âTis the season.
âTis the season to be jolly, or so they say.
âTis the season to be kind to your fellow human being.
What about being kind to your fellow blogger?
The latest stats show there are more than 152 million blogs.
No wonder people abandon their blogs so early in the game. The competition is overwhelming.
You donât have to compete. You can help each other.
This post will give you 17 ways to collaborate with other bloggers and end with an action plan which will enable you to get help with your blog while you are still on this site!
That makes reading the end of this post crucial. If you read nothing else, read the action plan at the end for getting immediate help with your blog traffic.
What is Blogger Collaboration?
Carolyn West, the head of the Southern California Womanâs Bloggers Association, explained that six years ago, bloggers use to be competitive with each other. She went on to say that is not the case anymore.
A successful blogger is successful at networking because blogging is about connections, relationships. Once you make those connections, help each other with your blogging tasks.
What if you donât know any bloggers in order to adopt these suggestions? Suppose you are a new blogger just starting out and havenât had a chance to establish connections with other bloggers yet?
Step 1: Make the connection with another blogger. Every other week my site holds a Meet and Greet where bloggers connect. If you have not done so already, attend the most recent Meet and Greet and connect with a like-minded blogger.
Step 2: Choose a form of collaboration that interests you both. This post offers 17Â ideas.
Why You Should Collaborate with Other Bloggers
1. You will get more exposure for your articles. If you share another bloggerâs links, and they share your links on social media, you both just got your articles in front of each otherâs audiences. This makes helping each other a form of blog promotion. Actually, the Post and Share on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook group is designed with this concept in mind. If you ask for promotion, you must promote another blogger in return. When I had my Weekly Roundup posts, I would promote Danny Rayâs Meet and Greets, and he would, and still does, promote mine.
2. Your readers will see a wider variety of posts from you. For example, if you always post tutorials, and your blogging partner frequently posts tips, your readers will get more of a variety by seeing content from each of your sites. According to blogger Jennifer Connolly, readers unsubscribe from blogs every ninety days to go find new blogs to read. That mass exodus will be curtailed if bloggers donât grow bored with your blogs as quickly. Variety is the âspice of life,â as they say.
3. Reblog each other. If you donât self-host, you can reblog another blogger. If you do self-host, feature each otherâs links. Before we each self-hosted, Shawn Griffith and I reblogged each other, and my readership grew. Many of those bloggers became loyal readers. Go to âContactâ. You should be able to see the bloggerâs Email, or some way to communicate with them outside of their blog. Ask them to reblog you, and you reblog them.
4. Stumble each otherâs links. Last spring, my blogging friend Trudy and I stumbled each otherâs links. I got so much traffic from StumbleUpon, I actually started a StumbleUpon group on my site. It is responsible for the success of my recent viral post. As my article This is the Way to See Staggeringly High Blog Traffic explains, people in the group stumble article links for each other, and blog traffic soars. (Note: If you have subscribed to this blog, and you would like to join the StumbleUpon group, please leave a URL that youâd like us to stumble in the comments section.)
5. Guest post for each other. Lysa Wilds and I guest posted for each other, and then we promoted our posts. In this way we introduced each other to our readers. To date, it actually is one of my most successful guest posting experiences. The bloggers I met from the experience are still loyal readers.
6. Have a linky party together. My friend Kathleen asked Debbie Woodruff and me to host a linky party together. A blogger wrote me to tell me she found me on Debbieâs site. My readership, as well as my traffic, increased.
7. Have a giveaway together. I am currently collaborating on a giveaway with blogger/author Lysa Wilds. Lysa wrote an Ebook, and I reviewed it on my site. Now, we are collaborating on a giveaway. Two lucky winners will get her book, a resource of over forty free stock photo sources, for free. (Note: if  you are interested in entering, click The Ultimate Guide to Free Stock Photos eBook Giveaway; the giveaway is still ongoing.)
8. Collaborate on a Pinterest board. When blogger Susan Langer invited me to pin to her Pinterest board, I was excited. (I love community Pinterest boards.) I assumed there would be others pinning to the board. I assumed wrong; itâs just us. We get to see graphics to each otherâs posts. Community boards are such a great source of traffic, I started one for the subscribers of this blog. (Note: If you subscribe to this blog, and you would like an invitation to pin to our group board, let me know in the comments section.
