I’m a big advocate of being involved with your community in any way you can. Guest posting is one way of doing this. It is a fantastic way of gaining new eyeballs for your content. I recommend it.
I recently sent David Risley a guest post, and he graciously accepted and published it. That same day, I sent a guest post to Michael Martine, and he also accepted and published a few days later. Two original articles, two guest posts. I couldn’t think of a better way to help get this new blog off the ground than by sharing it with the awesome readership of these two great blogs. Unbeknownst to me, and them, I had sent them the same post.
It was an accident, but the effect was still terrible in my mind. Duplicate guest posting is really not cool. David had published the article first, and then Michael followed, and I didn’t realize my mistake until the post went live on Michael’s site. David sends me a tweet basically saying “what’s up with this, fool?” He had every right…even an obligation…to call me out. And my stomach sunk when I visited Michael’s site to see that I had submitted a duplicate post to him.
I apologized, and both guys were terrific and gracious as always. It seems to be water under the bridge. But I walked away with a terrific lesson I wanted to share with you. One of those damn lessons you need to learn more than once in life. Details matter. Pay attention to what you’re doing. Also, when you make a mistake…own up to it as soon as possible. No one is perfect; God knows I’m not.
Thanks guys for the opportunity to appear on your blogs. It’s an honor, and next time I promise not to screw it up : )
Nobody is perfect Christian and you have done your part by admitting it’s your fault plus even did a post about it…
No worry – David and Michael are pros !
Rosali – thanks for the encouragement
No doubt…David and Michael are both pros; it makes me want to step up my game that much more!
Well, I guess you got that right — ‘Nobody is perfect’. Luckily both authors are very understanding, and gracious enough to still publish your guest post on their sites (but really, your post is very well written). It’s a lesson learned, so don’t get too hard on yourself either. Thanks for sharing your experience, this serves as a golden reminder to all of us while guest posting.
Best wishes!
@wchingya
Social/Blogging Tracker
Thanks Ching
I’ve updated my procedure (yeah, I’m a lame procedure-junkie!) so that every guest post gets a line right at the top that says “this is a guest post written for…” That way even if I’m stupid and mess up again, it will say right at the top who it’s for. I’m really impressed with how cool both guys were with my slip up!
I know how it feels to overlook a detail like that. I love what you said about owning up to it and apologizing as soon as possible. Sometimes, a mistake like that can help make relationships even stronger because the other party gets to see your sense of integrity on the firing line. It’s great how you turned this whole thing around so it is working for you.
Great point Todd. If anything, I definitely made an impression! hehe. Seriously though, mistakes can be terrific learning experiences. I think this was one of those times; it’s why I wanted to share it.