7 Ways to be Best Buds with an A-List Blogger!
Wouldn’t it be nice to be best Friends with an A-list blogger? How about ten A-list bloggers?
1. Comment often - Commenting on A-List blogs is a good way to get your name in front of them.Remember they are regular people like you and me, the more they see your name, and see that you contribute to their site, the more likely they are to say yes when you try and offer a joint venture, or a guest post on their blog.
*One big tip on this make your comments stand out, build upon the original post, and make your comment provide extended value to their site, and even cite other posts that back up what you say, and you will soon become an authority.*
2. Follow them on twitter, and respond to them often, many of the A-list bloggers are on twitter, and contribute frequently.The bottom line is the more you provide to the conversation, the more they see your name, the more likely you are to get noticed.
3. Blog, blog often, and make it count. If you do happen to get noticed by an A-lister, it is likely they will subscribe to your feed, if you do receive their attention, you need to blow them away with great content so that they stay attentive to what you say.
Note this is often, just a good practice as it will ensure that you current subscribers stay very happy, afterall the more attention grabbing your blog, the more visitors.Even if you don’t build a ‘friendship’ with an A-lister, you may gain their attention enough to have them link to your blog, which will bring a lot of google-juice and traffic your way.
4. Diversify your efforts, as in all friendshipping efforts, you just may not be able to build rapport, they might not like you, something you said might push them away, or tick them off. Especially if you’re religious or political beliefs differ.
Don’t focus all your efforts on building rapport with one person, instead spread yourself across maybe 5-10 different high trafficked blogs that are relative to your content.You might make it a daily thing to post 1-2 comments per blog, or you could post like 5-10 comments per day on a different blog each day. For instance have monday be JohnChow, tuesday you might head over to Shoemoney, and wednesday might be Problogger Darren Rowse.
ONe more important tip - whichever strategy you implement, to be truly successful you MUST be consistant, the #1 cause of failure to any blog is failure to be consistant across the board.Blogging can provide a great income and be a lot of fun, once you get popular it can become a bit easier than starting out, but to get there is very hard work, consistant effort is a neccessity if you’re not willing to put in the hard work, then this business is not for you, and perhaps you should find something else that works better.
Harsh words, I know, but when you treat blogging like a business, it will begin to reap the rewards of a business.
5. Fake it till you make it! A lot of the stuff you blog about may be new to you, it may be confusing, you may not know all there is about blogging, or about plugins, or about social networks, and social media. The fact is you don’t need to know everything, but you need to act like you do - in a word. Confidence.
The “A” in “A-list” does not stand for Awesome, or A+ as in school work. It stands for Authority.
Whether or not you are an Authority on your Niche, you NEED to act like you are, and keep learning as much as possible, so that one day you will wake up and it will dawn on you…”Woah, I am an Authority, not just a BS’er!”
6. Your blog must say “I’m a professional Blog”.Here are a few tips for this:
- Must have your own domain name. It is true, some blogs have taken off from blogspot, such as Kumiko’s, but eventually even she wised up and registered cashquests.com.A domain name basically says that you’re here to stay(at least for a year, till it expires - hopefully you make it past that 1st year).A domain name also helps with search engine rankings, for your brand (and yes your name can be your brand like John Chow or if you’re name is overly popular you can brand yourself as anything you like, eg: Shoemoney).
Lastly, wouldn’t it be terrible if you could’ve been John Chow, but started out at blogspot, someone saw that you were becoming famous, and they went out and bought yourname.com. Sure they might sell it to you for a couple thousand dollars.
- Your blog design must be professional looking, it’s a wise idea to get a professionally designed blog theme - if you can afford it. I recommend starting out with a free one though, until your blog starts to take off, then purchase either a commercial one, or a custom.Also, here is a good post citing the pros and cons of pre-made blog theme vs custom blog theme.
- You need subscribers, the more subscribers to your feed, the more trust you have, and ultimately the more, professional you will appear.Check out what Dosh Dosh has to say about why you absolutely need to build your blog’s subscriber base.
- You must hold yourself to a higher standard.Nobody wants to communicate, follow, read, rantings of someone who is fast to start a fight, or demean someone.(Exception would be political blogs, where most of your readers are going to either support your same views, or be against - politics is one topic that can’t please all sides.
Though you can even be professional here, for instance, I usually refer to Bush in private as “the idiot”, “Dumbass”, “Retarded Drunk Monkey Boy”, but I might be a little more tactfull on my blog…or perhaps not(I’m using this as an example - and perhaps a sneaky way to vent & be unprofessional.))
- Don’t over-do the plugins or widgets.Yes you can have too many plugins.Widgets and plugins are great, they add a lot to your blog, but they can also break your theme, and some plugins can conflict with each other and break your blog for a time, which equals less visitors.
