Welcome to Day 7 of our Problogger Summer Challenge! If you’re looking to improve your blogging skills and expand your audience, then you’ve come to the right place. For the coming weeks we’re working through Darren Rowse’s 31 Day to Build a Better Blog eBook both here in the Education channel and in our forum.
A few housekeeping announcements before we dive into today’s post:
- Shelley, our lead for this event, is hosting a link-up on her site for all participants. If you are following along at your own pace, participating in a group, whatever the case may be, head over to Shelley’s site and let us know! Not only is Shelley offering weekly prizes to participants, but she will also be organizing live chats on Twitter soon so that participants can get their questions answered. Linking up ensures that you do not miss a thing!
- For any questions or comments regarding the event, check out the FAQs page in the forum. We put together a list of quick links on how to set up your profile description, how to add a profile picture, etc.
- Finally, you can find Shelley’s Day 7 Summary in the forum here.
For Day 7, Darren challenges all of us to write a link post. Linking out from your blog not only allows you to extend a conversation you are having with your readers outside the confines of your site, but it also helps you to build credibly as a blogger. By linking to other sources, you are demonstrating that although you may not have all the answers, you are a credible source who knows how to find them.
And as counter-intuitive that linking out from your blog may seem, ultimately, doing so leads to reader who will want to return to your site again and again. Think of blogging as one giant shopping experience. When you are in a store and a salesperson doesn’t have what you are looking for, who do you find more helpful? The person who says, “Sorry! Wish I could do more, but I can’t.” Or, is it the person who says, “I don’t have this item, but I know where you can find it. Let me help you.”
Your role as a blogger is very similar. Even though you may not provide everything a reader is looking for, you can help them find it. Maybe the information lies on another blog, in a news story, or even in a video. Helping others to answer their questions and find the information they are looking for on the Internet is incredibly valuable, and, in the end, will create loyal readers and help build your reputation as an expert.
According to Problogger, here are other reasons to link out from your blog:
- It gives something of value to your readers: While your readers come to your blog to read what you have to say, they are also always appreciative of links to quality content.
- It builds your credibility: Regularly highlighting what others are writing about in your niche shows your readers that you’re keeping up with changes and developments in your niche and that you’re connected.
- It builds relationships with other bloggers: There’s nothing like sending another blogger traffic to make an impression and build connections. More importantly, when you link to others in a constructive way that actually builds upon their ideas and adds value to a conversation they’ve started, it can often lead to ongoing interactions.
- It helps with SEO: Arguably, linking out to related content in your niche with relevant keywords as anchor text can impact upon how search engines see your site. You want to avoid going over the top and linking out too much, but a few links to quality content on your topic will demonstrate to a search engine that you’re an authority.
As with most things in blogging, the key to writing link posts that are successful is figuring out how to create something of value that your readers will find relevant and helpful.
When working on your link post, here are several points to consider according to Vandelay Design, which Problogger linked to for today’s activity:
1 – Always link to quality content. Your link to another website or blog is essentially an endorsement from you. Remember that your reputation is on the line if you link to questionable or poorly-written content.
2 – Link to smaller blogs, not just A-listers. This is a key step. Linking to A-list blogs is not a bad practice, but they are unlikely to notice your link since they get so many of them. Smaller blogs are more likely to notice, take the time to visit your blog and leave a comment or link back to you.
3 – Link to bloggers who are in your network. There is no better way to strengthen your existing networking relationships than by giving a positive endorsement or a link to a fellow blogger. Treat your friends this way and others will be lining up to be a part of your network.
4 – Link to bloggers who you have never had contact with. If you only link to your existing contacts, linking out will not help you to expand your network. Find other bloggers that you would like to have as a part of your network and link to them.
5 – Link to those who participate on your blog. Providing a link to active commenters is an extra incentive for readers to get involved on your blog, and it rewards them for their time and effort.
6 – Provide additional information. If you want your visitors to get the most out of your links, tell them a little bit about the posts that you are linking to. They’ll be more likely to click over if they understand what they will be seeing.
7 – Ask for reciprocal links. When you’ve found a blog post that you would like to link to, why not email the blog owner and ask them if they are interested in exchanging links? If you provide quality content on your blog that is relevant for their audience, many will be willing to reciprocate.
Are you ready to implement these tips in a blog post? Once you have your post in place, go ahead and link it up below! We’d love to see how you put this advice into action.
The 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Summer Challenge is a program that Darren Rowse, aka Problogger, designed so that bloggers can improve their sites in about a month. Follow along in our Forum, with the #SITS31DBBB hashtag on Twitter, and on Facebook. It’s never too late to jump in!
