many.
2. Bigger Network
Working in the middle has allowed me to meet both bloggers and website owners.
- I stay connected with two sides of the industry.
- This makes me the go-to person when someone needs placements.
- Over time, it helped me grow my professional circle.
- Personally, I got long-term business partners just by being a connector.
One website owner later offered me to manage one of his blogs because he trusted me. That happened only because I first worked as a middleman.
3. Value to Both Sides
The best part of being a reseller is that I help both sides win.
- Website owners get content and sometimes money.
- Bloggers and businesses get backlinks and exposure.
- I make the process easier for everyone.
- Personally, I feel good when both sides thank me for saving their time.
I once helped a small business owner who was completely lost. After I placed his post on the right blog, he came back and said, “You saved me weeks of struggle”. That felt amazing.
4. Easy to Scale
The more websites and clients I handle, the more I can grow.
- I can keep adding new blogs to my list.
- I can work with many clients at once.
- It doesn’t need heavy investment, just trust.
- Personally, I now get website owners approaching me instead of the other way around.
That’s when I realized reselling isn’t just side work, it can be built into a proper business.
Advantages for Buyer (Blogger / Business)
I’ve also been a buyer many times. This means I wrote guest posts or paid to publish them. Honestly, it has been one of the best moves I made for my growth.
1. Strong Backlinks for SEO
The biggest benefit for me as a buyer is getting backlinks.
- Backlinks help in ranking higher on Google.
- Higher rankings bring more free traffic.
- These results last longer than paid ads.
- Personally, I’ve seen websites move from nowhere to the first page with just a few good guest posts.
One of my clients went from zero to ranking in the top 10 just after a few strong guest posts. That’s when I understood how powerful backlinks are.
2. New Audience
Publishing on another blog gives me exposure to a fresh set of readers.
- I can reach people who never knew me before.
- Some of them click my links and visit my website.
- Even a small percentage turning into followers is a win.
- Personally, I gained hundreds of followers from just one guest post.
When one of my guest posts went live on a lifestyle site, I got over 500 new Instagram followers within days. That would have cost me a lot if I ran ads.
3. Brand Awareness
Guest blogging has made my name visible in my industry.
- People start seeing my name on different websites.
- This makes me look more like an expert.
- Over time, it builds trust in my personal brand.
- Personally, I’ve had clients reach out only because they saw my name in multiple blogs.
For example, one client told me, “I keep seeing your posts everywhere. You must know your stuff”. That trust turned into a long-term business deal.
4. Leads and Sales
The end goal for any business is sales, and guest blogging helps here too.
- Readers who like my content check my website or services.
- The traffic from guest posts often converts better than random ad traffic.
- Guest posts keep working for months, unlike ads that stop once you stop paying.
- Personally, I’ve gained real paying clients just because they found me through a guest post.
One of my longest clients came to me after reading a post I had written years ago. That single post turned into years of income.
Disadvantages of Guest Blogging
Here, we will look at the drawbacks of guest blogging by focusing on three different roles, explained in simple words.
Disadvantages for Seller (Website Owner)
When I opened my site for guest bloggers, I thought it would only bring good things. But soon I realized, it also has some downsides. Being a website owner means I have to deal with the bad along with the good.
1. Risk of Low-Quality Content
Not every guest blogger writes well. Some just want backlinks and don’t care about readers.
- Sometimes I receive articles that are full of errors and badly written.
- A few writers stuff their posts with keywords, which makes it look unnatural.
- If I publish weak content, my site’s reputation suffers.
- Personally, I’ve had to reject many posts because they simply weren’t good enough.
I once accepted a post without checking properly. Later, I got complaints from my readers saying the article was confusing. That was embarrassing for me.
2. Too Much Promotion
Another problem is that many guest bloggers focus more on promoting their products than giving value.
- Some posts feel more like ads than real content.
- Readers quickly lose interest if they feel they are being “sold” to.
- It can reduce trust in my website.
- Personally, I’ve had to tell guest writers to tone down the self-promotion many times.
I remember one post where every second line was promoting the writer’s service. I had to spend hours editing it to make it useful for readers.
3. Time-Consuming Review Work
Managing guest posts is not as easy as it looks.
- I have to review, edit, and sometimes rewrite parts of the article.
- This takes almost as much time as writing my own post.
- If I get too many submissions, it becomes overwhelming.
- Personally, I sometimes feel stressed trying to keep up with reviews.
There was a week where I received ten guest posts. Instead of saving time, I spent hours checking and editing them.
4. Losing Control of Content Style
Every guest blogger has their own style, which doesn’t always match my website’s tone.
- Too much variety can confuse my readers.
- The site may lose its unique voice if I publish anything and everything.
- It’s hard to keep a balance between diversity and consistency.
- Personally, I’ve had readers tell me, “This doesn’t feel like your usual blog”.
That’s when I realized guest blogging is useful, but I must set strong rules.
Disadvantages for Reseller (Agent / Affiliate / Author)
When I worked as a middle person, I enjoyed many advantages, but I also faced some tough challenges. It’s not always smooth.
1. Balancing Both Sides is Hard
As a reseller, I have to keep both website owners and buyers happy.
- Sometimes, website owners delay publishing.
- Other times, buyers complain about slow responses.
