This is Day 15 of 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, a group project 60+ of us bloggers are doing together in an effort to help each other become better bloggers. You can read an overview here.
One of the hardest things that I’ve ever done was to blog in a silo. Well… not a literal, physical silo, but a figurative one. That was back in my early blogging days, and I struggled quite a bit with whether what I was doing was making any difference. I frequently got discouraged because I wasn’t sure if anyone cared, or if they were even listening.
What I needed most during that time was someone that could tell me if I was hitting the mark, or if I was off my rocker.
Today’s assignment deals with this very issue. Our task is to find a blog buddy. A blog buddy is someone that you can share ideas with, get feedback from, and work on projects with. Essentially, you have someone to partner with in a way that helps you both to improve your blogs.
Darren Rowse shares this advice to consider (with my commentary) when looking for a blog buddy:
- Make it mutually beneficial – As with real-life relationships, it’s never about how much you can take. So make sure you think about what you have to offer the other person (in addition to how they can help you).
- Attempt to find a blogger in a similar niche – This whole blog buddy concept works best when you and your buddy can compliment each other, especially if you decide to do projects with or guest posting for each other.
- Find other bloggers on your level – Would a first-grader be lost trying to study with a high-schooler? You bet. There’s a reason why our education system groups people based on their learning-levels.
- Make each other’s blog better – If you put a good deal of effort into building someone else up, you’ll usually find that it comes back to you. Do what you can to bless your blog buddy.
One of the best things that I’ve done as a blogger was to join the HighCallingBlogs.com network, and it is for this very reason. I’ve looked in lots of places to find somewhere that I can connect, and I’ve had limited success. However, it wasn’t until I joined this network that I discovered a whole crew of like-minded bloggers at all different levels that I could connect with. Now I have several great blogging buddies that I get to work with.
The truth is (unless you are genetically predisposed to blogging) that you cannot do this alone. None of us can. In fact, God didn’t create us to do life (and that includes blogging) alone. Find a buddy.
As iron sharpens iron, so one blogger sharpens another.
Discussion
- Have you struggled with blogging in a silo? If so, how does it make you feel?
- If you already have a blog buddy, then what are some of the benefits that you’ve discovered in that relationship?
- Are there places (like HighCallingblogs.com) that you’ve found valuable connections that help you become a better blogger?
The Extra Mile
A few other things you can do to take your blog, other bloggers, and this project even further today…
- Reply & give other bloggers feedback on the little things they do.
- When other bloggers include a link to a new article they’ve posted today, click, read, and comment on it.
- Check previous posts in the series for new comments.
- Tweet, share, & bookmark this post.
- So, please review Stuart Dyckhoff’s blog, ChurchTechy, and give him some feedback.
Dan King is… Christ-follower. husband. father. corporate training development guru. bible college instructor. blogger at bibledude.net. social media editor for highcallingblogs.com. occasional contributor for the 8-BIT network.
85 Comments
Thank you, Dan, for the great post and tips. I have contacted another blogger to see if we could team up on today's assignment. Your points Paul are well taken. Gives more structure to the assignment and invitation.
Here's today's post:http://openmyearslord.blogspot.com/2010/05/cleans…
Janis
Great Janis! I'm glad to hear that you are taking active steps at implementing these ideas! I'd love to hear more later about whether you experienced any substantial benefits from doing this!
I work with Dan at HighCallingBlogs and have also found that the interaction and community forming there reduces the "silo effect."
During my early days of blogging, I felt like I was on a desert island writing messages, rolling them up and popping them in a bottle to toss out to sea…hoping someone would get my "message in a bottle." At that time, I sensed that many other bloggers felt the same, and we were a hundred billion castaways, all cramming messages into bottles and hoping someone would spot ours bobbing in the vast sea of cyberspace.
A network like HighCallingBlogs attempts to pull some of those messages together to be seen, noticed, read; HCB invites us to join a bigger conversation. Instead of tossing bottles randomly out to sea, we can find connection and community with others writing on similar topics. We can support each other. We can visit each other's blogs and comment. We can stay on top of the carnivals and projects our blogging buddies are part of. In fact, I'm here today because Dan referenced it and I wanted to see what my HCB friend wrote today for the 31DBBB project!
