Before you even launch your new blog, you need to engage in activities which will start to get you noticed now by other bloggers in your niche or market. We already discussed in Part 2 those activities you needed to do to have the right foundation to build upon. And they were:
Start off by searching for and finding other blogs in your niche
Listen to the conversations which are taking place on these other blogs
Engage in the conversation which is taking place on the blogs you are following
Now it is time to take it a step further. It is time you start to network directly with these other bloggers you have been following, reading and commenting on.
Getting Noticed Now
We need to take your efforts to build the right foundation to the next step. Start building a direct relationship with these other bloggers. One of the greatest benefits I have found from blogging has been the personal relationships and even friendships I have had the pleasure of developing over the last 4 years. Early on, even before I launched my first blog, I started to communicate directly with bloggers. I would send them emails asking them questions and even had the opportunity to visit with some on the phone.
What I found was most if not all of the bloggers I was reading and getting involved in the conversation with were more then happy to talk. Bloggers are a rare breed. I have always found most of them more then willing to help out someone thinking about blogging and someone just starting out blogging. However, you need to live by this one rule — Always give before you even expect to receive.
Here is a list of activities you need to be doing right now to get noticed:
Emailing other bloggers. Don’t just email them asking for help or to say hi. Give them somethign of value. Email them to contribute something, give some advice, or offer to help. If you come across a breaking story or idea in your niche, email it to other bloggers to let them know. You will be amazed at how much this will be appreciated by these bloggers. I get emails weekly from people offering post ideas and other information. I love it. While I have a folder full of post ideas on my MacBook, I love it when someone sends me an idea I may have not thought of.
Offer to do a guest post. And this applies even if you have never done a blog post or have your blog up and going. I know from my own personal experience, I love it when someone offers to do a guest post on my blog. Not only does it give my readers a different voice to listen to, it gives me a break from writing. And, the readers of the blog you might guest post on appreciate it too. Blog readers like getting a different perspective on things. Drop a blogger you read and email and make an offer of doing a guest post for them. And remember one rule you should live by as a guest poster, make this your very best work. If you are lucky enough to do a guest post on a blog with high traffic, this will get you noticed and you want to put your best foot forward.
Use social media. We talked about social media briefly in Part 4 of this series. You need to take it to the next level here. I would almost guarantee most if not all of the bloggers you are reading are on one social media tool or another. And if I had to encourage you to use one over the other, I would suggest you use twitter. Twitter is best described as a micro-blogging tool where you can post “tweets” for different things. No longer do you post about what you are doing. What those using twitter the right way are doing is tweeting information, links and engaging in the conversations. Twitter is a great way to interact and learn from those you are following and who are following you. I discuss using twitter in numerous blog post and you can visit them for more on this. What we need to do is use it to get noticed by the bloggers you are following and reading.Take advantage of the twitter apps you have available to you to add value to your tweets and get noticed by other bloggers. You are going to be spending time reading blogs in your niche. You can use twitter to tell your followers what you are reading. And you can use twitter to promote those blogs you are reading. If there was only one twitter app I would recommend you use to accomplish this it would be EasyTweets. This app gives you the ability to tweet directly from the blog post you are reading that you are reading the post on twitter. Not only are you providing value to your followers. You are giving a feed and link to the blogger you are reading on twitter. That blogger is going to notice this if they are using other twitter apps to follow what is being said about them on twitter.
If you are following some of those bloggers on twitter, when they post a tweet that is interesting or when they tweet about a new blog post on their blog, do what is called “retweet” and send a tweet out to your followers. You are giving value to your followers. And you are again helping out that blogger by getting them more exposure on twitter. Chances are these bloggers you are doing this for will soon be following you and engaging in your own twitter stream. Don’t overlook the power and benefits of twitter just because it has a funny name.
Instant messaging with other bloggers. If you are lucky enough to develop a good enough relationship with other bloggers that they give you their IM id’s drop them one from time to time. While you need to be careful with this, you can certainly use this the same way you might use email to give them a quick tip or link to something you think they might be interested in. However, be careful not to over do it or abuse the trust you have been given.
Pick up the phone and call. One of the greatest pleasures I get each week is actually putting a voice to the blogger and talking with some on the phone. Will a blogger visit with you on the phone? Maybe. But it doesn’t hurt to ask. If you truly would like to visit with a blogger you are reading, send them an email and ask if they would be willing to visit by phone. And please make sure you are the one who offers to call them. Let it be your nickel paying for the call. And if you are lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit with other bloggers by phone, make sure you have your call planned, get to you point and don’t waste their time. Successful bloggers are busy and their time is very valuable.
Your Homework
Pick out 2 of the suggestions above and do them. Make it a point to email at least two bloggers in the next week. Offer to do a guest post on one of the blogs you are reading. Get on twitter and get involved in the conversations going on there and do what we are suggesting you do with twitter. Get out there and get noticed now and you will reap the benefits when you take your blog live.
Final Thoughts
Getting noticed by other bloggers has many advantages to you as a new blogger. From aiding in getting your traffic to your new blog to getting a link from other bloggers. And best of all, getting noticed by other bloggers now, will sometimes turn into a lasting relationship and even friendship.
If you have any questions or comment, please leave a comment here on this post. And if you would like to drop me an email, please do so at grant@g2webmedia.com I always like hearing from new bloggers and those thinking about blogging. You will not be bothering me and if I did not want to visit, I would not offer.
