Networking Through Blogs – 4 Way of Linking
Using links in blog posts is very common – you often cite sources to prove your point or quote an article that you’re referring to. Linking to other people’s blogs is also very valuable for networking purposes. Here are 4 ways of linking.
Why link?
Linking to a fellow blogger draws his attention in a positive way. In his blog dashboard he sees an incoming link from you, and he also sees incoming traffic. He also may get new readers to his blog, readers that came from your network.
This a gesture of good will that is taken positively. It can lead to having him thank you via your blog, or perhaps by a personal email. So, a link is good way of igniting a connection.
4 Ways to Link
- Link Post: Your fellow blogger wrote an interesting post, and you wish to share it with your readers. If you have something to add upon it, it’s even better. Writing a short post that is focused on the link is a fast and easy way to link. This is the most efficient method of sending traffic, since it’s all about the link. Read more about networking through link posts.
- Referring to a post “by the way”: This means writing a serious post, in which you mention the other person’s post. This is the best way to connect, since you don’t only link, but also express yourself. This kind of post takes more time to write and pushes less traffic to your fellow blogger. The advantage is that the discussion can last longer and the connection can become deeper. He can relate not only by thanking you, but also by discussing and perhaps linking back. Read more about referring to a post “by the way”.
- Linking to the whole blog: You can write a post about the person you wish to connect with, and link to his blog. While this is a big gesture, it isn’t focused, and can hardly trigger a discussion. In such a post, there’s a fine line between a gesture and flattering. Read more about linking to the whole blog.
- Adding to the blog roll: Adding a blog to the blog roll means a permanent link on all your blog’s pages. This is naturally the biggest gesture, but it’s very problematic for initial networking. First, it may not be noticed if it doesn’t generate traffic. It’s static content. Second, adding a permanent link is accepted only between good blog friends, and isn’t accepted as a first move. You should add a person’s blog to your blog roll only if the both of you are tightly networked.
These are the 4 major ways of linking between blogs. We might enhance on each method later on.
Do you have other methods? Networking and linking experiences you’d like to share? Your comments are most welcome.
