Epic Guest Posting Guidelines for the Matticus

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Would the World of Matticus ever feature a guest post from you?

In a word, yes. The first thing you have to remember is that in the World of Matticus, there is but one god: Matticus himself. Guest posts usually happen when I put the word out that I needs help.

In the past year, I’ve opened up guest posting to bloggers and writers that were interested in getting their feet wet. Today, I’m officially announcing the green light for open guests posts as well as setting down guidelines and suggests for writing them. Here’s a few examples for you to consider.

While I admit that my standards are high, I’m not asking you to solo Illidan or do heroic Occulus. What I do want is to illustrate reasons and qualities for a World of Matticus guest post.

Why write a guest post?

Exposure By writing compelling articles, stories or posts in general on other blogs (not just mine, mind you), you increase your own visibility and exposure. View it as a chance to promote yourself and your work! Now you be thinking to yourself "why write on someone else’s blog when I can augment my own?" I encourage you to think in a different direction. By writing an insanely awesome blog post for another blogger and having it published, that blogger’s audience will want to know more about you and what else you have to offer.

Trial – Not sure if blogging is the right thing for you? At the very fundamental core of blogging is to communicate. You are translating your ideas and visions from your mind onto the screen. Don’t spend time establishing a blog only to discover that writing is difficult for you or that your interest has waned. Do the writing first then build the blog. Try writing a sample post and determine if it’s something you think you’ll enjoy down the road. Web sites come in all sorts of designs and styles. The one thing that all blogs have in common is the display of information.

You’ve decided to write a guest post? Excellent! Here’s a few things you might wish to consider:

Consider the audience

In the beginning, this blog catered towards Holy Priests. As time went on, it slowly included aspects for the raiding Holy Priest. Guild business and leadership was mixed into the blog. A Resto Druid was added. Now it includes material that Guild leaders would be interested in reading.

The majority of readers on World of Matticus are primarily healers, raiders, and bloggers. That’s a pretty wide sphere of influence, if I do say so myself. Keep the audience in mind when you’re writing a post. For example, most healers may not understand certain tanking concepts and you may wish to elaborate more on terms that you’ll be using.

If you’re writing about the nature of Hunters, PvP skills for Warriors, or the latest fashion news on Death Knights, you’ll want to consider another blog unless you can make it relevant for the World of Matticus readers.

What makes this blog appealing for you? Chances are, your answer will be the same as the other many thousands of readers. Browse through the archives to find some of your favourite posts and you’ll get a handle for what works and what doesn’t.

Matticus is beneficial

The one thing I stress most from the team here is to make your information useful. Give the reader something to take with them when they finish.

How does a Discipline Priest react in this raid situation? Did your GM handle a particularly difficult problem in a smooth fashion? Topics like that would be right up the alley in the World of Matticus.

Content in the World of Matticus should help answer problems that players find in the World of Warcraft.

Matticus is professional

I don’t care if you’re on the top 5v5 team in the world, or the best ranked Ret Paladin on WWS. I’m not expecting you to be Dan Brown either.

Sydera, Wynthea and I are really picky. Syd’s a teacher (not high school, but the best one can professionally be). Wyn usually shreds my posts because they’re not technically correct or sound. I harp on the other two if their posts do not look good.

Keep the post as clean looking as possible. White space is good. If necessary, format the post and add images to help spice and liven it up more.

Check your tone. Have a unique style. Make sure what you write can be understood. This isn’t a journal or a computer operations manual. Be clear, be concise. Add some personality. Don’t be afraid to write as if you’re speaking. Be interesting and humorous. Feel free to tell a story to get your point across.

Most importantly, spend as much time on thinking of a title as you do on your post. No other WoW blogger puts as much thought, time or emphasis into post titles as Matticus.

Spell check it.

Fact check it. If you’re not sure about spells or abilities, use WoWHead.

Not all of us are blogging gods by any means (but that Matticus comes close). We’re not the best. We’re only human. Typos will creep in or lawn gnomes will occasionally break a few things. All of us invest a lot of time and care into making our post the best as possible.

Some guest bloggers in the past have been rejected and told to rewrite. Go through multiple drafts. Ask someone in your guild to look it over. World of Matticus does not involve writers who write drafts then immediately publish them. Posts will stew around for days or even weeks if they do’t feel right until a “Eureka” moment strikes.

Sounds great! How do I sign up?

Drop me a line on my contact form. You can include a post within the body of the form there or get in touch with me first and float an idea my way to see how it sounds. I’ll respond with a confirmation and a giant thank you! If I don’t respond within a week, I must’ve not received it or I completely forgot about it. Feel free to poke me with a gentle reminder!

