Smart bloggers look for good ways to get traffic and backlinks. I’m fairly smart, and I’m a blogger, but I’m still improving on the smart blogger part.
That’s why I’m asking for your help today. Many of the bloggers I’ve connected with are active in blogging networks. I’ve joined a few of these, including BlogEngage and BloggerLuv, but have not been very active in them. Why not? Because of this important question…
Do Blogging Networks Give a Good Return on the Investment of My Time?
You see Intelligent Productivity in my tagline. That includes getting the best return on the ultimate life currency — time. And I don’t know if I’d get a good return on my time from blogging networks.
Here’s what I look for in all my online networking activities:
1. Do I attract quality people to interact with my blog by reading, subscribing, leaving comments?
2. Do I attract buyers or potential buyers for my information products?
3. Do I attract people with whom I can develop mutually beneficial relationships that could lead to partnerships and promotions down the road?
4. Am I getting good backlinks that will improve my search engine optimization?
The blogging networks and communities I’ve seen require learning how the particular network operates and then spending substantial time in the network. I know next to nothing about blogging networks, and I’m trying to decide if any are worth it.
So Give Me Your Advice…
Are blogging networks worth your time and effort? Which blogging network(s) do you find most useful, and why? (And yes, insert the links.)
John,
My answer is yes, they are worth the effort, but probably not the ones you’re looking at (I don’t know those in particular, I’m talking more in general). Networks designed solely for increasing traffic have never worked in my experience. You have to have a connection with another blogger beyond just a mutual desire for traffic.
First, you have to like each others blogs, and you have to think your audience will like the other blog. If the answer to either is no, the connection isn’t worth much.
Second, I think networks connected on a topic outside of blogging are more effective. I’m active at Brazen Careerist and it has been a godsend for my blog. For quite a while, that’s where probably 90% of my traffic came from, and because I had good relations there, the folks who visited left comments. And I was able to help them in a much more fundamental way than simply tweeting one of their posts in return–I helped them with career issues.
Third, meeting people in person takes a relationship to a whole new level. You want to network? Go to BlogWorld or SxSW. You’ll meet other bloggers and become friends. Then you have foundation to really work from. The dividends I got from attending BlogWorld are enormous, even though it was a large outlay of cash.
Hope that helps!
Jen
Fantastic answer Jen!
I’ve spoken with John previously on this topic. I’ve been back and forth on whether the ones I’ve been using lately have been worth the time efforts.
I am currently using BlogEngage, BloggerLuv and BlogCatalog. I’ve seen no return with BlogCatalog and don’t expect I will be using it much more in the near future.
BlogEngage I think has great potential but you really have to be active to see a return. I find the problem arises b/c so many bloggers are using it and it’s really difficult unless you are a regular user to get noticed in the crowd. I think a better option on this site would be guest posting although I have not tested yet.
Bloggerluv has produced some traffic, however, when I compare the time spent there in comparison to networking on Twitter, as of now Twitter still produces better results. Lately I’ve seen a lot of links dropped with very little relationship building and communication which I think takes away from “community” aspect of it. It’s member numbers have grown quite a bit recently and is still growing so should not be ruled out though.
Lately I’ve been seeking out people on other related industry sites and reaching out to THEM by leaving comments on their site or following them on Twitter. Just looking to expand my reach a bit and this is proving to be a more effective method at the moment.
So quite a pickle for sure. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer, just what works for YOU. I would say try out these communities for a bit, see what works and what doesn’t work. The goal is to get the most exposure with the least amount of effort to leverage your time effectively.
Hope this helps!
Jen and Michele, thanks so much for your detailed and insightful comments.
@Jen, I really like your focus on networking with people with whom you have a common interest, rather than trying to network with a heterogeneous group of others just because they’re also interested in networking. I’m looking at some freelance writing communities and blogs to network with.
@Michele, my main networking method is the same as yours. I find people online with similar interests that I resonate with, and then I comment on their blogs, tweet their posts, and follow them on twitter.
Hi Michele, thanks so much for the kind words about blog engage. I know it does require work and dedication but personally I think in the end it’s so worth it.
Blog Catalog has been nothing but a waste of time for me, not to mention the bread of bloggers that hang out there don’t tend to be so friendly.
I think mybloglog was better back in the day but they have changes the only few good thanks about it so I stopped using the service.
I will suggest joining digital point, web talk forums and bloggeries if your looking at reaching some larger audiences. I’m also a huge fan of warrior forums and name pros.
These are great resources if you know how to take advantage of webmaster forums for traffic. I have gotten a lot of traffic from these sources over the past two years.
