This is a guest post by Joshua Noerr of JoshuaNoerr.com.
Since I was very young, I was told, and shown, the importance of giving back and doing things for other people. I’ve always felt that the highest measure of a person’s character is the degree of service they are willing to provide for others. In fact, your service to others will be the cornerstone of your legacy long after you are gone.
I also believe that as an individual of able body and mind, I have a certain level of obligation to help others. Not everyone has the abilities that I do, or that most of you do. My way of saying, “Thanks” for being blessed with all of these things is by giving back.
When I started blogging earlier this year, I knew that I had to carry that spirit into what I do, I just didn’t really know how.
A decision to share the love
One day, I was getting ready to write a post when I had an idea. I said to myself, “How about you share all the great blogs you read with your readers?” That seemed like a pretty good idea.
So I scrapped my original post, and shared five blogs I had read that month, with a featured post and some commentary on just what I felt made those blogs so awesome. Almost immediately, my traffic jumped. The bloggers themselves stopped by to say “Thanks” and read what I wrote about them, and my regular readers loved that I was exposing them to new content.
I have since made this a regular monthly feature on my blog, and it’s always extremely popular. I get a traffic spike, an increase in subscribers, and—best of all—I start new relationships with other really cool bloggers. Seems like a pretty good way to go to me.
A decision to share the load
A blogger whose work I read regularly, and for whom I have the utmost respect, published a post asking her readers for help.
She had a goal of making it to Blog World, and was inviting donations to help her get there. I thought that was great! I loved the fact that she’d built such a strong community at her blog that she felt comfortable enough to ask them to help her reach her goal.
This blogger was actually the very first person to post a comment to my blog (other than my mom!), and as I was reading her call for donations, I remembered how I felt that day. She made me feel like a blogging rock star, even though it was just one little comment! Remembering that feeling, I decided I wanted to help her get to Vegas.
So I posted a call to action to my readers. I told them all about what was happening, linked to the post asking for donations, and hit the publish button with a huge smile on my face.
The response was very nearly immediate—and overwhelming! People loved the idea just as much as I did, and wanted to help. There were so many wonderful comments from outstanding people. After all was said and done, the blogger reached her goal and booked her trip to Blog World.
Now I can’t take the credit for her goal being reached—I’m pretty sure her talent had something to do with it! Nevertheless, I felt like I was part of something, and that my blog had a small hand in making someone’s life better.
That day was also, to date, my blog’s highest traffic day. People Tweeted the post, Stumbled it, shared it, and Dugg it. I got some new subscribers, and met some new people. That wasn’t my goal in doing what I did, but it was a pretty nice side-effect!
What can you do?
It’s your turn! Have you ever done something like this before? What kind of results did you see? Do you have something planned for the future? I’d love to hear how good deeds have benefited you and your blog.
Just remember, your blog is a wonderful platform for making someone’s day, or helping other people in a positive way. I think that’s a great thing, and who knows, a simple act of kindness could lead more people to your door. Sounds like a win-win situation to me!
Joshua Noerr is a former MMA fighter and powerlifter turned blogger. He owns or is partnered in several blogs on different topics, including personal development, and health and fitness.
This is so true! It’s a whole new world I’ve discovered since I started reaching out to other bloggers. When i first started blogging it was really just a journal, and I wasn’t looking for an audience. Now I get so excited when I see that others have commented or are following what I have to say! So, I try to do the same for others everyday. :)
I don’t think I’ve done anything that nice, yet, but I sure am going to keep my eye out for chances to do so. When someone I know (or even don’t really know) starts blogging, I try to comment on their first posts. Like you, I remember that warm all over feeling of validation I got from my first comments. Heck, I still get that way. Thanks for the reminder to spread the good karma.
Love your idea! I try to do the same in promoting good causes in Twitter and Facebook but will try somehow in my blog.. once I get readers! :) Love the journey!
Kat
I love the idea behind your post! It is HARD work being a blogger and any small gesture of encouragement is huge. I’m amazed at how encouraging it is to have someone just leave a comment, letting me know they’re reading my stuff.
I’m trying to help other bloggers with my blog, too, by doing a weekly featured blog. There are so many blogs out there to check out! I also have a spot on my site where either I or other bloggers can showcase their blog themes.
Your post helps me think, even for myself, of some concrete goals that I want to reach – and the potential power of just letting those goals be known. Thanks for sharing!
I really enjoyed your post and I’m happy that your decision to post about the lady blogger, helped her in such a tangible way.