If you have a blog, it’s a good idea to link to your best blog posts. Note that it’s not required that you have a blog.

Image courtesy of Cierpki

11 thoughts on “Epic Guest Posting Guidelines for the Matticus”

  1. Lol, Matticus at the ridicule again. I can only imagine what process each post takes getting to the world wide internets. Matticus take some time off, stretch out, and game. =]

    Nah but seriously, I do use your website for more than my own little chat room, I have used your material (or some other writer here) for some guild management techniques, and they all have succeeded.

    Looking to guest post,
    Visin <3

    Reply
  2. Benfica keen on Zapata, Lopez
    Agen Bola www.indo11.com
    reported,that
    Benfica are keeping close tabs on South American footballers Duvan Zapata and
    Lisandro Lopez.
    The Eagles are ready to cash in on star
    defender Ezequiel Garay, and they have already started search for his
    replacement.
    It appears that Benfica officials have made
    Arsenal de Sarandi stopper Lisandro Lopez their number one target and they have
    already opened talks with the Argentine club.
    Meanwhile, the Eagles are preparing for life
    without Oscar Cardozo, who is set to leave the club after clashing with boss
    Jorge Jesus.
    They are, therefore, looking at Estudiantes
    striker Duvan Zapata, who could arrive at Estadio da Luz in the summer transfer window.
    The 22-year-old joined the Argentine club
    from America de Cali and went on to score 18 goals in 40 league matches as reported by Indo Eleven.
    Benfica yesterday announced the signing of
    Serbian forward Lazar Markovic on a five-year deal from Partizan Belgrade.
    Source : http://www.indo11.com/

    Reply
  3. Besiktas in Ronaldinho bid
    Agen Bola http://www.indo11.com reported,Turkish Super Lig
    side Besiktas have made an approach to secure the services of Brazilian
    playmaker Ronaldinho.
    The 33-year-old has not played in Europe since departing
    Italian giants Milan in 2010 to return to his homeland with Flamengo.
    But Besiktas vice-president Ahmet Nur Cebi says the
    club have approached Ronaldinho, who now plies his trade with Atletico Mineiro.
    “We have made an offer for Ronaldinho. We are now
    awaiting his answer,” he said.
    Besiktas, who finished third in the league last
    season, are also in the market for a new manager to replace Samet Aybaba,
    who recently left the clubas reported by Indo Eleven.
    Nur Cebi has revealed an imminent decision is
    expected from sporting director Onder Ozen on the matter, and revealed some of
    the names in the running.
    Source : http://www.indo11.com/

    Reply
  4. City close in on Swedish starlet
    Agen Bola http://www.indo11.com reported,Manchester City are
    close to signing 15-year-old Malmo forward Zacharias Faour, according to the
    player’s agent.
    Faour has been billed as “the next Zlatan Ibrahimovic”
    by the Swedish press, with a valuation as high as one million pounds touted in
    some reports.
    And, according to the player’s
    representative Hasan Cetinkaya, talks with City are progressing well.
    He told Sportbladet: “City rank him as one
    of the best in the world at his age level. He is the kind of player that all of
    the big teams are after.as reported
    byIndo Eleven.
    “City take very few [young players] on, but they bring
    in the best players from Europe and South America. They don’t take on as many
    players as Chelsea. They take the best players and the club will pay plenty to
    get them.”
    Cetinkaya also explained that Faour has already
    visited Manchester, with discussions over a move advancing at a rapid pace.
    Source : http://www.indo11.com/

    Reply
  5. Abidal ´annoyed´ at Barca exit
    Agen Bola http://www.indo11.com reported,Eric Abidal has
    admitted to feeling “annoyed” over the manner in which his departure from
    Barcelona was handled.
    The Frenchman joined the Catalan club from Lyon in
    2007, and played a prominent role in the trophy-laden Pep Guardiola era.
    However, his career was temporarily interrupted when a
    tumour on his liver was discovered in 2011, and he was forced to undergo a
    transplant a year later as a result of complications.
    The defender subsequently made a full recovery, and
    was given five outings toward the end of the 2012-13 season as part of an
    emotional return to actionas reported byIndo Eleven.But after failing to
    earn a new deal with Barcelona, the 33-year-old has spoken of his
    disappointment, saying: “I don’t understand it. I fought for them and am in
    great shape.
    “The doctor was surprised at my recovery. I feel
    better than I did two years ago. They didn’t give me any reason and said it was
    a professional decision.
    Source : http://www.indo11.com/

    Reply

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