Yesterday we heard from Eric Hamm from Up-And-Coming-Blogger and “Motivate Thyself” and Sean Platt from Writer Dad who wrote about the power of finding a blogging buddy to work collaborate with in your blogging.
Finding that special blogging buddy (or buddies) isn’t anything you can place on Craig’s List. Like any relationship worth developing, only the proper combination of time and place will lead to conception. It is important to understand that part of the challenge lies in the patience it takes to wait for the right blogger to enter our lives. Of course, while being patient, it wouldn’t hurt to speed the process along by meeting a myriad of people.
Here are a few tips to help open doors, and invite the right bloggers to come inside.
- Offer assistance wherever needed, and whenever possible. Most people would agree that the adage what goes around comes around is mostly on the money. Even more so in Blogopolis. Everyone playing the game is new, even those who have been in it since before the beginning. Lending someone a hand when you find yourself in a position to do so is not only kind, but will most likely be remembered later.
- Add bloggers that you’d like to meet to your blogroll. Most blogs have a blogroll either on their sidebar or on a separate page. Using your blogroll in the right manner is an effective way to wave hello to those bloggers that you would like to know better. Blogs included in a blogroll earn an immediate link back to their site from the home blog. Even if the traffic you send is minor, the action might be noticed, and appreciated, by an observant blogger. If that blogger happens to be at your house, and encounters his or her name in your sidebar, they are probably far more likely to strike up a conversation.
- Link to potential buddies in your posts, while praising their most deserving work. The power of praise doesn’t dim when as soon as we leave the primary colors of Kindergarten behind. Even as adults, we peer around for people to prop us up, and tell us that we are doing things the way they should be done. When we link to someone in our posts, we are sending them a chance to discover our praise through a ping back. Linking a potential buddy is the same as sending them an invitation.
- Send complimentary emails to bloggers you respect. Like a link from within a post, an email is an invitation. The difference lies in their privacy. Email allows us to be more direct about our praise, and honest about the things that we might like to ask our potential buddy.
- Ask for assistance from other bloggers and take note of their response. If we approach a blogger for assistance, and they seem unwilling or hesitant, it might be a sign that they aren’t overly eager to help. We can never assume to know what is on another’s plate, and must never be pushy. If it doesn’t seem like a good fit, it probably isn’t. The right match will come along, but we cannot will success into submission.
- When interacting with another blogger, look for common ground as you seek potential chemistry and like mindedness. Email can open a floodgate of conversation. If you notice threads of common pinging your inbox, it is prudent that you follow through. Try to gauge the background of your potential blogging buddy, and determine what you have in common. The more fluid the communication, the more likely the relationship.
- NEVER be overly eager or desperate! As in life, this tactic will not help in the search for a blogging partner. A blogger worthy of the other side of a relationship will most likely be turned off by impatient or desperate behavior. It is important to remain cool and collected. The right decision is rarely made in desperation.
A great example of the above information in action.
About a dozen fallen leaves into Sean’s third month blogging, he got a note in his inbox from a daily reader, regular commenter, and first time emailer. The reader loved his site and wanted to know if there was anything he could do to help make it better; the Blogopolis version of asking if he’d like to share a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
The email was from Eric, and over the course of a weekend, he added the 40 to the WD, and scrubbed Writer Dad until it was all shiny. Only a couple of weeks, and the two of us were pooling ourselves on a project. Collaboration has been a constant since.
Having a blogging buddy is an excellent strategy, but one that cannot, and should not be forced. Being mindful of what surrounds you, and reading between the lines, is the best way to turn your budding blogging into blogging with buddies.
