Guest post by Fiar from Humor Blogging

What does it take to get noticed by a more influential blogger? It’s something we all strive to do, but we often feel as if we need to know a secret handshake for entry into an exclusive club.

Mariam from Money Relations asked a question that exemplifies this sentiment:

I have a question:
A lot has been made about the importance of having powerful network friends. What is your view on this? Obviously, we want to get connected to the right people, but how do you network with people beyond your blog social status?

I always get intimidated as I don’t have anything to offer to the big blogs. What I’ve been comfortable with is networking within my own blog peer group and I find that we are of great support to each other.

How do I break through this social barrier?

Mariam isn’t the only one with this view of being in a different sphere from more influential bloggers. It’s pretty much everyone who has this concern, and that’s why her comment on the previous Networking the Right Way post provoked me to respond in depth.

What is the difference between your site and a more successful one? I believe that the difference is not one of quality. It’s a difference in Networking. The best way to advance your blog’s “social status” is to raise the awareness of it’s existence. [Read more →]

Tags: Blogging, Social Networking by Ritu - 24 Comments »

Well, it’s time for some play here at Work N Play. I have been trying to come up with games every once in a while but at times my mind just seems to shut when it comes to coming up with something creative. Well, I try!

I am not sure how this game will come across but just bare with me as I tried. When I was setting my 2008 blogging goals, one thing I had in mind was to help out other bloggers while learning from them. Well, that’s exactly what we will try and do in this game. Whether we have 10 readers or 50,000 we have all gained knowledge about blogging in some way or the other. And we all have something that might be valuable for somebody else.

How The Heck Do We Play “Use a Letter, Share a Blogging Tip” Game?

Sounds cool huh! Anyways, here are the details on how this game will be played.

[Read more →]

Tags: Games by Ritu - 33 Comments »

What is one thing that we need to do in order to be known? What is the secret to building contacts? How do we get to know people whose interest are similar to ours? How do we find people who can help us boost our business and/or traffic? You guessed it right - Network!

Networking doesn’t mean keeping tabs on everyone you’ve met since you were 5 years old. Networking is something that you do in order to build your contacts and resources that might benefit you and others in one way or the other. Some people are born with networking talents, they get out there and make friends easily whereas for some it is a learned act. I have learned networking the hard way. After running two small businesses both in the real world and on the internet and seeing two of my blogs die, I think I have learned some lessons on how to network to gain the most out of it.

Whether you are a born networking genius or a person trying to learn the ropes, we all know networking is the key to success and is critical to any business and the same goes for your blog, whether you run it as a business or hobby. Here are some tips on networking that I have found quite useful which has helped me gain contacts that are both influential and helpful when it comes to my blogging career.

#1. The key to effective networking is to figure out how you can help others before you ask for help. Remember when you start giving you start receiving, it might not be an immediate gain but with time it will happen. Lend a helping hand and when you are in need there will be a flood of people willing to help you out in a heartbeat.

#2. Keep track of your network. You might have come to known 50 bloggers in a month who belong to your networking circle. Not all 50 bloggers will be as effective or active within that circle. So try and group your network. Make a list of contacts that you are actively engaging in conversation or are sharing emails. These are the most valuable gem within your networking circle. So group your contacts according to their activity and interest level with you or your blog/business. Do not eliminate or get rid of other contacts though. You never know who you might need. [Read more →]

Tags: Blogging, Business by Ritu - 11 Comments »

What comes before cooking? Preparation! Without a well prepared recipe a good food is something that is not possible. And the same rule applies while writing a post.

Although most of the times we bloggers tend to just sit and start writing about something, once in a while it is worth to prepare a post before you start writing it. A well written post will not only bring you traffic but will help you establish yourself as an expert or worth somebody’s time. My previous post How To Write An Effective Post - A Simple Guide also gives some example on how we can write a post to provide more information on a particular subject.

Instead of writing just for the sake of updating your blog, preparing your post with insights and value will prove to be worth much more to your readers. Here are some tips on how you can prepare a post before you publish. Let’s get started,

#1. Analyze your readers and the purpose of the post. Plan your post so it provides specific information that will interest and benefit your readers.

#2. Start your posts with a powerful opening. You can start your post with a humor or shock so as to grab your readers attention on what will follow. A brief description on what the post is about while making it a little dramatic will make sure to hook your readers. Remember, the first sentence and the first paragraph are very important to grab your readers attention.

#3. Use quotations, visual aids, examples and statistics to support your post. If you are writing about something that can’t be supported make sure to provide something that will make the readers connect with what you are writing. The more instance you can provide the more valuable your post become as this gives the readers to look and analyze it with different perspectives. [Read more →]

Tags: Blogging by Ritu - 8 Comments »