- I’m stuck in the middle, managing both expectations.
- Personally, I’ve had stressful days where I felt like I was stuck between two fires.
One client kept asking me daily, “When will my post go live?” while the website owner was busy. I felt helpless.
2. Reputation Risk
If something goes wrong, it usually comes back to me.
- If a post is delayed or rejected, the buyer blames me.
- If the content is poor, the website owner blames me.
- My own name and trust are always on the line.
- Personally, I lost one client because a blog I trusted suddenly stopped publishing posts.
That taught me that as a reseller, my reputation depends on others, not just me.
3. Dependence on Website Owners
I don’t own the websites, so I have less control.
- If an owner changes rules, my business is affected.
- If a site shuts down, I lose that placement option.
- I’m always depending on someone else’s platform.
- Personally, I’ve had times when a website owner doubled their prices overnight, and I had to explain it to unhappy clients.
This lack of control can be really frustrating.
4. Payment Issues and Conflicts
Money can become a problem in this middle role.
- Sometimes clients delay payment.
- Other times, website owners ask for money upfront but delay the post.
- I’m left chasing payments from both sides.
- Personally, I’ve had to refund buyers from my own pocket when things went wrong.
This is one of the hardest parts of being a reseller.
Disadvantages for Buyer (Blogger / Business)
I’ve also been on the buyer’s side, and honestly, it can be tricky. Guest blogging works, but only if done carefully. Let me explain the struggles I faced.
1. Can Be Expensive
Publishing guest posts often costs money, especially on high-quality sites.
- The better the site, the higher the fee.
- For small businesses, this can be a big expense.
- If results don’t come quickly, it feels like wasted money.
- Personally, I’ve spent on sites that didn’t bring me much traffic at all.
Once I paid for a guest post on a site that looked big, but it had no real audience. I barely got a few visitors.
2. No Guarantee of Results
Even if I publish on good sites, the results are not always as expected.
- Some posts don’t bring much traffic.
- Rankings take time, and sometimes nothing happens.
- It can feel disappointing after putting in effort and money.
- Personally, I’ve had posts I was proud of, but they got little attention.
I learned that guest blogging is more about long-term results, not quick wins.
3. Risk of Bad Websites
Not all blogs are good places to post.
- Some are low-quality and can harm SEO.
- If a blog gets penalized by Google, my link is also affected.
- It’s hard to judge which sites are truly safe.
- Personally, I once published on a site that later got deindexed. That hurt my SEO too.
This risk made me very careful about choosing sites.
4. Time and Effort to Create Good Content
Guest blogging is not just paying money. I still need to create high-quality articles.
- Writing a proper post takes hours.
- I can’t just submit weak content, or it will get rejected.
- For busy business owners, this can feel like too much work.
- Personally, I’ve stayed up late many nights just to finish guest posts.
Sometimes, the effort feels heavier than the reward, especially when running multiple projects.
Tips to Balance the Pros and Cons
After going through both the pros and cons of guest blogging, I’ve learned some lessons that I always follow now:
- For Sellers (Website Owners): Set clear rules and check quality before publishing.
- For Resellers (Agents): Only work with trusted sites and honest clients. Keep everything transparent.
- For Buyers (Bloggers/Businesses): Choose sites carefully. Don’t focus only on backlinks, think about audience too.
Conclusion
From my personal journey, I can say guest blogging is a mix of opportunities and challenges.
For sellers, it brings fresh content and money but requires strict quality checks. For resellers, it offers income and networks but comes with stress and risks. For buyers, it gives backlinks, exposure, and sales but can be costly and uncertain.
In the end, guest blogging works best when done with honesty, patience, and focus on quality. I still use it today, and despite the disadvantages, I believe the advantages are worth it if you approach it carefully.
FAQs
Let's clarify the most common confusion among my users about the benefits and drawbacks of guest blogging.
Can I make money right away from guest blogging?
Guest blogging is not usually a quick way to make money. It helps build your audience, improve your writing, and create opportunities, but results take time to show.
Do I need to pay to guest blog on websites?
Most websites allow guest blogging for free, but some may charge a fee to post your article. Be sure to check the rules of each website before you submit. Paying for a guest post is common when the website offers special perks like bigger exposure.
What happens if my guest post gets rejected?
If your post is rejected, don’t get discouraged. It’s normal for guest posts to not always get accepted, so try submitting them to another website. Take the feedback seriously and improve your writing to increase your chances next time.
Can guest blogging hurt my website’s SEO?
Guest blogging helps your website’s SEO if the links are good quality and relevant. But if the backlinks are spammy or irrelevant, they can affect your SEO. Follow the website’s rules and use links that make sense with the topic.
Why is guest blogging not always paid?
It can feel unfair, but guest blogging is usually unpaid because it gives you other benefits, like exposure and backlinks. While you’re not paid immediately, guest blogging helps you grow your audience, and you may get paid for work or collaborations later.
How can guest blogging be good for exposure if my post gets rejected?
Rejections happen, but they don’t mean you can’t get exposure. You can always submit your post to another website. Rejection is part of the learning process and helps you improve your skills, too.
Why isn’t guest blogging giving me instant results?
Guest blogging is a long game, not a quick fix. It takes time for readers to find and trust your content. Be consistent, and over time, your audience and opportunities will grow.
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