Amy of Raising Arrows & Lynnette of LynnetteKraft.com
Blogging is meant to connect people on many different levels. Sometimes we are sharing information, sometimes we are sharing encouragement, sometimes we are just sharing a good laugh.
Networking with other bloggers takes what we share to a wider audience. Our combined efforts mean more people get the information, more people get the encouragement, and more people laugh and cry and learn right along with us!
Why network?
If you are hoping to grow the reach of your blog beyond Grandma and Uncle Jack, then networking is one great way to do that! Every blogger has a little different audience and a little different style. Sharing our voice with another blogger’s audience and vice-versa allows for exposure of your blog and theirs to new people. Voila! You’ve just reached a fresh set of eyes and extended your reach!
Networking also creates promotional reach you could not have managed on your own. Through the sharing of content from many different sources, networking truly epitomizes the phrase, “Many hands make light work.”
Networking is also good for business. Working with other bloggers to promote a company or a cause exponentially increases the impact of the message. {You can read more about this kind of advertising and promotion in this post.}
How do I get started?
1. Consider the audience you are trying to reach.
You need to know your niche and know where the people who want to read what you have to say are. Know your Twitter hashtags, blog link-ups, and other blogs in your niche. See what other bloggers in that niche are doing. Don’t copy, but do learn!
2. Think about other audiences who might benefit from your message.
Part of growing as a blogger is reaching people you would not normally reach. One way to do this is to step outside your niche and bring your message to other places. This doesn’t mean you compromise the purpose of your blog, but it does mean you are willing to engage in conversations with people who are not exactly like you.
3. Find bloggers with blogging goals that fit yours.
This is where the rubber meets the road! Seek out bloggers in your niche, outside your niche and anywhere in between who you feel would be good to work with and who have a similar mission in their blogging. We’ll talk in a just a moment about how to find these bloggers.
4. Form a small private group (called a network) and get to work!
Once you have found a group of bloggers you would like to work with, find a platform (more on that in the next section) and start brainstorming ways to work together.
Where do I find other bloggers?
Networking is about making connections with other bloggers. There are several ways you can do this:
Conferences – Have you been to any blogging conferences? Who did you connect with there? Could you potentially work with a group you met there?
Social Media – Who do you interact with online? Who do you chat with regularly on Twitter? Facebook? These can potentially become your network!
Blogging forums – There is a brand new place out there just for connecting women bloggers called Connections Network. Some of you might remember when Connections first came out, but this version of the site is revamped and much more user friendly – it truly is a brand new place. What you will find there is a FREE forum to discuss blogging and work on promotions, but also the opportunity to create small, private networks right there on site. The price for the small networks is only $15 a year. These are a perfect way to connect with your blogging network (I like forums much better than facebook pages as a networking tool). Come on over, take advantage of the free side of the site and then start making those connections with other bloggers!
Facebook groups – Often contributing writers for sites that are contributor run or other -groups will have a facebook page where they can cross promote and talk about the website they write for. This is a great place to find bloggers to work with and then branch off into your own smaller network.
What does a network do?
Cross-promotion – Having a group of bloggers who help each other promote posts and projects is a fantastic way further your reach. Promotion can occur via social media, in blog posts, or even good old-fashioned word of mouth.
Series Posts and Link Ups – Some great examples of this is the 10 Days Series from iHomeschoolNetwork and the Barn Hop Link Up hosted by four Homesteading Bloggers. When you team up this way, you create a much more powerful online presence than you can create on your own.
Blog Blitzes and Promotions for Businesses – Once you get your feet wet collaborating on projects amongst yourselves, try branching out into the business world! You can learn more about blog blitzes and other business-realated promotions in this post on Growing Your Business with Bloggers.
Write an eBook or Start a New Website – Many bloggers who have been working together behind the scenes, end up coming out with a collaborative ebook or a whole new website highlighting their combined efforts.
There are so many great things that can come from bloggers working together! The possibilities are endless. So, get out there and make some blogging friends today!