For the last three months, I’ve been blogging once a week about a particular artist, of my choosing, that I admire.Each week I pick someone different. I’m doing this because initially I just wanted to showcase different fine artists I ran into (that I liked) and friends on facebook have told me they enjoy getting to know different artists since they read my posts through my link on FB. But lately I’m doing it for more selfish reasons. I get to study different artist’s style, as I research them, and hope to learn something in the process that will improve my own artistic skills and sensibilities. Now I must say that about 75% of the artists that I profile will thank me for doing this and are mostly very appreciative. Remember I’m promoting them! But the other 25% won’t even respond to my e-mail that notifies them that I’m doing this! I’ll let Karma take care of it!
Thanks Joshua – love the idea of sharing what I enjoy with my readers too!
For any new blogger there is one super special group that you need to find ways to give credit to down the road – the early adopters – those faithful people who watched you go through stupid mistake after another, and still came back to your blog – telling you that they think you have something interesting to say.
Even if you get nothing further out of it, you often, in my experience, they are the ones that keep you going in the first place.
Of course, it goes beyond blogs. A new business, new school, new town.
Yes!!! I have so found this… I love linking to blog friends and sending my readers to look at something fabulous I have found… especially when the bloggers come back over to see what is stirring up their promotional traffic!!! Many blog acquaintances have become real friends because of this!!! I find very often if you link someone they will return the favor, but that’s not why I link to folks. I link because I like what I see over there and I think my readers know to expect something good if they follow a lead away from our site.
My whole blog is dedicated to helping dogs and dog owners. So I should have some good karma :-) Haven’t made a dime yet.
When I launched a campaign for helping Ella get an MRI, it did increase my traffic a lot.
I’m a bit of a blog stalker. I love them, and know how important comments are. I try to leave a comment whenever I visit, if there is nothing I feel I can add, I’ll defo share the blog regardless.
Love the thought that others feel the same as me.
Ahh, feel all warm and fuzzy now.
Joshua,
First of all congratulations on being a guest on Problogger and nice touch to put a link in your byline using the word personal development that is one way Glen Allsopp grew the popularity of his PluginID site. (I believe Darren mentioned that technique).
In response to your question have I ever helped people out through my blog. In fact, today I put up a posting about world food day which is to relieve world hunger and I suggested people might want to try out what my family do to help cut down on hunger on the streets. The posting is at http://buyorganicfoodinexpensively.com/not-an-organic-food-posting/ is you want to take a peek.
Continued success to you and all,
David
I completely agree with the good equals good. If successful bloggers were mean to their readers, then they wouldn’t be successful in the first place.
I agree with you on the linking part.
When other bloggers link to my blog, it’s a gesture that I really appreciate no matter how big their readership is, so I always take the time to thank them in their comments section. Then some of the bloggers may give me feedback on why they like my blog (which is very helpful) or if the other blog is good I’ll very likely subscribe.
Not every blogger is thankful though. I’ve sent messages to people whose blog I linked to in my posts to tell them about it, and have seldom received a “thank you” back.
Thank you for a great post. I try to live by karma in the real world, but I was not carrying it over to the blogosphere to that extent. I think I will have to.
I was nodding my head as I was reading this post. Karma. :)
I run a craft blog. Every fortnight I dedicate a post to a guest blogger – someone I met in the blogging world through crafting – they share a little bit about themselves and issue a craft challenge to my readers. While I don’t see a spike in the number of comments on those posts, participation for the challenges have been increasing steadily, with a slow and steady rise in the number of followers/subscribers as well. My way of giving back to people who have inspired me creatively has most definitely benefited me.
It feels wonderful to give. You’re right.
Today I got one of my first comments from a university colleague. And you’re right again, I did feel like a rock star.
Great post, like the idea of spreading the good karma. Thanks for the reminder. Haven’t done something like this before in the blogsphere, but reading this post I feel like I should search for if I can promote others through my blog. I have no problem doing that great job.
Thanks
Love your post to full. Never imagine a MMA fighter turn to blogging. Have you ever fight Brock Lesnar. I am huge fan of Brock.
All the best for future.
Well that’s why i love blogging, if we’ve build a strong relationship with our readers, it will be easier to introduce them to something that we have.
As always a fantastic post!
A few weeks back I ran a product review for “Clean+Green” (a cleaning product for pets, I have a cat blog), followed by a give-away.
The folks at “Clean+Green” were giving 3 cans of cleaner to 3 different people who entered the contest.
I decided to take advantage of my blog being a “baby blog” (in reference to the number of followers since it is just about to turn a year old). This translates to that I don’t get the number of comments that the “big boy blogs” like yours gets!
I decided to make EVERYONE who entered a winner!!! In addition to the 3 cans of product that the give-away sponsor was giving I am ordering cans out of pocket for the rest of the people. “Clean+Green” told me they deal with 1000s of bloggers and that no one had ever done this….that made me feel good!
It wasn’t done to increase traffic, it was done because I was able to take a small blog and turn it into something big and I wanted to show those that do take the time to read/comment that I truly appreciate them!