I’m very happy to have you as a member of our blogging community. It’s really cool when I start seeing real people with first and last names join the community. I think it makes the website all that more special.
Hi Brian,
Thanks for taking the time to respond to my response. I appreciate the suggestions. I have actually participated in Warrior Forum, Digital Point and SitePoint. I especially love WF and saw quite a bit of traffic from it…really have to use it more often!
And you are right, as with anything in life, what you put into is what you get out of it. I have signed up to be a guest blogger at BE, although I haven’t posted yet…been so busy. 🙂
But I’m going to make a commitment to you and BE, just b/c I think you are so cool :-), to make a real concerted effort to participate as much as I can. Hey, maybe I’ll end up writing about my experience…who knows 😉
Ciao!
Hey John, The Bloggers have taken over your site! LOL
Jen I sit here in my pc chair wishing I could make it to any blog expo. it’s seriously one downfall to living in Canada and trying to launch a successful blog network. The cost of going to that event would be so expensive but I’m sure it’s the next step in marketing blog engage.
I loved your comment on building relationships. If you look at 90% of all active users on blog engage I have built relationships with them for the last two years and this maybe the only reason they are active members and ti’s because we are now friends.
I don’t see anything wrong with a community built on blogging essentials but one things I have noticed is once it starts in that direction it’s nearly impossible to cure other wise.
I really hope you take the time to join blog engage I think you would be surprised by the community that has been growing there over the past three years. Be aware you only get out what your willing to put into it. I’m sure that’s the way life works as well.
p.s. I’m on your blog right now adding you on twitter!
Following up on something Michele said in her comment above about BlogCatalog.com. I just recently signed up with BlogCatalog and then received an e-mail stating that, before I can be added I must verify that I’m actually the owner of the blog, and that I need to put a graphic/button in my sidebar with a link back to BlogCatalog.
I didn’t see any discussion of this on their site when I was signing up. I wrote back yesterday evening and asked for clarification, but no response yet.
Yeah, that is part of the deal. You have to add the badge onto your site in order for you to be part of the community. 😉
Then I won’t be doing BlogCatalog. I could — and might — write a whole post on this.
Basically, I’m very particular about what I put in my sidebar. Each link is a potential distraction to a visitor. I want them to do something important, like subscribe or buy one of my books or buy Thesis.
Hi John,
I’m going to jump in here and follow up with the thread by saying that part of the reason that Blog Networks are no more popular than they are is the fact that they all have there own TOS and ways of doing things with different ways to navigate their respective sites. Time, Time, Time.
I had a gentleman tell me once that he strongly advised me to get rid of the “ReCaptcha” as just this simple process will knock out a great number of my comments. I decided to let it go. People just cannot spare the time. I can understand a Blog Network or two, but how many can you realistically handle?
Interesting question! I haven’t done anything with blog networks…and the comments here are not exactly making me want to drop everything and do it.
I’ll agree with Jen — forming real relationships with other bloggers in your niche and guesting on each others’ sites, commenting, etc., I think is a great way to build all your audiences together. I’m doing that now with About Freelance Writing’s Anne Wayman — we’re planning a Webinar together that I think will be fantastic for both our sites.
Real collaboration works…not so sure about these mass networks.
Carol, I think you’re smart to collaborate with colleagues on projects that will benefit both of you. I have plans to do the same just a short bit down the road.
You know Carol I’m a huge fan of network using blog engage, twitter, facebook etc and with a great blog like yours and the great attitude you have I think you should re think using these networks.
Bloggers are always looking for real people in the blogosphere and bloggers like you are hard to come by. For that reason I think you could benefit from joining some of these networks.
Embrace the power of social networking and you will not regret it.
I haven’t been able to figure out any ROI either, so I’ve not invested the time into these networks.
Not much of a comment here, but it’s a good data point for you.
Definitely a good data point, Dave. You’ve been quite successful getting traffic to your blogs and quality comments on it, so you’re definitely doing well managing your time.
Plus you’re an engineering guy, so I know you like numbers and statistics.
Hi John,
I’m always pleased when I get your email! I have no particular insights that would help me answer your question but I had been thinking and actually kind of longing for the kind of friendly relationship that I fantasized about when thinking of being part of a blog network.
Jen, Michelle and Carol shed some light on different aspects of joining a blog network and so I indirectly benefited too 🙂 I happened to start a with an IM blog because I had spend so much time and some money learning all I could learn so I thought I could share that but I seem to be attracted to bloggters who focus on writing well, I never get tired of learning!
