Friendship is an awesome bond that one cannot put a price to. True friends are those who stick with you through thick and thin. Who help you without expecting anything in return. True friends are there when you do not expect them to be. True friends are those who are around you, helping you out when you can’t see them.
Image by Chris Pirillo via Flickr
As a blogger are you such a friend?
Blogging falls into the realm of web 2.0 and Social Media and Social networking. One cannot be social without being helpful and friendly. To my mind this is what true blogging is all about. It’s about giving.
You blog and give away knowledge, guidance and helpful information. But it should not stop there. Your friendship should transcend your own blog and be felt amongst others.
Don’t focus too much on your own blog, but don’t neglect it either. What I am saying is that as a blogger one should be spending a lot of time helping other bloggers in the blogosphere. Showing that you are a true friend.
How can you be a true blogging friend?
The age old saying “It is better to give than to receive” should be our blogging motto. Here are a few ways in which you can give without expecting to receive.
- Link out to other bloggers without requesting a reciprocal link.
- Tweet their posts without being asked.
- Be a regular reader of their posts.
- Make relevant valuable comments without promoting yourself.
- Follow them on social network sites without expecting them to follow you back
- Promote their blogs and posts on as many forums and networks as you can.
- Give solid helpful free advice that will improve their blog and lives.
- Promote their blog on your blog by writing an awesome post about them.
- Offer to write guest posts on their blogs.
- Offer them a guest post opening on your blog.
- Build a solid relationship.
- Offer some of your services for free. (A tough one I know)
- Never criticize to break down but advise to build up.
- Subscribe to their RSS feeds.
- Be genuine and authentic. Build up trust.
Who are you going to help today?
So now the question is. Who are you going to help today? Is there a friend, a fellow blogger you would like to promote and drive traffic to their site? Is there someone in need of your kind words of encouragement. Is there someone who you would like to send other bloggers to.
I have opened the comments below for you just to do that. Mention someone whom you would love to promote, someone who needs a bit of encouragement. Write a brief sentence why you are promoting them. Then leave a URL link to their blog. Then contact them on Twitter or which ever social networking tool you use to just encourage them by letting them know you have mentioned them.
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