9. Collaborate on a point-counterpoint. Interview each other. You present the pros of a controversial topic in your niche. Let your blogging partner present the cons. You combine both into one article that appears on both your sites. In my article 18 Important Things You Should Know About Self-Hosting, I presented the pros of self-hosting. Kaylaa, of Commonsensegal, presented the cons. Point-counterpoints are a great source of blog traffic since your readers can weigh in on which blogger they agree with and why.
10. Cross promote. Tip #4 mentioned my StumbleUpon group. When blogger Michael Rios was starting his Reddit group, I told him about my idea for a StumbleUpon group. We ultimately advertised each otherâs groups and still do on our respective sites.
11. Exchange Emails. I know pairs of bloggers that are each otherâs sounding boards. Exchange Emails and vent to each other about blogging frustrations and help each other discover solutions to them. Most bloggerâs Emails, as mentioned above, can be found on their âContactâ page.
12. Give each other a âheads upâ about blogging events. Lysa Wilds let me know about a great blogging class that I took and ultimately reviewed on my site. Adrian and I tell each other when the SITS blogging link goes live each week, at least we did for many months.
13. Link to each other. If you feel linking to another bloggerâs article can make your point stronger, link to their content. Then, tell the blogger that you linked to them. First, they may return the favor. Next, you are almost certain of a page view if they come and check it out or thank you for the link. Links into your blog increase your SEO. For this reason, I started a Link Exchange group on my blog. (If you have subscribed to this blog, and you would like to be added, let me know in the comments section or on the Link Exchange page.) I let many of the bloggers I linked to in this post know I was linking to them. Even if they donât come around once itâs published, letting them know about the link was a nice way of staying in touch. I remember a funny moment recently when I linked to Eric Schlehlein at the exact same moment he was linking to me.
14, Collaborate on a regular feature. Charles Rogers and I collaborated on the International Weekly Link Roundup series that I published on my blog for a long time. Charles found the bloggers, and I wrote the posts.
15. Trade services. Many of us do not have a budget to hire people to help us with our blogging tasks. Find a blogger who is strong where you are weak and trade services. Editor, graphic designer, technical support provider, book reviewer are all examples of tasks you could do for each other which might save you money and time. Iâm sure there are many other services you could swap. Be creative.
16. Follow each other back. When I wrote about the value of Follow to Follow Directories, the idea was met with controversy. I explained in my post How to Immediately Increase Your Blog Subscribers most bloggers want to help readers. Bloggers shouldnât have to experience low morale, but it is a common problem. The article offered the locations of three Follow to Follow Directories where people follow back within a matter of hours. (Note: If you are subscribed to this blog, and you would like me to add your blog to the Follow to Follow Directory, leave the URL in the comments section.
17. Trade a comment for comment. The rationale is the same as in #16. You research, write, and promote your post on social media, and then⊠no one comes. How demoralizing. According to the bandwagon effect in psychology, people will leave comments if they see others are leaving comments. The first comment, therefore, is always the hardest to get. Ask someone to comment on your post. Be sure to comment on their post if they need you to return the favor.
Action Plan
The purpose of Facebookâs Blog Engagement/Promotion Group is to increase engagement on your blogs and social media. Letâs increase that engagement right here and now.
Collaborate right in the comments section. Start your comment on this post with I Would Like You ToâŠÂ then complete the comment with what you would like help with.
Here are some possibilities:
I would like you toâŠ
- share my link on Twitter
- like my Facebook page
- share my pin on Pinterest (Go to Pinterest, click on your pin, and you will get a URL.)
- comment on my postÂ
- share my post on Google+
- stumble my link
Be sure to leave a link with your request in the comments section. Readers, if you help a blogger out by doing what they requested, please reply. It can be something as short as âdoneâ or âpinnedâ. It will enable the rest of us to help others who are still waiting.
Conclusion
Readers, please share, so other bloggers know about these ideas for collaboration.
In 2015, we made a difference for our readers. In the spirit of blogging and the holiday season, make a difference for each other. How will you collaborate in 2016?
Are there any other ideas for collaboration with other bloggers you can think of ? I look forward to your views.
Related Post: The Great Blogger Hoax
Power of StumbleUpon & How to Add Social Sharing Button to WordPress.com
Source: The Blog Engagement/Promotion GroupÂ