Here are the topics we’ve covered to date:
- Kick Off Post: Learn How to Blog {Better} with Problogger
- Join a Forum and Start Participating
- Why Top 10 Lists Work for Bloggers
- Analyze Another Blog (With a Twist)
- How to Blog using Link Posts
- Monitoring Content with Google Alerts
- What Did a Calendar Ever Do For You?
- 10 Ways to Dazzle Readers with your About Me Page
- Using Google Analytics to Find Blog Topics
- Can You Find the Spam Blog Comment?
- Problogger Wrap-Up and Look Ahead
This is a great tip. I do provide links but I have yet to ask for reciprocal link. Don’t know why I’m so hesitant, but it’s great advice I will be taking. Thanks!
Twitter: BoonieSooze
says:
Great reminder to do more of these! I admire bloggers who exhibit generosity of spirit, as they point people in the direction of things that might be of value to them.
Susan in the Boonies recently posted..Taking a Little Break from the Drama
Twitter: greenearthbazar
says:
Great tips! I frequently link to outside sources, but have yet to really connect with others in my niche for networking. That’s something I really need to work on, but the amount of time it takes can be too much for me. I end up feeling tethered to my laptop when I’d rather be doing something else. I guess it all comes down to finding a schedule and strategy that works.
Peace.
Michelle recently posted..Healthy Eats- Quick and Easy Two Bean Hummus
The number one reason I like writing link posts is because I like reading them (most of the time). I have to say, the hardest thing for me is to keep track of what kinds of things I want to link back to. It’s just not a habit I’ve gotten into. I even have a folder for it!
Mutant Supermodel recently posted..WIP Pillow and some randomness
I have linked a couple of times but have never asked for a link. I guess because I am a food blogger I have just assumed that unless they are blogging about the same thing they wouldn’t want to link to me. I will be on the look out for it now.
On a good note I did meet a few ladies at the BBCSEA that spoke about sharing links so they may be my first
I do have links to blogs I enjoy reading though and after finding so many at BBCSEA I will be adding to that list quickly!
Bobbi recently posted..Greek Turkey Tacos
great information
@saulikoskinen1 hugs sweetie hopw you are having a great day
becca recently posted..Untitled
I always try to use quality links to add to my blogs. Things that I would love to know about myself… I’ve linked to other bloggers & have exchanged them occasionally, but I haven’t seen a huge benefit from it other than strengthening the relationship.
Renee W. recently posted..Tackling Time
I can’t get the link list to work for me! So I’ll just put my post here in the comments.
Susan Silver recently posted..Better Social Media Design in 25 Links
This is something I’ve done since day 1 and it has really enriched my blogging experience and connections with other bloggers. Great advice!
Christine recently posted..Wordless Wednesday- Tiger Mother or Tiger Son
Every Friday, my post is called Friday’s Findings and link to great post I have read during the week on other blogs! I love to share them with my readers because I always think that if I liked those links, they might too!
Marie Noelle recently posted..Friday’s Findings
every month i link to great crafts i’ve found for the upcoming holidays – so many wonderful things being created by other people and i love to share them with my readers!
i should definitely start thinking of other ways to link out, too! thanks for the tips!
Great advice. I am new to blogging as of March and have so much to learn. I love how you provide tips and reasons that make sense to beginners. Thanks!
Anne Province recently posted..Surfs Up!
Thank you for sharing this. I had been linking out even before reading this because I love to share my finds with others. Little did I know of all of the BENEFITS of doing so! Brilliant!
Thank you for sharing this. I had been linking out even before reading this because I love to share my finds with others. Little did I know of all of the BENEFITS of doing so! Brilliant!
Cynthia
Cynthia recently posted..Scary Moments as MOM
Twitter: boilerchick
says:
This has been my favorite day of the challenge so far! I love these writing prompts. It really helps me step out of my comfort and write some things that I otherwise would not have thought to write.
Laura Jane @ Recovering Chocoholic recently posted..Week 8 Results
I love linking up and regular link out. But like many of you I dont ask to be linked. And I also have a hard time remember where I found my inspiration.
I have started used Pintrest.com to help me with that. you sign up for free. create categories. add it to you bookmark bar and when you find a site you like or think you want to blog about or link back to you just pin it and add a title.
Then you can see a picture and your title all in one area with a link back to the original site you found it on.
Twitter: SoniaBarton
says:
I had done my post, but got distracted, and now I’m falling behind. Hoping to get caught up.
Sonia Barton recently posted..MyMemories Scrapbook Software Review and Giveaway