“It’s been several years and it’s not working” – proclaimed a tech blogger in a recent SEOMoz Q&A.
Bloggers eventually run into the problem of plateauing at a certain number of visitors per day. Revenue flattens, and they can’t seem to figure out how to take their blog to the next level. This is a typical issue with people who haven’t learned the most important lesson of blogging – networking.
Knowing the right people will help you overcome your glass ceiling so to speak. Jeremy of Modest Money delves into this subject every Wednesday, stressing importance of networking. You see, he networks quite well, even given the limited he sets aside to reach out to fellow bloggers. It is for this reason of having good discipline in networking, that I am not surprised he just recently featured a guest post by a prominent affiliate marketer Zac Johnson.
Zac is also in the business of building relationships even if he doesn’t admit it directly. Most affiliate marketers are fly-by-night dreamers who once in a while hit it big, but eventually disappear. Zac is no fly-by-night affiliate marketer and has long realized the value of building relationships through knowledge sharing and reaching out through his blog.
If your blog has reached a flat point, you could learn from Jeremy and Zac.
SEO Value in Networking
You may be wondering – what does any of this have to do with SEO Thursdays? The largest part of SEO is link building and I’m sure you are fully aware that links are the currencies in which we invest our time.
Networking build links.
As a blogger, if you are already networking, be sure to do it meaningfully. Take real interest in other bloggers and ask them how you may be of help. I say this because you are quite familiar with generic guest post pitches and their ability to annoy you. Most guest blogger pitches are bland, with no effort to be personal.
Networking by building meaningful relationships with other bloggers will help you overcome that plateau sooner rather than later. Not to mention that the people you make connections with may someday help you out in more ways than you can imagine.
Next time you examine your stats and notice that you haven’t been able to pass a stale point, ask yourself – are you in the business of building relationships?
Very well said Veronica. Networking is just as important in the blogosphere as it is if you’re trying to get ahead in your job. I think a lot of it comes down to being genuine and taking interest in what others are doing. If you’re genuine then it’ll come across and will help you in your networking attempts.
John, you certainly understand how important it is to be genuine, I can see it in your comments.
Over the past month to two months I have interacted with a ton of bloggers and probably have 100+ websites in various favorites folders. I have started to focus more on a small core of people (as you have seen) and really network with them. I’ve found this to be very valuable, and I can attest to Jeremy being willing to help others out. I have learned a ton from people who are successful and have had a great time focusing on a small core (though I am not exclusive, I will always reciprocate comments/tweets/etc.!).
Here’s to success for both of our blogs!
Favorites folders? Oh No! We have to get you some rss software! Have you tried RSS Owl? (came recommended on day 1 by Jeremy and I’m still using it)
Networking is one of my favorite things about having a blog. I actually enjoy reading what other people have to say and interacting with them. I had two guest posts this week. I love that bigger blogs would even let me participate. Thanks for the Thursday tip. I’ve just got to try that RSS Owl too.
I love genuine bloggers, you guys are just so much more fun to interact with! You should def. get RSS Owl, it will make your life so much easier.
“It’s been several years and it’s not working”
I too have that thought when I started my business and I realized that there are many things that I missed. Good relationship towards the readers and customers! Social media is one of the things that helped me.
You’r right, social media has made it so much easier to reach out to bloggers and customers alike. The opportunities business have now to get really personal with their customers are incredible, but many are still behind the times.
We had a good run for quite a few years and are in a rebuilding phase since Panda and Penguin. I have enjoyed reading many of your posts the last couple of days and really enjoy the obvious camaraderie.
Thanks for sharing your stats. You should be proud of those numbers. Have a great weekend.
Thanks for your kindness. I try my best, but I have a feeling there is a lot to learn yet. Some of the bloggers I’ve been interacting with in the last month or so have a lot of talent in writing. ClubThrifty surprises me with every post, and I wonder why the heck they’re not writing a book yet
Both Greg and Holly have incredible talent for writing.
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