A Step-By-Step Guide To Making Friends With Influential Bloggers

Networking with other bloggers in your niche can be extremely powerful. You do not specialize in everything, and there are areas where other bloggers could not only help you grow as an expert in your niche, but provide more value to your readers as well.

Not to mention, networking tends to benefit both parties and allows you to leverage other blogger’s audiences to skyrocket your own growth. There are more blogs than ever competing for your reader’s attention, so you’ll definitely want to make as many friends as you can! For those who are struggling to reach out to other bloggers, here is a step-by-step system that has proven to be very successful. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution for blogger outreach, these tips are solid. 

1. Be Proactive

When I first started blogging, I made the mistake of expecting other people to reach out to me. Needless to say, I sat back and waited months before I ever heard from anybody. Had I been proactive and actively started networking with others myself, I’d have made progress a lot sooner.

It’s very important to realize that unless you’re already a major authority in your niche, most people will not have any real benefit of reaching out to you themselves. The real authorities already have the traffic and connections they need. Unless you are more authoritative and can provide even more value to them, people probably aren’t going to bother reaching out to you from out of nowhere.

That’s not to say that networking with authoritative bloggers is impossible. In fact, it’s not hard – you just have to approach them yourself rather than waiting for them to approach you, because it will probably never happen.

2. Visit Them On Their Blog

To make a connection with somebody, they’ve first got to know that you actually exist. One of the greatest ways to do this is to provide value to them in the form of a blog comment. I don’t know about you, but most people I’ve talked to absolutely love it when readers take the time to leave a comment on one of their articles.

Here’s the thing – you’ve got to leave comments that are memorable. This is especially true if you’re trying to network with a blogger who is already an authority figure, and has lots of commenters already. This means leaving genuinely helpful comments on a consistent basis. Don’t just comment on an article once and then disappear – add their blog to your favorite RSS feed reader and comment on every new article they publish. Few people have that sort of dedication, and if you’re consistent, it’s just about guaranteed the blogger will begin to remember who you are.

3. Escalate Your Conversations To Email And Provide Value To Them In Some Shape Or Form

This step is very important. Do not make the mistake of doing nothing but commenting on their articles for months on end. While you should certainly continue to do this as much as you can, there’s got to be a point where you take things a bit further, and contact them on a more personal platform such as email. Almost every genuine blogger has their email address publicly available, and you should not hesitate to contact them personally if you feel it would be mutually beneficial.

If possible, provide value in someway with your email. If you can’t think of anything, just ask if there’s anything you can do for them.

“I really enjoy the content you’ve shared with me on your blog, is there anything I can personally help you with in return for knowledge you’ve given me?” 

Even if there’s nothing you can help them with, the fact that you were willing to help them is enough to make you stand out in most people’s eyes. Watch out though – there is a difference between being nice and sucking up.

4. Leverage Your Areas Of Expertise

Great partnerships are mutually beneficial for most parties. Again, different people excel in different areas. Chances are, there is something you are better at than the person you’re trying to connect with. Ideally, your strengths will be their weaknesses, and vice-versa. If you are able to help them or provide additional insight in an area where you are truly an expert, you can bet that they’d be willing to do the same should that time ever come.

5. Network With People BEFORE You Need Their Help!

This is also extremely important, which is why I saved it for last. I can not tell you the number of times people have come to me, seeming like they were genuinely interested in becoming friends. A few days later, I get an email from them asking me to do some ridiculous task for them. It really makes you wonder if they ever had any real interest in networking with you in the first place, or if they just wanted to use you for free labor.

Always be willing to give without receiving. You never know when you’ll need somebody’s help, and that time can come up at any moment. You want a group of friends that are willing to help you out when that time comes, but you’ll have a hard time making friends at all when you expect them to do things for you as soon as you meet them!

Conclusion

Having the right people on your side can not only skyrocket the growth of your blog, but boost almost every aspect of your business in unimaginable ways. I want you to start networking with somebody new this week. You’ll never know the opportunities it may bring to you!