- Again I reiterate consistant effort, and you need a schedule for posting, which should include at least 1 post per day. Just figure you need at least 300-1000 posts to be on the level of the A-list bloggers, and if you post 1 a day, it might take you a whole year, maybe even two.Did you know to be on the level of Problogger (20,000 posts in 4 years!). That’s a bit much but you have to be posting consistently to measure up!Personally I strive for 2-3 posts per day or 14 minimum in a given week.
7. Last but not least, flattery goes a long way, as long as you’re sincere about it!You want to be sincere and let them know how much their tips help you, or you could simply link to their posts often, and re-iterate a lot of the things they say.
This might benefit you in pingbacks / trackbacks, but most importantly it is a good way to catch their eye, and let them know that you’re a reader.
Most professional bloggers want to make their readers happy, and knowing that you are enjoying their blog, linking to their blog, will catch their eye, and if they see something they like they might link to it.
One last bit of advice, if you do manage to become an Authority, think you have what it takes to guest blog on JohnChow, Shoemoney, Problogger, DoshDosh, etc… The best way to do it is write a list of topics you’re passionate about.
Write a sample post relating to one of those topics, be sure it includes lots of pictures as the best posts do use images in almost every post, (mine lack it sometimes because it’s hard to upload photos while I’m at work, and I usually write a lot of posts while on break. )
Your post needs to be extremely informative, and use a lot of line breaks, and be easy to read, as well as easy to scan. The more insightful, truthful, and witty the better. Adding humor is also welcome, but don’t go overboard.
Once you’re ready you should write up a professional letter and send it to their email if you can find it, if not submit it by their contact form, most of the top bloggers list at least one way or another to be contacted.
If you don’t hear anything back in 7 days, you should submit another letter, and ask them if they’ve considered your offer, if not - ask them if they could give you some tips on how you can better your chances of being accepted as a guest blogger(or insert another goal, if you want them to sponsor something, like perhaps your weightloss).
One last tip - give them love - digg their best posts, stumble a post if you like it, or share it on one of the many networks out there……And on that note, please do me a BIG favor and Digg this post. I would really appreciate it, and you’d definitely get on my good side.
Cheers!
Oh yeah, here’s some related articles:
- Confessions of an A-List Blogger
- Tips for joining the A list
- Secrets of the A-List Bloggers
- Yes, Mr. Calacanis, The A-List Exists.
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Tags: a-list blog, a-list bloggers, authority, Blogging, blogging for money, build relationships, commenting on blogs, comments, consistant, conversation, Darren Rowse, digg, doshdosh, friendship, get noticed, jeremy shoemaker, John Chow, make money, network, niche, problogger, shoemoney, Social Networks, trackback, traffic
March 27th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Great post! Best way to be a friend is be friendly and participate. A List bloggers are just people after all.
March 27th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
See, the thing is, to me, commenting on someone’s block and talking to them on Twitter when you don’t even know them comes off as slightly creepy and attention-whoring to me.
At least when it’s with an “A-list”. For example the Flickr comments on Justine Ezarik’s and Jason Calacanis’ photos both are prime examples of “PAY ATTENTION TO ME PLZ”. In Justine’s case they are creepy compliments on various body parts and in Jason’s case just reminding him how CUTE THOSE DOGGIES ARE I SURE NEVER GET SICK OF SEEING THOSE WRINKLY MUTTS.
Now, if someone were to comment on my blog or tweet @ me, I’d feel honored, because I’m a nobody. Because I am also an attention whore, only I want them to come to me.
March 27th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Awesome post you are the best, I wish I was as good as you.
How did I do?
…but really nice work
March 27th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
@Bryan - Grasshopper, you have come, long way. Soon, you will become the master. lol.
March 27th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
@FSFunky See, you’re giving A-list bloggers a God complex - I’m sure their ego’s are big enough, but deep down inside they are just like you and me, they just make $10,000 more per month. lol. But give them credit - if you’re sincere, they will take notice, and the more you put yourself out there, the more notice they will take.
March 27th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
@Tabitha - exactly!
March 27th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Cool post, but what happens when everyone takes your advice? Different is only different when not everyone is doing it. I know, thats not likely, nor the point. But look, I just commented!
March 28th, 2008 at 1:07 am
@Coreyod — The biggest tip - was staying consistent. To be truly successful, you do have to go above and beyond what other people will do - you have to sacrifice. You have to be dedicated. You have to want it more than the next guy. You have to do everything in your power to make sure that you stand out and get noticed. Otherwise, you’re going to be another fly on the wall of humanity, to be truly great takes effort, and devotion.
It is by no means an easy road - especially in the beginning, after you build you blog, enterprise, business, or whatever it is you’re looking to build - it will then get easier, of course eventually the goal is to be able to quit the day job and be a Full-time blogger, for most of us.
