Do You Consider Your Fellow Blogger To Be Friend Or Foe?

Be honest. Do you even know many other bloggers? How often do you reach out to them? Do you comment on their blogs? Do you subscribe to them? Do you share their articles on other social media or blogging community sites? Do you follow them on Twitter? Facebook? Have you offered to guest post for them? Do you advertise with them? Did you discuss exchanging text links?

For many of you, unfortunately, the answer to most of those questions is no. Part of it is the way you perceive your fellow bloggers. If this is the case for your situation, it is hindering your ability to promote your blog.

Your fellow bloggers…do you consider them… friend or foe?

The Reality of Traffic

The “reality of traffic” is no different than some of the basic laws of economics – specifically in the management of resources.In the case of blogging, it is the percentage of readers you attract to your blog during any given period.
When I started blogging, I felt the pie was large enough so that we could all have a slice and still manage to achieve our objectives.

I was naive. I started seeing charts that showed the percentage of global traffic that the top 250 blogs were receiving compared to the millions and millions of other blogs. While the larger sites feasted on enormous amounts of traffic, the rest of us were left to squabble over the scraps.

The Reality of Blog Revenue

When some of the established names in the industry began getting attention for the income they were generating, it caught our attention. No longer was blogging some outlet for channeling your dark thoughts and neuroses – you could do this full-time.What would that take though? So many blogs and bloggers had traveled down the same path only to fail miserably. There was no one-size-fits-all formula.

But, there is only so much that will be spent today. Thus, competition thrives.  We are taught to be highly competitive at all endeavors. And we’re fighters.

So, what makes blogging any different? Bloggers want respect from their colleagues, they want fame, and they want the financial reward that it accompanies.

The Reality of Co-existence

When it comes to wanting to convey an image of generosity and team spirit, bloggers are quick to present themselves in this manner.

The reality is, as bloggers, we are under no obligation to do anything for anybody!  It isn’t something that can be measured.

998 times out of a 1000, if there is some transaction between bloggers, there is often some type of mutual benefit.

Blog Comments

Typically, leaving comments on other blogs is how we announce our existence to the world. We’re interacting within the realm of another blog’s community.  We create an opportunity to open dialogue with the blog’s author and to include our feedback with other respected members of the field. It’s all about inclusion.

What about those who rarely if ever comment? Can they succeed?

Thank goodness the road to success is lined with the need to network with other bloggers and other readers. Funny how fate works sometimes.

When you read the comments sections of some of the big-name bloggers, it is hilarious. To the more astute bloggers, it’s obvious the author was just trying to satisfy a deadline or sneak in a “filler” article. Yet, thousands of bloggers race to these blogs hoping to leave a comment before the comment section is closed.  If the blogger wrote about the fact he washed his hands, they’ll be 300 comments on how smart he is or the importance of personal hygiene. Funny how the most intelligent minds become astounded by the simplest concepts.

It isn’t because the content on these blogs is better. It’s simply the fact you are not an “online authority” yet. And leaving a comment on your blog may not yield the same results. Despite the fact you wrote an exceptional article. It’s a shame that some blogs get overlooked on the basis of PageRank, Alexa Rank, and low subscribership.

Share the Love

Although more and more resources exist to make sharing an article in places like Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Delicious, Mixx, Sphinn, or Folk’d, this practice is done very infrequently in my opinion.

If you want your article to appear on sites like this, you better do it yourself. Although I read recently that submitting too much of your own material can be detrimental to your blog – as opposed to others doing it for you.

Some may retweet the tweet containing your article’s title along with a brief description, but that’s definitely not the same impact as submitting your site to the sites I mentioned above, is it? Nor is “voting” for your article in a blog community. I sometimes wonder whether people actually read the article… or do they just vote to give the impression they visited your blog?

Shut Up

Blogs, social media, and blogging communities do little to create a barrier for bloggers to impose their views and opinions upon the rest of the world. There is no Editor or Quality Control Dept. to proof one’s material.

But, with everyone talking…who is listening?

No offense, but when did what you had to say become so important? Who died and made you an expert? And for starters, who the hell are you? Where did you come from? And why am I listening to you?

When is it going to be your turn? It can’t be all about them all the time…can it?

Your Turn

Why are we so scared to just shut up and listen for a second? Does knowing that someone is a more experienced blogger, or has more knowledge of SEO, Internet Marketing, or Social media terrify us?  What if they are a better writer? What if we’re not the greatest blogger ever to grace the internet?

Can we live with that? Can we live with ourselves?

So, to your fellow blogging peers… friend or foe?