Networking: The Essential Antidote To Blogging Alone
Blogging Alone is Not the Way to Go
Do you get up in the early morning hours to start your blog writing as your coffee is brewing? Your eyes are not yet quite open as you log into your WordPress panel. You look to see if any comments are there from overnight and there are none. The traffic to your blog hasn’t really changed. You are all alone at your computer in the still of the early dawn.
Do you spend most of your time the rest of the morning and day generating content and sharing others’ content but are not getting more traffic to your blog? Do you get sidetracked when you have technical difficulties? Have you ever written a post only to find out what you wrote about is no longer valid? I’ve done that and been there several times. But if you are a new blogger blogging alone here is my solution for you:
The Solution is Connect with Other Bloggers!
Connect with other bloggers. They are there to help you! They want to help you. It’s part of their blogging camaraderie. Almost all bloggers have this in them. (Not all though, so be wary of those that do not engage with you).
I cannot imagine blogging alone, without help from other bloggers. Many years ago, I met Mayura DeSilva from Mayura4Ever . He is from Sri Lanka and he is now my tech king. We began conversing on Twitter in those early days, and then on each other’s blogs. I’ve hired him from time to time to do the technical stuff I can’t do or don’t want to spend my time doing anymore. He is always there when I shoot him an email with questions.
Another blogger I’ve met years ago – at about the same time – is Brenda from Virtual Bren. When I need creative graphics for my blog, she is my go to girl. She is extremely creative and helpful. If I need to have something tested, Brenda is there for me within a click of the mouse. I can email or tweet her and within minutes she usually responds. A few years back I got sick and was offline. She tweeted to check if I was okay. Now that’s a true friend.
What Other Bloggers Can Do For You
Recently I got a tweet from @Adrianjock who informed me my commentluv (commenting app) was not working. Really I thought – now what is wrong? He then spent hours on the JavaScript for me to figure out what was the issue. I’m sure it will help others too along the way. The plugin has not been updated and the owner got ill a while back. It’s one of the best comment plugins out there and I’d be sad to see it go away. I went back and forth between him and Mayura to find out what it could be. They have been spending hours trying to figure this mystery out.
It is amazing working with other bloggers from other countries and going back and forth between our schedules. Since I started blogging, I’ve begun to know different time zones from around the world. I’ve learned more about different cultures too – especially from my friend Mayura.
What You Can Do For Other Bloggers
Now helping is reciprocal in blogging. If you see something wrong with someone’s blog – a typo, etc., let them know via an email or direct message. Don’t call it out in public on a social network and embarrass them. If they need help, offer them advice. If they help you, mention them in a future post. Blogging buddies give and take.
Why Networking with Bloggers on Social Networks Is Important
Another example: one day last week I was to post on a product I worked on for a week with a great post. I loved the product but could not post about it with their site down and out. (They are working on it).
In comes Ryan Biddulph to the rescue with a new post for me on a Monday. I’d been getting in the grove of a new post every Monday. (Consistent posting is one of the key’s to blogging.) Ryan’s timing was really amazing. He sent out a Facebook post asking who would like a guest post for their blog. Of course I responded immediately and he replied back as quick. He had the post all ready. I had to find images and format. I got it done in time before heading out to my day job. If you don’t know Ryan Biddulph, he’s written over 100 eBooks and countless blog posts all over – from his own Blogging from Paradise to Forbes and HuffPost. I’ve learned a lot from Ryan over the years. If I were blogging alone this would not have happened.
It Takes a Village to Succeed at Blogging
So it really does take a village to build your blog. A great place to find some for your village is Triberr. I’ve been using their services for years and can always count on folks like Jan Gordon, Gail Gardner and Debbie Doglady to tweet out my latest posts. There are countless more folks there too that share your latest posts. Triberr has expanded to other social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn. You can set up your schedule so they are not all posting at once. I’m really met a lot of bloggers from there the past several years.
Why you may need a Blogging Coach
Another way not to be blogging alone is to have a coach. Yes – a blogging coach. They are many great ones out there like Donna and David Merrill. I had the chance to meet them her in person this past winter. My husband and I were traveling to Maine and I had done a guest post for Donna. I let her know I’d be offline during my travels and told her where we were going. She said “We live right off the highway, please stop by”. And so we did. She is like a true Italian with food spread out all over the table for us when we arrived. (My mom’s side of the family is full Italian and food is a must when guests arrived.) Donna and David were very gracious hosts and we stayed several hours and chatted. They gave us insights on how they now just work from home with their blogging and coaching.
In Closing
So if you are just starting out blogging or if you have been at it for some time you must get networking with other bloggers. Not only will it help your blogging, but you will make some real friends out there too.
Have you been blogging alone or have you networked with other bloggers?
Featured image: Copyright: ‘https://www.123rf.com/profile_rawpixel‘ / 123RF Stock Photo
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