Building Relationships With Other Bloggers
The blogosphere is a big, scary place when you’re just starting out. There are millions of blogs and you may be competing with other, more established writers who have already established a following on the very subject of your blog. Some popular blogging genres include technology, politics, parenting, and fashion. True, you have your own unique spin on things; and that’s why you want to start up your own blog in the first place. But in order to lay a foundation for generating traffic and creating a brand around your blog, you need to accept one important fact: No Blog is an Island! That is, if you want to succeed as a professional blogger, you’ve got to form alliances.
The best way to start building your alliances is to search for as many other blogs that you can find on the same topic as yours. Make a list and visit them all every single week for three months, leaving thoughtful comments. With few exceptions, most bloggers aren’t making tons of money on their blogs. They write as part of their business or as a hobby. The one thing that keeps them motivated is getting real (non-spam) comments on their posts. After a few months of reading and commenting, you will probably have isolated a handful (10-20) blogs that you really enjoy reading and look forward to visiting.
At this point, send a polite message to the blogger and ask them if they would be interested in exchanging links with you. Tell them how much you enjoy reading their blog, that you’d like to add them to your blogroll, and that you’d appreciate a reciprocal link. The vast majority of the time they will be receptive to this request, especially if you’ve been commenting long enough that they recognize you have a genuine interest in reading their blog—not just swapping links.
Out of the group of blogs that you’ve exchanged links with, you may have formed a special relationship with one or two bloggers who have similar writing styles to you; or who you especially admire. You can then approach these individuals and ask them if they would be willing to allow you to do a guest post on their blog. Having a post on their front page with the link to your blog in the text will up your exposure, as will having the endorsement of an already popular blogger. Most bloggers would be delighted to allow you to guest post, since it’s free, original content for their site.
Finally, make sure that you have included all your blogging contacts in your social media circle. Most bloggers have accounts at Twitter, Facebook, and other sites. Be sure to include those folks in your own network and engage with them there, too. If your blogging friends post a Tweet, be sure to Re-Tweet it; and you can expect the same treatment in return.
The good news is that the blogging community tends to be very open. Sure there are some snobby ‘cliques’ out there, but the overwhelming majority of bloggers are ready and willing to help you promote your blog as long as you are willing to do the same for them.
Great tips! I’m working on building relationships with other bloggers myself. Some of the people can be stuck up, but I’m sure there’s a nice group of people out there that just want everyone to succeed.
I do believe though, building relationships is a very important part of blogging online.
These are some great tips once again! I have found it difficult for me to actually establish relationships with other bloggers in the guitar niche. I am not sure if it is because of the way I approach them, or what but it is difficult.
I am sure with determinaton I will be able to make it work. Thanks for the great post.
So you wanna trade some links?
;-D
Building relationships with other bloggers is huge! I like what you said about making a list of blogs that target the same topic as you and visit them often. I have a list of blogs saved on my webtop (basically an online desktop) that I visit on a daily basis. I started with a written down list, but using GoEverywhere is so much easier for me. It makes the process of visiting all of those blogs go so much faster.
Instead why not focus on blogs with top commentator insulated and get links and build a relationship at the same time. I also have success connecting with other bloggers on forums and other social sites like twitter.
Thanks for the post. Social media and social networking is so fast, leaving great opportunities to connect with other bloggers. The key is to be yourself and to get your name out there subtly, without appearing spammy and annoying. Keep up the outstanding work.
Good advise, but that’s a bit time consuming for most bloggers who undertake blogging just as a hobby.
Blogging certainly takes time. We all have to decide if we get enough out of it personally and professionally to warrant the time. If we do, we also have to realize that we will “click” with some and not mesh so well with others. Resetting expectations may be worthwhile though. When I go to a party for parents at my kids school I am always impressed with how I gravitate to those who I have things in common with and especially those I get along well with. Blogging is like going to a concert, you’re not going to have something in common with everyone (besides liking the band), and you may get along with them less.
Yes… this must be considered all along… bloggerhood matters online..