Community. This is a very powerful word. Especially in the Blogosphere. We all love to feel like we're part of something. When it comes to the blogging community, how you go about this can have a great deal of influence on the success or failure of your blog.
In this post I'll look at 4 specific things you can do to increase your visibility in this community, and how your interactions with others in this community can drive you towards success. I'm not talking about traditional social media. If you want to learn more about using traditional social media to grow your blog check out my previous post on the subject How to Make Sense of this Blog Writing thing Part Three - Social Media.
Formal Blogging Communities
Where better to connect with other bloggers than a community specifically created for the purpose right? Sounds easy, but don't get to excited. There isn't a lot of competition in this sphere. In fact, Triberr is the main game in town. Not the only game. There are smaller sites such as the Better Blogger Network, but other than that there isn't a lot of choice outside of the mainstream social networks.
What makes Triberr standout is it's focus on the blogging community. Those who join it have blogs of their own, and they're looking to connect with other bloggers. You complete you profile, including the link to your blog, and then you can get started.
In order to participate members join tribes. A tribe can be started by any member, but joining an established tribe with a healthy membership is obviously advantageous.
Once you join a tribe you will remain a follower until accepted by the chief of the tribe. As a follower you can not submit any of your posts for sharing by the community, but you can leave comments. Consider starting a conversation in the tribe. If you show an active interest, you are more likely to be accepted by the chief as a full member.
Remember, the whole idea behind Triberr is to establish connections with other bloggers in order to help increase traffic to your blog. If you don't actively participate, you won't receive the benefits that membership has to offer. This is about community, and in order to grow the community everyone needs to join the conversation.
A full member can submit their posts for consideration by the tribe. Each member is expected to review these posts often, and share them through their social media memberships on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Google+, Stumbleupon, and Pinterest. Your social media reach can potentially grow by the thousands!
But be careful. Don't expect to just produce content, post it to Triberr, and expect it to grow your blog effortlessly. You still have to produce quality content.
Yes, you have joined a community of like minded individuals who are glad to help you in return for helping them, but they won't share your posts if they're not worth supporting. You still have to produce quality content to be noticed. If you're professional in your approach to blogging, Triberr can be an excellent tool.
What makes Triberr standout is it's focus on the blogging community. Those who join it have blogs of their own, and they're looking to connect with other bloggers. You complete you profile, including the link to your blog, and then you can get started.
In order to participate members join tribes. A tribe can be started by any member, but joining an established tribe with a healthy membership is obviously advantageous.
Once you join a tribe you will remain a follower until accepted by the chief of the tribe. As a follower you can not submit any of your posts for sharing by the community, but you can leave comments. Consider starting a conversation in the tribe. If you show an active interest, you are more likely to be accepted by the chief as a full member.
Remember, the whole idea behind Triberr is to establish connections with other bloggers in order to help increase traffic to your blog. If you don't actively participate, you won't receive the benefits that membership has to offer. This is about community, and in order to grow the community everyone needs to join the conversation.
A full member can submit their posts for consideration by the tribe. Each member is expected to review these posts often, and share them through their social media memberships on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Google+, Stumbleupon, and Pinterest. Your social media reach can potentially grow by the thousands!
But be careful. Don't expect to just produce content, post it to Triberr, and expect it to grow your blog effortlessly. You still have to produce quality content.
Yes, you have joined a community of like minded individuals who are glad to help you in return for helping them, but they won't share your posts if they're not worth supporting. You still have to produce quality content to be noticed. If you're professional in your approach to blogging, Triberr can be an excellent tool.
Guest Posting
Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigital Photos.net
Guest posting is another great option for increasing traffic to your blog. It is just what it sounds like. You make contact with other bloggers and offer to write a post on their site. Usually for free. The expectation is that you will be able to increase your visibility by tapping into their audience as well. Generally, you'll want to look for opportunities to guest post within your own niche.
So what's in it for the owner of the blog you're guesting on? Two things really. First, they get a quality post for their blog without having to contribute the material themselves. Second, they will get exposure to your audience as well. The blogging community really is dependent on reciprocity for success.
Comments
Another approach that's helpful in increasing traffic to your site is commenting on posts on other blogs. By contributing regularly to your favourite blog you will increase your own exposure within the community. Use your voice.
Be careful though. You don't want to be viewed as a spammer. Make sure your comments are meaningful and contribute to the conversation. If you do link back to your own blog within a comment, make sure it's relevant to the dialogue.
Backlinks
Generally speaking, the more backlinks that point back to your site the better. Google's formula for search rankings rates sites higher if there are a lot of backlinks to it. You can definitely use this to increase the visibility of your site on the web.
There are many ways to increase the backlinks to your site. You can start by using links within your own blog. When you're writing an article, consider how your previous articles might contribute to the readers experience. If you think it will hep them, include it as a link. Don't include it if it has no relevance to the current article though. This will likely irritate your readers, and they might not come back!
You can also include links to your site on your various social media profiles. When you create a new post, be sure to update your profiles. If you want to keep your site in peoples minds, you have to constantly remind them that it's out there.
Don't be shy in asking others to link back to your site. If you've written an article you think can contribute to the conversation on another blog, let the owner of the blog know! If you don't ask you'll never know.
The blogging community really can be a great tool in the effort to grow your audience. Granted it will take a little effort, but anything worthwhile usually does. Can you think of any other ways the blogging community can help increase your blogs popularity? Leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you.
There are many ways to increase the backlinks to your site. You can start by using links within your own blog. When you're writing an article, consider how your previous articles might contribute to the readers experience. If you think it will hep them, include it as a link. Don't include it if it has no relevance to the current article though. This will likely irritate your readers, and they might not come back!
You can also include links to your site on your various social media profiles. When you create a new post, be sure to update your profiles. If you want to keep your site in peoples minds, you have to constantly remind them that it's out there.
Don't be shy in asking others to link back to your site. If you've written an article you think can contribute to the conversation on another blog, let the owner of the blog know! If you don't ask you'll never know.
The blogging community really can be a great tool in the effort to grow your audience. Granted it will take a little effort, but anything worthwhile usually does. Can you think of any other ways the blogging community can help increase your blogs popularity? Leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you.
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