Every successful blogger is part of a network of other bloggers. The community aspect is extremely important for a number of reasons that we’ll look at below. Building a strong network is not difficult, but it does require you to be proactive.
What can a network do for me?
First of all I should clarify that networking means people helping each other. If you are willing to help others you’ll most likely get a lot out of networking. If you’re only interested in what you can get out of it, you’ll have a harder time building real relationships with other bloggers.
1. Links. Most bloggers use a lot of outbound links in their posts. Being part of a network means you’ll be much more likely to be the recipient of those links.
2. Referrals. Taking it one step further than just a link, a referral involves other bloggers actually recommending you to their readers.
3. Help, advice, and encouragement. Most bloggers are happy to help others when they are able to. With a string network you’ll always have people that you can contact when you have a question or if you’re just looking for some advice.
4. Motivation. Many of us are motivated just by seeing others in our network succeed. It’s nice to see your friends do well and it can serve as a driving force to keep you moving forward.
5. Opportunities for guest posts. Writing guest posts for other blogs is an excellent way to quickly reach a new, targeted audience. Those who know you are more likely to publish your guest post than others who may not know you.
Why is networking effective?
A strong network leverages the power of everyone in the network. You may have certain abilities that others do not have, and others may have abilities that you do not have. Successful networks allow people to find ways to work together to put everyone in a better situation.
Not only to people within a network have different abilities, but they also have different opportunities. Your blog may have a totally different audience than the blog of someone else in your network. If you are working together on something you both have the opportunity to reach a much larger audience than you would on your own.
Things I do to build my network
1. Comment on other blogs
2. Thank other bloggers when they link to me
3. Respond to comments on my blog
4. Send a personal email to readers as they leave their first comment
5. Link to others
6. Write guest posts for other blogs
7. Participate in competitions and contests
What methods do you use to build your network, and what have you had success with?
I’m always looking to add new people to my network, so if you would like to be in contact or if you have written something that you would like me to check out, leave a comment or use the contact form.
I wrote a post for Freelance Folder that you may also be interested in: 5 Keys to Better Networking.
21 comments from readers
1 TDavid Sep 19, 2007 at 6:40 pm
Just testing #3 and #4 on your list. I’m particularly curious about the wording of #4.
“4 - Send a personal email to readers as they leave their first comment”
Do you manually email people who leave a first comment or use a plugin/script. If it’s a script with an automatic message, that’s not what some folks consider “personal.”
I subscribed to the comments by email so I won’t miss a response
2 Vandelay Design Sep 19, 2007 at 6:52 pm
TDavid,
No, I don’t use a plugin, I actually send an email. Usually when I see a new visitor I click-through to their site, email them to say thank you and mention something about their site that I liked. Since you didn’t leave a link I obviously can’t comment on a blog or website, so I’ll make up for it by saying you’re a great guy for leaving some feedback and I hope you come back again soon. (I won’t send you an email since it would just be repeating this). I’ve had a number of people tell me that they like the personal touch. I won’t be able to do it forever (and I miss 1 here and there currently), but if it helps get repeat visitors, I’ll gladly do it.
3 TDavid Sep 19, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Cool plan. It’s unfortunate a friendly plan like that doesn’t scale very well, but you could always hire a moderator when you hit the big blog time to check every first time commenter’s site and still leave the personalized reply.
As for the absence of a URL? I don’t always leave a URL to one of sites, but perhaps another time. If you or curious, you can always Google my name
I think sometimes commenting and not leaving a URL is more effective than commenting and leaving one.
Have a good day!
4 Vandelay Design Sep 19, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Leaving a URL or no URL is your choice. It doesn’t make a difference to me, but it does make you a little bit mysterious :).
5 pelf Sep 19, 2007 at 7:36 pm
I have done everything from #1 to #6 in your list. In fact, I respond to every single comment by email, not only the first time somebody comments on my blog. I find it a very good way to further know my readers =)
As for #7 and #8, I try to participate whenever I can. Sometimes I have other priorities than getting a post up before the deadline. And sometimes I get writer’s block! LOL.