I find myself following Dave Doolin on several blogs and I’ve seen your comments too, most recently on Copyblogger I think!
Fran
Fran, you bring up a very good point, and that’s the need we all have for connection with other people.
I think we can get some of that through blogs, forums, and networks. Many people may just want to talk shop about what they’re doing on the Internet, and that’s important.
Man John I’m sorry if I’m over crowding your blog here but I just have to comment.
Hi Fran,
I think social networking is such an amazing tool. This can be using facebook, twitter, blogengage it really doesn’t matter but once you start and get the great feeling of meeting new people and helping others you will never be able to stop.
It’s such a refreshing feeling compared to web 2.0. This is the world we live in now and we have to embrace it with open arms.
Everything I am and have online today is all because of social networking sitting behind a pc. Do not be fooled there is an amazing opportunity for you out there.
A great debate, John and I’m sure as you get more comments…you’ll see numerous thoughts on the subject.
I have used BloggerLuv (right from the start – I believe that’s where we met?).
I got irritated with BloggerLuv because whenever I used it, it was so slow – so I have not frequented it recently.
I am a member of some others as a result of courses I have taken (Yaro Starak’s and Jason Potash). I find these much more reciprocal and go into each one most days.
The benefits for me?
I have found most of my business partners via forums.
Andrew
Hey Andrew bloggerluv has changed for the better. I too was not visiting due to the load times. I think John actually changed the entire platform the website runs on. before it was word press wpmu and now I think it’s hotarucms. (which is way faster)
I hope to see you visiting blog engage sometime we would love to have you there.
Sounds like I need to return. Hope I don;t have to sign up AGAIN!
Andrew
I cannot say that I have ever seen much of a return, John, although I have not engaged these mediums with much enthusiasm. My target audience (speaking of CampingBlogger, here, not TaB) was never other bloggers, per say, so I always concentrated on more generic social networks and forums.
For someone who is just starting out, I still think the biggest ROI comes from a prolific commenting strategy, assuming there are a number of blogs in your niche to comment on. This has the added benefit of creating connections – so it’s win/win.
I’ve known Roy longer than just about any other blogger. I found him shortly after I started the Northern California Hiking Trails blog in August, 2008. He has an excellent blog about family camping and has done a good job attracting readers. His blog, and my hiking blog, are examples of blogs that don’t benefit well from a general networking group. We need people who are specifically interested in our narrow topic.
Hi John,
First I want to say thanks for mentioning blog engage. We normally get forgotten in posts similar to this one. I guess it’s because we really are still a small fish in the big sea.
Since the day I started blog engage I tried to promote change, a community that was or is different. What I wanted was a community that helped one another promote and market their blogs.
I not only promote but I encourage building relationships, requesting diggs and tweets. i think this is the most vital part to marketing and perhaps the determine factor to a websites success.
I know we still have a long way to go but I would like to think we started off in the right direction and perhaps even on the right foot. right now the hardest part is getting the members to stick around and hang out.
I’m working hard to promote the site and gain awareness. I know that last 1000 USD Guest blogger Contest helped and I will be hosting another one soon (hoping to hit 1500 USD)
None the less I love blog engage and I love our members. I think with my positive attitude and friendly members we have a lot of positive growth to come in the next few years.
Thanks so much for mentioning up John,
Brian
Brian, I see that you are very passionate about BlogEngage and feel that it has provided tremendous value to you as the owner, and to your members.
However, I’m still left wondering if the amount of time I would spend on BlogEngage or other blogging networks like BloggerLuv would give me the best return on the investment of that time, and specifically for the four reasons I mention in the post.
So far I’ve found that I’ve made the deepest connections by finding bloggers in one of my niches and interacting with them through their blogs, Twitter, e-mail, on the phone, and in person. I’ve also found a lot of quality people in Third Tribe Marketing and have made some good contacts there.
John,
I guess in the end you just have to love social networking. See I have this “addiction” to it so I don’t tend to measure the ROI as much as typical blogger might.
I’m sure that’s why I spend all day hanging there.
I am still getting the hang of doing things, John. I can say that I am having fun and have met some great people. Have never tried some of these and I’ll check them out to see how they work. Never hurts to learn more and try what you works for others. Thanks John for the information.
Debbie
I’m surprised that no one has mentioned the one community we almost all belong to that I believe is the most effective of all: CommentLuv. It is the one community that we don’t have to “go” visit that definitely increases traffic and creates relationships.
The problem with relationships is they don’t usually directly translate into measurable ROI. Even if you don’t get a lot of traffic from a particular community that does not necessarily mean that it did not benefit you. One of your most passionate readers could have found you there ONCE and become a subscriber, reader or even a top commentator.
