Me and Bobbie from My Mama Runs
What has surprised me most about blogging is the real, solid friendships I have made.
Connecting with other bloggers is really rewarding and everyone can benefit from a mutually supportive relationship.
I think that is the beauty of social media. You can find a great connection with someone that could live thousands of miles away.
I developed a great friendship with Devan from Accustomed Chaos. We have a lot in common; both have little kids, our husbands work a ton of overtime and we spend most dinners eating alone.
We always joke that we wish we lived closer, so we could have weekly dinner dates. Unfortunately, we live far from one another but I am hoping one day I get the chance to meet her!
Here are a few tips that have helped me establish the blogging relationships I have today:
1. Find your niche
Look for bloggers that write about similar topics. Read their About page to get to know them better, sign up for the RSS feed so that you don’t miss a post, visit regularly and comment, comment, comment!
2. Follow Their Social Networks
After you follow them through Google Connect or through their RSS feed, make sure to follow them on twitter, like their fan page, join their community and their LinkedIn networks.
Again make sure to interact with them by commenting or starting small conversations.
3. Reach Out
If you find a blog that you absolutely love – reach out to them. Ask them if they would be open to exchanging guest posts or maybe work on a project with you.
For example, I worked with Mary from The Mommyologist on Not Mom of the Year Contest and Lori from Mommyfriend on the Blogher’10 Pity Party.
Both were a lot of fun and I loved getting to know Mary and Lori on a more personal level.
3. Give Back
Add them to your blog roll, link back to them in one of your articles and retweet their posts. This is a great way to show your support and who doesn’t love a little recognition!
4. Listen
Be attentive to what your blogging friends are saying. Are they working on a new project? Do they need advice? Are they going through a difficult situation?
Giving feedback, support or a little encouragement goes a long way.
5. Connect Offline
Depending on how far you live from your blogging friends, it may be feasible to set up a lunch or dinner date with them. If not, find out if they will be attending a nearby event or conference and plan to meet up then.
I originally met Erica from Mommy’s Still Fabulous at Bloggy Bootcamp in Baltimore. After we got talking, we realized we only lived 20 minutes from each other! We now talk regularly, plan occasional lunch dates and are getting ready to start a new project together!
I believe establishing true friendships in the blogging world is really important in succeeding as a blogger.
Now its your turn. Have you developed any real friendships through blogging? Do you have any tips on how to reach out to other bloggers and start a connection?
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
I TOTALLY believe in making ‘real’ bloggy connections and Corine from Complicated Mama is living proof of that for me. We originally met at an event together and soon realized we lived so close to each other. So now we try and get together once a month. I consider her one of my ‘real’ friends and if it wasn’t for my blog, I would have never met her!
And I think once you have a blog ‘connection’ with another blogger, the support and the Twitter conversations are natural extentions of that relationship you are building.
Looking forwad to meeting you in Philly!!
.-= Theta Mom´s last blog ..Another Epic Parent Fail =-.
Great and useful tips!
I think the most significant thing for me for making real-life blog friends was Bloggy Boot Camp. There were many people with whom I already corresponded online, but meeting them at the conference took our friendship to another level. For instance, Mommy’s Still Fabulous and I had corresponded with each other many times; however, when Tiffany announced that wifi *was* available in case anyone had brought their laptops, and Erica and I both had ours up and running within minutes, we knew we had a connection. I’m so jealous that the two of you live close to each other, lol!
I am so looking forward to going to Philly to see more of my blog friends; living in a rural area, this is the best opportunity I have to meet up with them.
The other thing I do is email other bloggers. It’s great to get comments, but it’s also nice to have email conversations where we can be a little more personal with each other than when we leave comments for the world to see. It’s amazing how many new friends you meet when you send an email responding to a comment, and how a whole new conversation takes place.
.-= Michele – The Professional Family Manager´s last blog ..Mom- Incorporated- Creating a Plan to Organize Your Home =-.
I have met a few local folks thru blogging and have met them in real life. I never knew that would be a side benefit of blogging!
.-= harmskills´s last blog ..17 months and 10 days in the making =-.
I ♥ you
These are some great tips & I really can’t wait to meet you in real life 
.-= Devan @ Accustomed Chaos´s last blog ..From the Mouth of My 3 Year Old Girl =-.
I love it when I hear stories like this. So nice that you have been able to make that connection. So crazy when you find out that someone you have been chatting with on social media lives so close. I often wonder if someone I see out in public could be someone I chat with online. You never know.