March 28th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
I’d actually boil it down even simpler.
#1 Be yourself.
#2 Realize that from the A to the Z list, they’re all people, and don’t be afraid to talk to any of them!
March 28th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Patrick,
This is an awesome post. Your tips are right on without being too pushy/aggressive. I think another important thing to point out is to maintain a style that is true to the blogger, rather than trying to copy someone-else’s. As that will show through in the writing (especially when one is posting 2+ posts a day) and may create a rift with a subscriber base.
Thanks again - super helpful!
March 28th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Very true, copycat bloggers, don’t get very far. Uniqueness is very important.
March 28th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
@Giania - I like your simple view, very good insight - and yes it is basically that simple, I just delved in a little deeper to help start the brainstorming process, and give some good ideas on how to get your foot in the door.
March 30th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
March 31st, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Great article, I got it bookmarked in my presence building section. Thanks!
April 4th, 2008 at 6:29 am
The sign of a true blogger is one that can take criticism and regroup. As such, please read this and take it for what it is; sage advice from a fellow poor writer.
Is there any way you could improve your grammar? Firstly, a comma separates thoughts not sentences. You should NEVER put a comma after “and”. Take your second point:
“Follow them on twitter, and respond to them often, many of the A-list bloggers are on twitter, and contribute frequently.”
This ia not badly structured, per se. However, it should have been (without changing any words):
“Follow them on twitter and respond to them often. Many of the A-list bloggers are on twitter and contribute frequently.”
At a push, this might have worked:
“Follow them on twitter and respond to them often; many of the A-list bloggers are on twitter and contribute frequently.”
You are comma obsessed and it is driving me mad!
I am dyslexic, i.e. I can’t spell and have trouble reading lots of text. I read things twice, maybe 3 times. I find your text really, REALLY hard to digest because of its grammar. I’m sure your advice is sound, but it comes across badly for me.
April 4th, 2008 at 7:41 am
I dunno, the whole thing sounds kinda creepy to me. Don’t like the idea of people being phony to me in order to get in with my crowd. [The -Z List crowd that is] Agreeing with people and flattering for attention sounds like singles bar behavior to be honest, and somewhat shallow.
The odd thing is, that by responding like that, in fact by responding at all, i have joined the conversation, and stood out by not kissing up, which isn’t what I set out to do. Damnit, I’m doomed to popularity now. Doh!
April 4th, 2008 at 7:56 am
Thanks for the useful tips, Patrick. I’m relatively new to the blogging world, and I’d like some of the a-list mojo to rub off on me. Plus most of the a-listers have some great things to say.
April 4th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
@Alvin - yeah we could all use some of the A-list mojo.
April 4th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
It’s not about being phony, per se - It’s about becoming an A-list blogger. Anyone could become one, if they just knew the steps. It helps even more to build a relationship with someone who has a high authority blog, or website. Just one mention or review on their site can net you some good traffic, or if anything it will give you more Search Engine Juice.
It’s just remembering that they are normal people, just like each of us. There’s really nothing too special about them, they just know how to be successful - and beyond that they are professional, dedicated, and most important - they have connections with other A-listers.
It could be said, possibly - that to be an A-list blogger, you must associate with A-list bloggers.
After all it’s a fact that your income level is usually the average of your 5 closest friends & associates, now your friends may be great people - but doesn’t hurt to have friends in high places.
I’m not saying to flatter just to get noticed, I’m just saying be genuine, and offer good advice and conversation on the subject and you will get noticed, and possibly end up on someone’s blogroll.
April 13th, 2008 at 6:11 am
Patrick
I liked the post. My only comment is I HATE when people boast or act like an authority before they take the time to become one..
Faking will be found out, there is no way to fake you know what you are doing..
Any A List blogger would be able to see right through that. I am not a blogging authority, but at one point I was a music industry authority, and man let me tell you, I could see right through the fake bands!
Cheers!
scott
April 14th, 2008 at 10:32 am
@scott - the ‘faking it’ part isn’t so much about being a fake - but having the confidence to be a success. Having the confidence to look an A-list blogger in the face at one of the many blogging conventions, and if you lack confidence, if you ‘fake it’ or in other words pretend you have the confidence to succeed, you will build that confidence before you even realize it.
It can also be referred to as going beyond your comfort zone, etc.. to be successful I fully believe you need to believe you’re already successful, even if you’re not, but still be yourself in the process. Take for instance this blog - I wouldn’t say I’m on the level w/ big names like shoemoney / johnchow etc - but I feel that this blog has a lot of unique content and that I contribute some good insight that will lead me to being an A-lister myself someday soon.
My Twitter following has made a huge difference in this too, when I write a post I can usually expect an immediate 200 people viewing it, 1000 if it’s stumble-worthy like a few of them have been.