Interview with Ann Smarty of MyBlogGuest.com

A couple of months ago, I started to get involved with finding guest bloggers for my blog and also wanting to guest blog for others. Aside from searching for blogs similar to mine, there wasn’t a clear and easy way to find this community.

I stumbled on Ann Smarty and her website MyBlogGuest.com. She had emailed me to let me know of her latest project and thought my blog might benefit from it.  It filled in the gap perfectly. Just what I needed. I had the opportunity to interview her about her site, what got her started, and what it is all about.

Benjamin Warsinske: Ann, thanks for taking the time to answer some questions about MyBlogGuest.com and your background. I think my readers will find it interesting and informative, as well as a resource they can get started using right away.

Ann Smarty: Sure! I am happy to.

BW: Tell me about your background Ann.

AS: Originally I entered the blogging and social media world as an SEO. To make my life of an in-house SEO more fun, I started a blog called SEOsmarty.com (wicked name, huh?) and started blogging.

I didn’t intend to turn into an online marketer or start earning money. I just wanted to make fun. However after a couple of months of blogging, I got so excited that couldn’t stop anymore. I got quite a few offers to blog on large established platforms and I took a few of them. I started writing a post a day. Then I started guest blogging and got excited even more!

Plenty of people found me and my business through my guest posts. I built quite a few contacts and found plenty of clients. Then I quit my day job and became an Internet marketer. My services included SEO consulting, branding and blogging. My main way to promote clients and myself became guest blogging which I have been doing for about 2 years now.

BW: Wow, Ann. That’s exciting. How did you come up with the idea for your website? What did you see that was missing in the “marketplace”, so to speak?

AS: While looking for the opportunities to guest post, I saw how many bloggers were actually interested in guest contributions. However there was no way to get into contact with them but for an unsolicited email. So clearly seeing the benefits for both the sides, I thought there should be a place to connect them.

Here is where the idea first came from. However I didn’t want to create a “marketplace” for the fear of the concepts becoming too money-centered. So I decided to start with the forum. I still feel the need to make it more organized – it is on my to-do list now!

BW: Can you tell me what are the benefits of joining the community? Why should I or any of my readers join the community?

AS: The first and the most obvious benefit is to build valuable contacts. Blogs that are now in the community have their readership. They have voice. Guest posting there you can get heard! On the other hand, you can find fresh perspective for your own blog brought to you by the guest bloggers.

BW: So it is a great way to network, build up your blog, and reach a wider audience. And that’s the best way to promote yourself and your blog, by being active and involved in a community. Is there anything else you would like to add?

AS: One thing I’d like everyone to know before joining is that unless you are really serious about the concept, you better not join. You should aim at bringing quality, not just to promote your blog. I outlined some not-to-do things in my post here: http://myblogguest.com/blog/what-guest-blogging-is-not-getting-it-right/

BW: That is a great point. It is important that bloggers take it seriously and contribute to provide value to the community. Ann, thanks so much for your time and for sharing what your community forum is all about.

For more information about Ann Smarty and Myblogguest.com, check her out on the web:

www.MyBlogGuest.com

www.SearchEngineJournal.com

www.SEOsmarty.com

http://twitter.com/seosmarty