6 Vandelay Design Sep 19, 2007 at 7:40 pm
Pelf,
Thanks for your feedback. Yeah, 7 and 8 aren’t everyday things like some of the others are.
7 How To Use Networking To Be A Successful Blogger Sep 20, 2007 at 2:08 am
[…] Coming back to blogging, networking is needed to spread the word around and let people know about your blog. Your blogging success depends greatly on people linking to your blog and this can only happen if many people know you, directly or indirectly, and are aware of your blog’s orientation. So whenever they are writing on something similar to your blog’s content, they visit your blog to get your perspective, and link to it to either add value or add a sprinkling of contradiction. This is just one benefit of networking. Steven highlights many more in a blog post titled The Value Of A Network. […]
8 Felix Ker Sep 20, 2007 at 3:56 am
I comment on blogs, respond to comments.
But never tried emailing my readers. Some of them use fake emails, which bounces - e.g gbx@gmail.com and obviously, gmail emails are > 5 letters.
9 vincent Sep 20, 2007 at 4:08 am
These are precious advice that I shall start to follow.
Are there lots of contest out there?
10 Alex D. Sep 20, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Those are some great tips, I definately will use the advice, thank you so much!
11 Vandelay Design Sep 20, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Felix,
Yes, some do use fake email addresses. You can’t get to everyone, but so far the efforts have worked well for me.
Vincent,
Yes, there are a lot of contests right now. You may want to check out Contest Blogger. They announce some of them.
Alex,
Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.
12 Putting Your Network Into Action << Vandelay Website Design Sep 20, 2007 at 10:15 pm
[…] Yesterday I wrote about the value of a network for bloggers. Today I’d like to list some ideas for working together with your network for mutual benefit. […]
13 DrOpShIpMaN Sep 21, 2007 at 1:01 pm
yae i used to be skeptical about 7 & 8 cuz i thot they took too long and were’t really effective, but i think i have changed my mind since. thanks for the nice list
14 Miscellaneous Happenings for September 22, 2007 Sep 22, 2007 at 6:28 am
[…] If you lust more datum and can’t move for my presently to become weekly roundup or don’t wager same feeding finished archives, then pore over this awing place by Steven Snell named The Value of a Network. He’s constantly gift enthusiastic advice - verify it and analyse every of his another articles too. I swear, sometimes I meet poverty to unification to apiece and every digit of them, that’s how beatific they are! […]
15 Saturday Links » lustrious.net Sep 23, 2007 at 3:27 pm
[…] The Value of a Network PLUGS: No comments yet. TrackBack URI Comment RSS […]
16 12 Ways to Avoid Blogging Burnout << Vandelay Website Design Oct 25, 2007 at 6:45 pm
[…] only will a strong network help you to grow your blog, but it may help to keep you from feeling burnt out if you have other […]
17 What Does Your Website Say About You? << Vandelay Website Design Oct 27, 2007 at 2:25 pm
[…] you are unsure about the answers to any of these questions seek the advice of others. Ask friends, people in your network, or visit an online forum for advice. That should help you to get a few outside opinions that are […]
18 Rick Nov 30, 2007 at 5:59 am
I’m desperately trying to incorporate many of your ideas. We have a pretty large core following, but feel that many more people can benefit from our daily posts and our thousands of archived tips and podcasts…marketing is a never ending biz for sure. Thanks for your great articles. I read them as often as I can and you are on my “iGoogle” page too.
19 Doontime - Freelance web designer » Blog Archive » 5 Steps to Becoming a Better Blogger Dec 3, 2007 at 1:30 am
[…] Networking with other bloggers is one of the most important activities, and a strong network can drastically improve your success (and you can help others as well). If you’ve been blogging for any length of time you have probably made some connections with other bloggers in your niche. […]
20 Petr Dec 11, 2007 at 12:57 pm
verwolf130678
21 Networking for Bloggers: 8 Keys to Making Yourself More Valuable to Others | Vandelay Website Design Dec 26, 2007 at 7:38 am
[…] bloggers and website owners building a strong network is crucial. In order to be a great networker, you need to make yourself valuable for others. […]