That one visit from that site doesn’t look like much but what if your next buyer or collaborator is that one visitor that found you there? I am not suggesting that we spend a lot of time in many communities; only that whatever time is spent in one is a seed that may send more of a harvest over time than we think it did.
Having been active online for a very long time I will share some thoughts on what produces the best results for me:
CommentLuv – whenever you want to increase traffic and meet new bloggers go visiting starting with your commentator’s blogs. If they’re interested in what you write there must be a reason. I can double traffic to my blog by spending a few hours commenting.
BloggerLuv – more a place to unwind and socialize than to focus on working. Good place to identify other serious bloggers. Consider writing a guest post there when what you want to share is of interest specifically to bloggers. This post, for example, would be a good fit there.
Blog Directories – I list my blogs in them but don’t have the time to spend hanging out there.
Membership sites like Third Tribe and forums like Warrior and Digitalpoint – can be very worthwhile IF you spend enough time in them to justify the cost. I joined Third Tribe at the price deadline because Kristi Hines felt her membership was of value to her, but I never even managed to log in because I am just too busy. Don’t join unless you can dedicate the time to it.
When Murray Newlands started yet another forum I just shook my head – and then reorganized it so it could be used as a reference source instead of a forum. I would be inviting you all to join but it has been down since Murray’s site crashed the first time and is still down. I sure hope they recover it because it is full of important information we can all use.
I know that his plan was to have a regular forum, but people have got to stop starting their own sites and forums and expecting us to show up because there just isn’t enough time. I wish gurus would stop teaching people that the way to make money is to create yet another free ebook and build yet another membership site and teach them to do more important tasks.
Wouldn’t it make more sense for the existing sites and forums to merge and promote collectively? Those who collaborate will win over those who compete every time IF they are the same kind of generous, honest people.
If that is you, seek out others like you who will promote you and get them into your community by letting them share freely of their knowledge. Let them link to their sites because they have already answered the question in depth there and it makes more sense to link than it does to copy/paste or type it all again.
And don’t nofollow those links. That is their reward for making your community vibrant and sharing their wisdom and expertise with your members. The sites that encourage links, sharing and recommending will become wildly popular.
If that is you make sure people like me know it. We can’t tell people about you if we don’t know about you – and those who can reach the most people are too busy to come figure out what you have going on. You have to be the one to reach out to those who will be interested.
OK, I had to respond to that Gail because that was a fantastic response! I think a collaborative effort is definitely the key. I’ve (as well as many others) do weekly wrap ups giving some linkluv to other site owners, but what you are talking about it is taking it to a whole new level which I think if done right, can really be a great resource for ALL parties involved.
Definitely got my wheels turning!
Hi Michele,
Thanks for the reply. I don’t think John will mind if we “chat” here. What I’m doing in the forum I mentioned is explained in my post encouraging bloggers supporting bloggers and the other post it links to which includes some of what I’ll share here.
The forum is down, but worst case if it doesn’t get restored I will make a way for it to be reborn because what we are doing in in it is so very important.
Here is the kind of information we compile at SBC:
* Blogs by Niche
* Direct contact information
* Preferred Anchor Text and Landing Pages
* Recommendations on Hosting, Themes, Products and Services
* How-to Information
* Geo-Targeted Blogs (will be there when it comes back)
My comment was already so long that I didn’t add earlier that what I recommend bloggers do is seek out four other strong bloggers in their niche. I have a schedule already figured out for regular guest posting between five blogs that will greatly multiply traffic, readers, subscribers and lower Alexa rank.
Some complain that there aren’t four other CommentLuv blogs in their niche. I tell them someone has to lead and it may as well be them. Identify the best blogs in your niche and send them my post about how CommentLuv grows blogs (in the other comment I left earlier here) and share how it has benefitted them.
I guarantee that when five blogs with quality content – even if they are currently new and practically unknown – collaborate together they WILL become a force in their niche.
The first step is explained in the post I’ll put in CommentLuv this time on how to figure out who your target audience is and then make your blog easy to find.
Gail, thanks so much for writing such detailed and informative comments. Much appreciated! I urge all of you to click on Gail’s links and read further.
I am a big fan of CommentLuv. I have it on all three of my blogs, and it’s a big plus when I’m deciding which blogs to comment on. But CommentLuv is more an implicit community — a large and loose association of bloggers who use a common plug-in and like to comment on the blogs of others with that plug-in — than it is an explicit community or forum.
