Networking with other bloggers

Why Network with other bloggers?

Blogging for money is a business and just like in the offline world it is important to throw out your tentacles and network. Too many mistakenly think that to make money online all that is needed is to sit at the computer and just blog away. Your results will be immeasurably higher if you partake of some good old fashioned networking.

Think about it.

If your business was offline, you would attend Chamber of Commerce luncheons, join an association in your industry, attend conferences and conventions. Why? To promote your business of course, but also to network, to learn about what others in your industry are doing to move their businesses forward and to form strategic alliances. Why should blogging be any different?

Good news.

You can network in your pajamas if you want. Actually I like to network both online and off for my blogging businesses. I think that a mix of the two is important. Let me explain.

Lets start with the obvious one: networking online. There is a saying that no one reaches the pinnacles of success alone. Ask any guru out there. Cheering peers and colleagues were an integral part of their success. Did these colleagues and peers materialize out of thin air? NO. They were cultivated. This is an important strategy and there is nothing subversive about it. Here are some ways you can network online:

#1. Source out other blogs in the same niche as yours. Follow these blogs and post comments on their articles. Make sure they are quality comments.

#2. Select your favorite blogs and ask if the owner is willing to consider a guest article by you. If the offer is accepted, submit an original article. There is no guarantee that the owner of the blog will post it but chances are that if the article is well written it will eventually appear. This is the beginning of a relationship with that blogger. Treat it well.

#3. In your own blog give some link love to the blog and blogger that you are now cultivating. The blogger will be aware of your support – trust me on this.

#4. Join forums in your niche, follow for a while before posting, then post quality comments – comments that are helpful. Others will begin to take notice of you as will the owner of the forum.

#5. Review the blog that you are following. Tell your readership what you like about that blog, maybe a little bit of advice/critique as to what you think might make it an even better blog and summarize the highlights.

I can bet you dollars to donuts that over time you will have developed a good relationship with the owner of this blog. Rinse and repeat. This is the online version of networking.

I think that offline networking is equally important. Meet other bloggers or internet marketers in your area. Attend “meet ups” and other scheduled internet marketing functions. Some of these functions are free, others have a nominal fee. You will meet people in different disciplines of internet marketing and you will be surprised at how generous they are in sharing their knowledge.

Surprise, surprise. You might even be one of those who is able to share your expertise with a newbie. I recently attended a function that was not internet based. Everyone present was a small business owner. They were intrigued about my online marketing business and wanted to know more. We talked about blogging as a good way to begin their online marketing efforts. Of course I pointed them to my free e.book ABC’s of Blogging for Money.

A word of caution; when networking seek what you can do for the other person before asking them to do something for you. This will differentiate you from 90% of the attendees and will do you more good in the long run. When you meet someone for the first time, ask them what you can do for them that would help their business. Be sincere. Maybe all you can do is introduce them to someone who can be of help. Maybe at the moment there is not much you can do, but you never know when you will run into someone or a situation that is just right for your newly acquired contact.

One other thing when networking offline – its not about how many cards you give out or collect. Make two to five meaningful connections and begin to cultivate a relationship. Be open but be selective as to whom you decide to invest your time with.

Networking is an important component of any business – whether you are selling flowers to the corporate market or blogging for money cultivating relationships is what will take your business to the highest pinnacles of success.

Happy Blogging!

Valentina
Blogger for money

PS.... There’s plenty of cheese at the pinnacles of success.

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Blogging for Money
ABC’s of Blogging For Money