Joshua, very inspirational post indeed. I believe that at the end of they day we get what we deserve, so if we do good things good things will come back to us. Same rules of course apply to blogging or any other business.
Elias
Great post..Yes we all here to share our Love and Knowledge to others. If you do it and you surely get back 10 times bigger of what you gave…I believe in helping others will make our life still meaningfull. As a result, I just create my Movie blog, where I can share my experience about the Movies which I saw. I love to share my feelings and I make them to see the movies and enjoy. Last week I had a call from one of my friend who is always reading my Blog post. He called and he just cried. And he thank me for introduce some good movies to bring him back to his normal life. I still remembered the movie name ‘October Sky’. My friend saw the movie and he really get some Inspiration, motivation to lead his career. I just felt proud of myself and this incident gives me more energy to do of What I love. Thanks for the wonderful post. Cheers…
yes, my blog is all about sharing useful info with other artists and promoting artists there.
I’ve posted news for calls to submit to Tate Modern and a smaller museum in the US on my blog to share the ops. Two artists contacted me to thanks me–both had been accepted into these museum exhibitions.
[…] Blog Karma: How Good Blogging Deeds Can Spike Your Traffic (problogger.net) […]
Thanks for prompting me to do this.
I’ll start a list of the posts that resonate with me and that I know my readers will love too and I’ll do a post, passing them on. I just never thought of that before!
Hi Joshua,
To hear you speak about helping others is so refreshing when most people are so self-centered these days.
Pierrette & I try to make a difference in someone’s life everyday. Our goal is to help rid the world of obesity by telling people how great they really are. Empowering each individual on earth to help another through education, prevention and care.
Thanks so much for what you are doing. I will follow you on twitter and elsewhere.
Pierre Trudel
Thee Quest For Perfect Health
theequest.com
Great post!
It is really wonderful to be good to others. I also remember when I got my first comment, I was so excited that I called my sister and told her about it.
Though I haven’t done the things you’ve mentioned, I have been thinking of sharing a blog at a time. I will have to act on it soon.
Thanks for sharing
Awesome story! Do the right thing and the right thing will happen back to you!
I love this idea, I will be stating it today on my site!
THANK YOU, thank you, thank you for bringing this up, Joshua! My big thing lately is trying to figure out how to get other bloggers to understand how much influence they have, and that they should use it to promote positive action. I had a huge jump in readers when I initiated doing 31 Days to Build a Better Blog as a group. Hundreds of bloggers joined, and because I did something so helpful, it really helped my blog. Right now, I’m trying to initiate Blog for a Cause, where bloggers blog about a specific charity or cause each month. I have some more ideas for the future, but won’t write a book here. Again, thanks for bringing this up. I really hope some bloggers read this as a Call to Action.
Sites are awesome platforms to do good!…
:]
Jason, your words about one’s legacy have special resonance for me today because yesterday was my beloved brother’s funeral. Everyone who spoke talked about his acts of kindness and thoughtfulness and about how many lives he touched. Your suggestion is one more way to build that kind of legacy.
> your service to others will be the cornerstone of your legacy long after you are gone.
Perfect words of wisdom.
Congratulations on the post here, Joshua. I was pleased to see a familar name writing today’s post.
I try to do what I can with my blog. That’s why I offer Guest Post Wednesdays — giving guest spots to anyone who wants them on Wednesdays. If it’s Wednesday and there’s not a guest post, it means no one wanted the spot — and there are lots of Wednesdays no one has stepped forward.
Mentioning other bloggers really does get a lot of attention. It usually gets a comment from that blogger and often a mention on his or her blog, too.
It’s all great advice. Doing something great is nice, but getting something in return makes it even nicer.
Gip
Joshua,
Really liked what your post was about. I believe in karma; if you give love in the blogging world, you’ll eventually get it back :)
I’ve found the same thing. I love trying to win free things from other people’s blogs, so when I hit 100 posts I gave away a book that I happened to have two copies of (brand new). It felt so good!! I also started a weekly guest blogging post, although sadly for a number of reasons it has fallen by the wayside. But I’ve never had so much fun or appreciated other people’s writing than when I found myself writing their introductions and being sure to post on other people’s blogs so that they would come by and read something I hadn’t even written! Hm… now that I’m trying to get back into blogging, I think it may be high time to revisit that… anyone interested? :)
Have an Extraordinary Day!
Hi Joshua
What a brilliant post.
We all live in a really tough world and there are lots of people out there who need all the help they can get. The thing is that we do not have to make these big magnanimous gestures. Small things like what you did to help the lady get to Vegas makes all the difference. We are also all so busy doing our own thing and trying to make it that we tend to forget about the people who need help.
Your post inspired me so much to see if I can also do a little something somewhere to try and make a difference.
