A few days ago, I succumbed to blogging about blogging, in a post entitled, "Befuddled by Blogging. Books to Blog By," because lately, people (colleagues, fellow authors, etc.) have been deluging me with requests for information about launching and building their blogs.
What’s so amazing about blogging is that this budding Internet art form, if you will, is a remarkable, heretofore inconceivable way to make really influential professional contacts, who, of course, have their own contacts, and so on.
Suffice it to say that blogging is revolutionizing communications (as Hugh Hewitt so eloquently points out in his book, Blog). Once you network with fellow bloggers, you all land up helping each other and building each other’s audience.
Let me show you how networking with fellow bloggers can lead to wonderful outcomes. (I’ll use myself as an example.)
Last week, Andy Wibbels, who helped me set up my blog, talked about podcasting in a free Conversations With Experts teleseminar with Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman, two savvy bloggers, who’ve produced the e-book, Build a Better Blog System.
Wanting to be loyal to Andy, I picked up my telephone and joined in. But, before that call, on another teleseminar, Andy interviewed Patsi and Denise about the value of teaming up with a partner (such as the two of them had done) or partnering with other like-minded entrepreneurs.
Now this subject intrigues me, because I realize that now that I’ve finished my book, I need to to form strategic alliances to get the word out my Stop SUGAR SHOCK! coaching and work.
Since I particularly appreciated Patsi’s helpful tips on how to approach folks you don’t know, I dashed off a quick thank you via e-mail. (Mind you, she didn’t know me.)
Before you can say "travel around the Internet" — OK, I’m exaggerating! — Patsi graciously e-mails me back to wish me good luck with my blog and book. But, then she ends her e-mail telling me about her new blog to promote brain power, saying that she really wants some content about sugar and brain.
Now that, of course, grabs my attention. She then suggests, "Maybe you’d like to contribute an article? Then I could link and promote your blog…?"
The next day, Patsi follows up again with another e-mail inviting me to be a contributing author. "I need an article on what sugar does to the brain and moods," she writes.
Well, she got me there. Naturally, if anyone wants to know about how too much sugar can harm any part of your body, I’m game to get involved. After all, as yoiu may have discovered by now, getting the word out about the dangers of sugars and refined carbs is my mission.
Long story short: Today, I called Patsi today to discuss this article idea. Now, I’ll be upfront — the price wasn’t appealing — i.e., I get no money for an article over which I labor — something to which I’m not accustomed since I’m an experienced journalist.
But in talking with Patsi, I hit upon an idea. So, I say, "OK, I’ll write something for you, but how about you give me some tips on building the audience for my blog?" (Cool idea, eh?)
Well, right then and there, Patsi spends 10 to 15 minutes giving great tips, including a vital one I’d ignored — the need to submit your blog to directories. Oops!
The irony is now I’m going to spend a little money with Patsi and Denise to help me do just that. (They’ve got some amazing programmer in India who’s a whiz at this painstaking 12-hour job.) Or course, I’m hoping for a discount, though — hear that, Patsi and Denise? LOL!
Oh, and my brain-sugar article will go up soon — of course, I’ll tell you all about it when it happens.
I’m telling you — blogging and chatting with blogers can do wonders for you and your business, no matter what it is. Get to it!
Now, back to Build a Better Blog System from Denise and Patsi. Although I haven’t read it, the e-book sounds helpful — it includes a number of links, tips, tutorials, and resources so that you can build a professional business blog through Typepad (a blog software provider company that I and others use).
One of the highlights of the e-book, Patsi tells me, is an interview the pair conducted with 25 successful bloggers. "These experts tell you what they did right, what they did wrong, and why you should care," she explains.
For instance, those featured include:
– Paul Chaney, who runs the popular blog, Radiant Marketing;
– Yvonne Divita, who publishes Lip-Sticking and A-ha!,
– TL Pakii Pierce, who offers his pearls of blogging on How to Blog for Fun and Profit!
By the way, if you’d like to join the networking family that Patsi and Denise are building, check out their free weekly Conversations with Experts