So glad that blogging buddies are in my life.
Thanks sharing your experiences Ann, and I really appreciate your support by stopping by to see what I was up to here! That's exactly what this post is all about!
I'm happy to have the opportunity to work with you over at HCB! Thanks!
Thanks for the post Dan. Great comments and suggestions. I have not really made much of an attempt to connect with a blogging buddy. But the idea is worth considering. I also can see the advantages of connecting into a community like HighCallingBlogs. Sounds like it has good interaction.
Thanks! I would go so far as to say that the benefits far exceeded my expectations. It's definitely worth a try!
Dan, great post – the writing and the summary are great.
I'm right in the middle of finding this so very true right now. I've been put on a big project at work that has had me working very long hours by myself, since I'm the only one at work who can do this particular thing. My wife and daughter have been sick all week, which means that I'm the only one who can contribute to keeping the house together. It's tough working in isolation.
There have been other things on my plate in addition to the above, and the result is that my participation here has been sporadic (which is a massive disappointment because the community going on here is great!) and my blog hasn't been updated in a week. Having a blogging buddy would at least mean that someone else could contribute and keep things going when busy seasons come up.
Thanks for the feedback on the post! I definitely don't think that we were made to work well in isolation. That's why I believe there are so many references to things like the body of Christ and how each part is needed… People need other people. We are designed for community.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this!
As a lurker through this project, I have to say that this one makes a lot of sense. That sense of community we feel at HighCallingBlogs is something pretty special. It does take time to establish relationships like that…but it is so worth it.
Love working with you, DAn!
Thanks Laura! I agree that it can take a while, but is totally worth it! You rock! Love working with you too!
Out of curiosity and an attempt to get you to not lurk so much let me ask how long it's taken the HCB group to feel like a community?
When HCB became a group blog (was it always?) did regular posts take place or did that have to be encouraged, etc?
I've been blogging only a few months now, but I already find myself blogging into a silo. I also recently joined highcallingblogs.com for this same reason. I'm very new to blogging and I'm looking to improve my writing skills. Feel free to check me out and see what you think. Feel free to contact me if you have a similar blog and want to team up!
what kinda blog do you have Michael?
this post has got me thinking…
(I suppose I must admit I was doing that even before I read this), about this very thing.
One thing I have been noticing in myself primarily is that we can quickly become a slave to building our blogs and slaves to our readers (aka: buddies; friends), or at least to trying to make more of them! While I want friends as much as the next guy (and TRULY cherish the ones that I already have), I've got to remember where blogging fits in my life… is it my life? or are there real life experiences and ministries that I miss because of it? I'm definitely not criticizing or finger pointing, just thinking out loud. I realize that 31DBBB (what is the 3rd B for?), is all about building up blog readership and that we should ideally have worked out already what our personal objective, purpose and such of our individual blogs really are… I think self discipline is really important here. Of course, I'm sure most of you who are here absolutely do not struggle with this… 😉
In my case living overseas, blogging has been a way to connect with people who encourage me, and I like to connect with real people with blogs who see life the same way as I do, but admittedly, blogging does distract from real life. As I'm thinking about what to write, thinking about what someone else wrote, while I'm writing, I'm sitting here… in front of the computer. Sometimes the dream of lots of people reading my blog and becoming interested in our ministry and making me feel important and loved can put a lot of pressure on a person. Just sayin' 😉
That said, I very much appreciate anyone who reads my blog and I really like the highcallingblogs network… LOVE the food for thought and lots of healthy discussion.
I've found where I want to be… that is, when I have virtual time to kill 😉
amy in peru
Love this comment!!! Thanks for being so real. You are absolutely right–in my opinion. The bottom line is being led by the Spirit of the Lord. If He leads to write we write. If He leads to lay it down we lay it down. No other life will ever prove abundant–millions of readers or not. Glad to connect with you. 🙂
p.s. what's your blog address?
This is an excellent suggestion. I have not been able to implement it because I am searching for a person in my blog niche. If you are in my blog niche please contact me. My blog site is http://www.christchosenambassadorsministry.com/ap…
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