I like Gail’s idea of finding four other people in your niche and essentially forming a small and tight blogging network. I can see how that can be useful, and I think I’ve observed certain bloggers doing that, either formally or informally.
I also agree with Gail that it’s better to have fewer forums with more active participants than many forums that are essentially dead.
As stated above, I’m a member of Third Tribe Marketing and I do find it very useful, both for the 3-4 teleseminars a month and the very active forums with a lot of talented and helpful people. I have made good connections with several people there, and I’ve gotten important advice to questions I’ve asked.
Yes ! I find blog networks as useful. I find blog networks useful because it
1) Builds Your Reputation
2) Gives You Traffic
3) Gives You some helpful friends
My advise would be to invest a lot of time in networking. Networking along with good content would surely help you to achieve blogging success.
Sites like Blogengage and Bloggerluv expose you to other people and blogs.
Thanks for writing this post,
Jeevan Jacob John
Blogengage for example will expose you to other blogs. Blog engage has helped me to meet new bloggers and come upon great content. This exposure has helped me to think differently and write quality content. I didn’t use to invest much time in networking until recently. When I started investing time in networking sites, I really began to see change in my subscriber count, daily traffic, Alexa ranking etc. Investing some time on Blog networks would really help. I haven’t heard of any disadvantage in investing time in social networks.
Anyway, Thanks
Jeevan Jacob John
Jeevan Jacob John — thanks for stopping by and speaking your mind.
A question: for whatever your specific goals are for your blog, do you feel you get the best return on your time by interacting on blogging networks?
Welcome and Thanks for the fast reply, John !
Yes, I do. I would have answered no if you had asked this question earlier this year. I followed most of the blogging plan except for the networking part. Recently though, I changed my decision and decided to work on networking (That’s the reason why I am right here, right now commenting). You would have to wait some time to get your results. But if you are patient, then it is not a big deal – If you invest in some time, you will surely get the results !
Thanks for answering the question. I’ve seen some bloggers who I know network a lot wind up with a lot of traffic. Kiesha Eisley of WeBlogBetter.com is one.
Hey John,
Really good question you have posed there. Considering the fact that I’m coming straight from the BlogEngage network, getting traffic from those kind of sites is definitely possible. I can’t really say that I’m much active there though. Mainly submitting my articles, sometimes voting and occasionally posting comments. Other blogging networks I’m using include SERPd and BizSugar. The traffic figures could’ve been higher, but I guess that quality is what matters the most. The chances are that you can find people interested in your blog, since most of the users are bloggers themselves. And still I wouldn’t recommend spending your whole day engaging at those sites. Being fairly active is what I’m striving for.
Daniel, thanks for visiting and commenting. I think you’re the third person to comment who came from BlogEngage.
As Jeffrey Morgan commented above, each blogging network/community has its own rules and ways of operating, and it takes time to both figure those out and then try to make it work. And with BlogEngage, to get many people actually seeing your post you need to get votes, and some people have badges on each post on their blogs asking for votes…
What I think most blogging networks lack is a clear reason to use one network over another. I’ve used many of the sites listed above, and without naming names, let’s just say I haven’t been impressed with any that I’ve tried.
I used to participate in a number of blogging forums, but being an active member even just on one site is a huge time commitment – time that could be better spent blogging. It’s good to experiment, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to use too many networking sites at the same time. Find one or two good networking sites, and ignore the rest.
Ben, you bring up a good general point: how much time should we spend on creating content on our blogs versus how much time we should spend trying to get qualified traffic to our blogs.
It sounds like you don’t feel the time commitment for blogging forums and networks gives you a good enough return on your investment.
Ben, what do you do to get people to your blogs?
I mostly use Twitter, blog comments, and CMF Ads – an ad network that I set up with a couple of blogging friends back in January 2009. It also has a vibrant community. The advertising side of things gives the site something that blogging communities generally don’t offer.
I think Social Network (such as BlogEngage) can be a great source of quality traffic as long as the niche is appropriate. As base on my experience, currently, BlogEngage si best for blogging tips and SEO niche. So it is all about find the social networking that work best for your niche.
I’ve joined such networks as mentioned in the comments now and then, but don’t participate in any today. I don’t see the point. If someone wants to read my blog, super. If someone wants to comment, even better. If someone wants to share it around, cool. My involvement in some external site, taking the time away I can use for productive activities, is meaningless when people will do what they do.
Ari, I’m inclined to your viewpoint, although I’m still gathering data. It does seem that networks and forums where substantial numbers of people with a common interest gather could be useful — a freelance writing forum would be a potential possibility for me.
i never tried to use them , i am not sure whether they are worth the effort