I am fairly new at blogging and still very much finding my feet. My blogs are also of a more commercial nature rather than personal blogs. I am not sure yet what I can do but I am sure with a little creative thinking I will be able to come up with something.
Thank you for reminding me.
Regards
Deon
Thanks for the inspiring post. I’m right in the middle of getting my video blog up and running. I haven’t gone public yet, but plan to next week.
I’ve been toying with the idea of tying onto a good cause, and encouraging my future viewers to contribute. I want to find something unusual but appealing. I’m still on the hunt.
Thanks again. I will be subscribing to your blog right now!
Your post provides me with a good feeling because it confirms that good deeds never go untold. The previous post from problogger talked about applying life principles into blogging. Today you write a post on karma of blogging. The topics flows very nicely. It’s funny you mention about how you felt when you got your first comment. Mine (on one of my sites) was a spam but that made me very happy. That sounds weird but that is one of the funniest blogging experience I have.
[…] I liked Joshua Noerr’s post about Blog Karma over at Problogger. Good deeds can, indeed, spike your traffic and do much more. Good food for […]
I love this story ans to be honest YES ! I do things like that..
Every weekend I choose a newcomer blog or a blog that is not on my links list and ‘introduce them with a link and a picture in my side bar
Second I choose a weeks favorite post.. something that aI really liked reading or a picture I loved… I add again a picture and a link in my sidebar..
and third I have a little list of ‘new blogs’
all blogs I add to my blog first go in there (there are always ten and when a new one is added I take of the oldest and that one go in my links list)
I really ge very nice reactions and heard many times it helped new blogs to get some traffic ;)
And yes maybe Karma is there as many nice things are happening to me in the blog sphere.. lately ;)
Joshua,
This is such an inspiring post. I love your generosity and the spirit of giving without expecting to receive in return. This is one of my favorites lines in your article, “Your blog is a wonderful platform for making someone’s day, or helping other people in a positive way.”
It’s sad but true as someone said above that bloggers don’t always acknowledge a link. But the point is that you have still benefited your readers by sharing awesome articles and giving in this way is not intended a promotion ‘strategy.’
I often try to share what I’ve learned with other bloggers that are learning the ropes through a friendly email or suggestion. But now you have me thinking of what more I might do to really help people in a positive way.
Thanks so much for the infusion of inspiration. You’ve made my day!
This post comes at a great time! I have been thinking about how I love giving back to others and my blog posts have been going astray from what I love to do .. spread happiness, positive thoughts and GIVE. I have thought about what it is I can do to give back to all the awesome blogs I read weekly and who totally rocks and maybe share a few articles that touched my heart this week or month and why … seeing that you did it and hearing the connection it made with others online I think I will have to do something similar to this, without being a total copy cat! Thank you for this post, it inspired to stop thinking and just DO IT!
I’ve done this before, I mean the concept of giving back. It’s a good thing, you don’t expect anything in return, just giving them a chance or opportunity but it will come naturally.
I love this idea of a karma eco-system; I’ve often seen a similar approach taken on reddit – those who produce something of value – be it comment or content – are often given a great lift by the community when in need.
As someone just starting out in this field, it’s an excellent idea that I intend to implement once I have developed a strong enough voice.
Cheers,
Matt
I love that blogging can be so many different things. I have not specifically used my blog to help someone or kind of “pay it forward” but after reading this I am going to do something. I’ll try to let you know when I decide what it will be…but as I am thinking this to some extent that is what we do as bloggers. You share daily about blogging, I share daily (or almost) about digital scrapbooking. I post lessons so anyone who has Photoshop can learn how to use their software. We don’t expect anything for doing that, we’re just sharing some of what we know with others who want to learn.
Kelly McCausey calls this link love, and she recommends doing it once a week.
I have my own version. Each Sunday I post about a link that someone I follow shared on Twitter. Sometimes I post about more than one that week. In the future, I am going to include some other links to blog posts I have read that weren’t necessarily shared on Twitter.
Yes Joshua, generalised reciprocity is a wonderful thing and should be modus operandi for everybody, not just those in social media. The warm and fuzzy feelings are great. But maintain the generosity and you get the inevitable rewards – and deservedly so. Its win/win/win.
It’s not even magic. Do something good for someone and he will be pleased do something good for you as well.
This article made me think of a blog post I read months and months ago about Random Acts of Kindness. It will blow your socks off so be prepared…http://goo.gl/F1lw – this woman’s generosity inspired me to spend the entire following day after reading her post doing random acts of kindness for others. It lifted my spirit and reminded me that when you give, if you don’t have a whole lot of money, that you can get creative and do it in so many other ways than just writing a check. My dad always taught me as a little girl the principal that when you give, you should have no expectations for anything in return. However, I often find that when I give, I get so much in return without ever expecting to. Great post, I thorougly enjoyed it & hope to be at blog world next year since we couldn’t make it this year!