More than three in four publication editors report publishing between 1 and 10 articles from guest contributors each week: Fifty-seven percent publish 1-5 posts, and 19 percent publish 5-10 posts per week.
Ninety-four percent of editors say they plan to publish the same amount or more of guest content this year. Only 6 percent of editors surveyedreported planning to decrease the amount of guest content they currentlypublish.
When editors were asked what forms of media, besides written articles, they planned to publish this year, 67 percent said video, 52 percent said infographics, and 40 percent said podcasts.
Seventy-nine percent of editors say that one of the most common problems with guest posts is that the content is too promotional. In addition, 56 percent of editors say they receive content that isn't a fit for their readerships.
When asked how they determine the success of the guest content they publish, 93 percent of editors said they use page views as a metric. Seventy-five percent also say they look at time on site, and 69 percent look at social shares.
Content was most often published midweek, with a high on Wednesdays and a drop-off on the weekends. Audiences, on the other hand, are most engaged with content on the weekends — liking, sharing, commenting on, and reacting to content on social media most often on Sundays.
Most content was published either at the beginning or the end of the year — with a spike in May. Audiences were more engaged with content at the beginning of the year than toward the middle or end. December was the lowest month for content engagement.