Great post! I look forward to BBC in Austin in October to do just this! I’ve already met two bloggers here in Austin whose blogs I’d been following and it was great fun!
.-= gigi´s last blog ..My husband- the fame whore =-.
These are the best tips for friendshipping. I honestly couldn’t add anymore. I have really loved blogging and meeting so many great people.
I am still amazed at how real bloggy friendships are! It was so fun meeting people in person in Baltimore, and I am more excited for Philly because I feel like I get to see a bunch of old friends! It’s the best!
That’s a great story! I have made friends through blogging but nothing that has gone offline yet. Perhaps with some more time!
.-= Stacy´s last blog ..Are Blog Niches a Thing of the Past =-.
These are all very great tips! I am in the process of cultivating some blogging friendships, and it (or this endeavor of really connecting with other bloggers) has made blogging so much more real and fun for me. Thanks for sharing!
-Jessica
.-= Jessica´s last blog ..She said da-da! =-.
My blogging gals, the sisters I never had. (and the daughters too) We do have that in common!
Great post!
.-= Jennifer @ The Mommy Mambo´s last blog ..Flubberccino Anyone =-.
Bloggy friends are very real and now that I’ve met so many, some of those friendships have surpassed my real world friends in importance. Plus, I’m moving soon and it won’t affect bloggy friendships at all!
.-= blueviolet´s last blog ..Strawberry Banana Smoothie! =-.
Good tips! And now I can’t wait for Bloggy Boot Camp in two weeks to meet my friends
Since you live close by, are you staying at the hotel either night or going home??
Great tips and right on the money!
I find the connections I make online are more sincere than some of the ones I make in real life.
.-= Melisa´s last blog ..Fashionable Friday =-.
I am going to BBC in Austin and I am so excited to meet people in real life that I talk to on FB, Twitter and read their blogs and vise versa.
Great pointers!
.-= Crystal & Co´s last blog ..Thrifty Finds Mission =-.
Awesome tips! I try to do each of these but sometimes struggle to find the time! We have an awesome group of about 15 local blogging moms that get together on a regular basis. We were doing just a mom night out here and there but next month we’re going to start alternating that with a workshop. We’re going to rent a room at a coffee shop and spend about 3 hours- 1.5- 2 hours discussing a topic (PR, wordpress, writing, etc.) and then spend the rest of the time writing. It’s sometimes hard to get blocks of time to write so we thought it’d be a great opp to do so!
I have met some great women so far in the 3 months I have been blogging. I can’t say I have a best bloggy friend yet, but I have definitely begun to form some bonds.
It is so funny (and sad) that we may live close to one another, but because of safety issues we have to keep that wall up until we get a good feel for someone!
Adventuroo, that is great you have a group that meets! I live near Atlanta and I am sure that there are lots of bloggers in this major metropolis, I just gotta find ‘em!
Bernice
.-= Ramblings of a Woman´s last blog ..Life’s best lessons learned from our dogs =-.
I love this. Since I started, I feel so much overwhelming support from the blogging community and I can’t wait to meet some bloggers in person. You give some really great tips and this motivates me to reach out a bit more. I’ve “met” so many bloggers in the NYC area, so it only makes sense that we would grab a cocktail or something.
.-= Charlotte´s last blog ..hit me with music =-.
I used to have blog-friends. Now I have friends with blogs.
There is a difference, believe me!
This is an excellent post. I often think how I have to get more proactive and meet people in my area. I live close enough to Chicago where I could make some physical connections. I enjoy the bloggers I have found but most seem to be from Texas or Canada!!
Yes, I know what I have to do: get involved in my state’s blogging community. But the thought of adding one more thing to my online life? OMG.
Totally true!
Connecting with others in social media is a wonderful thing!
blog lunches, tweet ups, and blogger conferences…All a very COOL thing…:)
Great TIPS!
.-= one cluttered brain´s last blog ..Monday Mingle Psst- Its FINALLY the 1st day of school for the kiddos! =-.
Great tips, Tina! I love this. Wish more people would do things like this!
.-= erin´s last blog ..This Girl Just Wants to Write =-.
Here from Erin’s twitter update. Love this and I too have “met” so many great people from blogging but can’t wait for the real world meet ups too.
.-= JennyMac´s last blog ..Birth Control =-.
It was SO great meeting you at Bloggy Boot Camp- FINALLY meeting you I should say!!
This is a great post and echo all of your tips -every blogger should follow them!
Hope to see you again soon!!!
{ 2 trackbacks }