Hey there The WWW Observer Readers. This is Jim A.K.A. “The Net Fool” from http://www.thenetfool.com, a blog centered on ways to make money online through the stock market, affiliate marketing, blogging tips, get paid to (GPT) websites and more! But enough about me, lets get to talking about the power of networking for bloggers!
One thing is for sure, I am one of the strongest proponents of website networking for increasing the value of your website. I think there is simply nothing you can do that will impact your success like building lasting relationships with other bloggers. That said, here are the top five reasons that networking should be #1 on your to-do list.

1. Establish a Name for Yourself
One thing that every blogger needs to do before anything else is establish a foothold. What exactly does this mean? Well, I think your reputation proceeds you wherever you go, wherever you post, whatever you say. By using tools like social networking, commenting and visiting other blogs, and even doing guest blogging (*nudge*) can dramatically change the way people think about you and your blog.

It is essential to establish a positive reputation for yourself before you think seriously about advertising and expanding your name on the internet. People typically flock to bloggers that have a solid image, and until you get your feet wet by making connections with as many people as possible, you will find it quite difficult to get any kind of help from your peers… and we all know the power behind even a simple link back from a popular website.

2. Gain Returning Visitors
If you are a statistical junkie like myself, you already know that returning visitors is extremely important. I think that people place far too much value behind “unique visitors” when analyzing their performance, what you really want is returning visitors. It is one thing to have a blog with enough exposure to get some pity-clicks here and there every day. What you are really seeking is visitors that are seeing your content and coming back!

Well how the heck does networking get your visitors to come back? This might be the most obvious question at this point, but it also has one of the most obvious answers. Let’s put up a scenario: Joe and Steve visit my website, I notice this and go find their websites (easy with MyBlogLog or other community service), leave them a comment and let them know I am glad they visited my website. Guess what is going to happen 85% of the time? That’s right, they come back! You would be surprised what a simple “thanks for visiting” can do for your traffic. I try to visit the website of every visitor I get, read their content, and leave some relevant feedback. Networking is a beautiful thing.

3. Increase Your Traffic
Boosting traffic is typically one of the top tier goals for any webmaster, especially blog owners. Not only is traffic used as a gauge for your success, it is often used to determine what kind of pricing premium that ads/sponsored posts/etc. on your sites receive. While there are many link exchange systems and other ways to advertise, one of the best methods is simply by networking with other people.

Why does networking work? Forming lasting relationships with people in your niche typically turns into subscribers (if you are doing it right). More people reading your blog daily means more steady traffic you receive. The name of the game is consistency, and you simply can’t bank on visits unless you have a network of interest! Bottom line: expand your reach, enhance your traffic.

4. Boost Your Interactivity
People often ask the question: “how do I get my visitors to comment?” A healthy blog is one where the interactivity of visitors is in full bloom. How do you accomplish this? The number one way in my mind is to visit as many similar blogs as possible and get noticed as a “regular.” Join a blogging community like Bloggeries or DigitalPoint, and try to post 5 times each day. Slowly but surely, people will give you the respect that you want… and will begin to shower your website with some reciprocal love.

The single biggest factor in having active members on your blog is how good you are at commenting back. This is the basis behind the “U Comment, I Follow” movement, and I believe this has great implications for the blogging world. Show some interest, and you will be rewarded. If you are an active reader, your readers will be active too.

5. Drive Your Link Authority
To sum all of the networking importance up, you will increase the number of back-links to your website if you are networking with style. There are basically two ways to do this: bribing and friending. Let me explain. By bribing, I do not mean paying off other bloggers. Bribing can be (and should be) as simple as mentioning a friends website in one of your posts. Typically, this mention will get pinged and logged on your friend’s blog and they will thank you for your mention with a link of your own in most cases. Think of it like baiting a fishing pole. If you divert your traffic, they will return the favor.

Friending is the opposite of bribing. Essentially, rather than mentioning their website, they are mentioning yours. As a blogger, I never mention a website that I do not like (unless its a ranting post) because I would prefer not to reward them for working against me. Gain some relationships by social networking and you will have them on your team. It is not uncommon to be included in someone else’s post just because they like what you are doing and want to help you out.

Hopefully by now you understand just how beneficial networking with other bloggers/readers can be to your website’s traffic, reputation and interactivity. I use networking as my number one tool for gaining momentum in the blogging world, and I feel that it can be better than funding a major advertising campaign altogether. Be friendly, be helpful and return the favor if someone is viewing and commenting on your blog! That’s all from me this week. If you’d like to learn more about ways to make money online, be sure to network with The Net Fool.

Other posts that you might find interesting:

• Why Your Blog Isn’t Getting Anywhere
• Blogger Sweatshop
• Better Safe than Sorry!