Dec 4

Written by:
2009/12/04 04:20 PM 

Outreach.

Outreach is the key here. Participating in the blogosphere is a must. This is the one key area that many bloggers and professionals miss. It might seem strange and seem to go against the grain because it requires you to spend time away from your blog and spend time on other blogs.

Done correctly, however, reaching out to other bloggers in your field will actually create more business opportunities, increase traffic to your own blog, and enhance your business brand more than any other tactic you could employ.

It’s not just about spreading your own message, although that’s important. Outreach is about building community and personal relationships among your peers, your colleagues who are also writing blogs, and the people in the blogosphere who are reading blogs in your industry.

Find your niche.

The way to do this is to first find other blogs within you niche.  You need to find blogs in your niche that you enjoy and that you will read.

Technorati is the web’s largest blog search directory and is a good place to start. There you can search for blogs in a particular category using search terms that you believe will benefit you and that best describe your niche.

Another site to try is Google Blogsearch. Google Blog search is just like a search engine, however it will only return blogs, and blog posts that are relevant to the keyword/s that you typed in.

Smart Commenting.

The idea is to engage with other bloggers via their blog through useful relevant comments. Read and comment on posts that interest you. Most bloggers will allow comments, although sometimes they are moderated to keep out the spammers.

The guidelines for commenting are simple: use common sense and respect. There are no rules, but being courteous, building up, helpful criticism and encouraging words will help you establish positive relationships within the blogosphere

When you leave a comment you should always try to leave the following where ever possible:

• Your name
• Your email address (make sure you have a Gravatar)
• Your blog or relevant post URL

Share your expertise.

Don't use someone else's blog to promote your business. It is not a stage to show off your sales skills or to test out your sales speech. This does not represent the spirit of commenting. In fact it might even be classed as comment spam. You do not want to get that reputation, now do you?

Be polite and add something new to the conversation. Writing “Nice post, I agree” is not adding to the conversation. Any dumb twit can do that.

You can show off your expertise in so many different ways.

• Add something the author may have overlooked.
• Add historical context
• Suggest a book in which the ideas are discussed.
• Add your perspective, experience and opinion.
• If allowed suggest a URL that adds value or further expands on the subject
• Add a different view point or something controversial. (Be careful this might backfire. Use tact)

The Challenge.

Here is the challenge. Find at least three top blogs in your niche. Read them and add some valuable comments on a daily basis. In order for this to show any real fruit, you would need to do this for a month. Come back and let us know what the change in your traffic, readers, and opportunities were.

Have you tried any of these suggestions? How did it pan out for you? Did you notice an increase in traffic or readership? Let us know in the comments below.

Related reading:

Your comments make content more valuable

How To Build A Closer Relationship With Your Blog’s Readers.

How to promote your blog by networking

Email a new reader to build your blog’s readership

 

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