How To Blog: Building Links and Connections

How do you connect with other bloggers?

Thanks for all your how to blog questions you asked us for our first Find It Friday feature. Looks like it is going to be a week of Find It Friday answers for us, as we attempt to answer more questions from last week.

Today I am going to answer  some questions from the Center for Transformative Action, who are just getting started with their blog and would like to connect with other bloggers who do similar work – how best should they do this?

You are certainly on the right track with this question, as blogging, to quote Heidi Cohen  in her latest post is all about connections, content and conversions.

So how do you connect with others in the same field?

This ties in to the  next part of the question from the Center, is it all about adding comments, liking and following other blogs?

Well, in a word, yes – this is a big part of how to make connections. Adding to the conversation through commenting will help you build relationships with others in your field. Make sure your comments are well thought out and add value to the conversation as this will encourage others to visit your site if they feel you have something to say. Another tip is to add more links to your blog –  see Lorna’s post on How to Blog: Improving Your Page Rank With Links for more on this.

Other sources for finding similar blogs are through blog directories; Twitter (use a Twitter management tool like Hootsuite to track keywords in your field) and LinkedIN groups (create your own and join existing to connect).

Finally, to the technical part of your question – is there a way to like another blog on WordPress and how do you add blogs to your home page?

Just press the like button at the end of any post on a WordPress blog and you have liked it. You can also choose the option of follow this blog to keep regularly updated with their posts.

You can easily add other blogs through the blogroll which you will find in the dashboard of your WordPress site (go to “Links”). If you are having trouble doing this, then WordPress have very helpful tutorials – just type in “how to add blogroll” and you will find step-by-step instructions.

I hope this answers your questions and wish you success with your blogging. Don’t forget to subscribe to our site for lots more helpful tips and remember, we are always happy to answer your blogging related questions here at Write on Track.

About Marie

Marie Ennis-O’Connor BA, MIAPR, holds an Honours degree in History from University College Dublin. She is a graduate of the Irish Academy of Public Relations and has worked in a variety of PR roles over the past 12 years. Marie is editor of several award-winning blogs ranging from life sciences to health to business. She is a panel member of the newly established Bloggers International and is a regular contributor to Health Works Collective, an online community for thought leaders in international healthcare. She is a featured blogger on Webicina, an online service that provides curated medical social media resources in over 80 medical topics and over 17 languages, and has been awarded a top blogger accolade by Empowered Doctor.com and most inspiring writer by WegoHealth. Marie is also in demand as a trainer in social media marketing and travels the country teaching small business owners how to get online and maximise their online presence.