Using Offline Networking to Strengthen Your Online Identity
Here is an awesome article that was sent in by my good blogger friend, Tish. I would like for everyone to give her a warm welcome! I really enjoyed reading this offline and I am sure you will enjoy reading it too! Be sure to drop her some comments and before you head off west into the blogosphere, be sure to stop by her blog and bookmark it and subscribe to her RSS feed. Enjoy! and thank you Tish for such an awesome article!
If you would like to also guest author on GarryConn.com, take a look at this post here.
Using Offline Networking to Strengthen Your Online Identity
By Tish McQueen
As bloggers, we thrive on getting our words out to the masses. After all, loyal readers can provide friendships, partnerships, and technical knowledge. And for those interested in blogging for financial gain, readers are a necessity.
Garry has done a wonderful job of providing tips and tricks for building your online presence. I’d like to talk about building your offline presence – something that few bloggers do, but that will greatly benefit both you and your blog.
I have had the pleasure of meeting dozens of bloggers, and I regularly socialize with a number of them. Some of my readers have expressed interest in doing the same, stating that I am “lucky†to live in a city saturated with bloggers. There is no luck involved. It is through my own efforts that I have become a part of such a large blogging community. With a little patience and determination, you can do the same. Bloggers are everywhere. You just need to know where to look.
Discovering Local Blogs
To establish “real life†blogging connections, you first have to locate the blogs your area has to offer. One of the best sources is the online version of your newspaper. Reporters and columnists often have blogs. By reading through the comments, you’ll find even more area bloggers. My newspaper, The Knoxville News Sentinel, publishes a weekly link love column that highlights a sampling of posts from area blogs. The website also contains a feed aggregator containing all area blogs that the newspaper staff is aware of.
You can also utilize the power of Google to search for blogs in your hometown. A search for “Knoxville blogs†returned 1,840,000 results. Of course, many of the listings are duplicates, but it’s a search well worth performing.
Checking out the blogrolls of each area blog you discover will often lead you to additional local sites as well.
Meeting the Bloggers
When you discover an interesting blog, subscribe to the feed. Leave a comment. Let the author know that you live in the same town. Online friendships will naturally evolve into “real life†ones.
If you regularly read a number of local blogs, opportunities to meet the bloggers will present themselves. You may become aware of social and/or technical groups who meet on a regular basis. And if not, organize your own!
Local businesses have begun reaching out to the blogging community. The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra recently gave free tickets to bloggers who were willing to review the show. They even hosted a bloggers’ reception following the concert. I had the opportunity to hang out with old blogger friends as well as make new ones. My Technorati Authority experienced a real boost that night after the show! Take advantage of such opportunities. Perhaps you can even reach out to the blogging community through your own business by offering free products or services. The online advertising you receive will be well worth the investment.
Please keep a few tips in mind when venturing out to meet other bloggers for the first time. Consider your safety. Meet in a group setting, and take a friend if possible. Introduce yourself and your blog to everyone in the party. Take a genuine interest in the other bloggers, and remember their URLs. I recommend carrying blog cards that you can distribute to those you meet. It’s an inexpensive way to ensure that people will remember your web address. My blog cards contain my name, blog name, URL, email address, and cell phone number.
Cultivating Friendships
So you’ve met a few bloggers. Now what?
At your first available opportunity, subscribe to the feeds of those bloggers you’ve met. Waiting a few days will give you the chance to forget their URLs. Comment on their blogs to let them know that you enjoyed meeting them. Post about the event, linking those bloggers who were in attendance. This is a great way to help others in the group remember who they met.
Going out for a few drinks one night? Invite the bloggers! A microblogging tool such as Twitter will allow you to send brief messages to a large group of friends – all from your own cell phone!
A little creative offline networking will make you more than just another name on a blog. Your readers will develop a genuine interest in what you have to say. You’ll see more return visitors, a higher Technorati Authority, and an increase in comments. And if you’re lucky, lots of new friends. In essence, by building your offline presence, you’ll strengthen your online identity.
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Garry,
Thank you so much for the warm welcome, and especially for this wonderful opportunity! You’re the best!
Tish
17 Nov 07 at 12:42 am
Tish… Awesome article! I love it and I am sure everyone else will too! Super nice work!
I may be good at making money online but I am not a very in person social guy in the real world. So, it is great to have you here covering such an awesome topic…
I was called The BlogFather yesterday, but I have to hand it to you, and say that you are The Social Queen. Nice work and I would love to have you back.
Garry Conn
17 Nov 07 at 12:49 am
[...] November 17, 2007 at 2:19 am (blogging) My good friend Garry Conn recently invited me to write a guest post for his blog, GarryConn.com. Garry is a professional in every sense of the word. To write alongside him is truly an honor! Please take a few minutes to read my guest post, Using Offline Networking to Strengthen Your Online Identity. [...]
Guest Blogging at GarryConn.Com « The Kat House
17 Nov 07 at 1:20 am
Thanks for the very kind words, Garry! It means a lot coming from a pro blogger like yourself. And I’ll be happy to guest post for you whenever you’d like!
Have a wonderful night.
Tish
17 Nov 07 at 1:22 am
Nicely done, Tish! I haven’t thought of actively searching for local bloggers, but can see the benefit of doing so. I’m still overwhelmed with all the ones I’ve made online this year and which has been wonderful.
Mark
17 Nov 07 at 2:40 am
No doubt! I know more people (ON)line than I do (OFF)line… Tish must have a huge address book in her cell phone.
Garry Conn
17 Nov 07 at 2:45 am
Great Tip Tish !! Thinking outside the box is almost always a good thing.
David Cooley
17 Nov 07 at 9:09 am
Hi Tish there are some really great ideas there… All the bloggers I know I don’t know them in the “real world”. Do you find when you go out with the bloggers all you talk about is blogging? Is it weird? lol
Matt Jones
17 Nov 07 at 12:48 pm
[...] Mcqueen had a guest blog on Garry Conn’s blog, where she says about networking offline to strengthen your online identity; It is true that your loyal readers can provide friendship and partnership in future. I liked the [...]
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17 Nov 07 at 12:49 pm
Mark – Glad you liked the post! Thanks! It sure is wonderful to make online connections – and even better when you can meet the “real” people behind those blogs! Maybe one day I’ll get to meet you and Garry!
Garry – Haha! I sure do, but you know what’s funny? I tend to email those folks more than actually call them! I guess deep down I’ll always be a geek!
David – Thank you! Glad you liked the article!
Matt – Thanks! I’ve found that when bloggers meet, blogging is the #1 topic; however, we usually talk about lots of other things too! It’s interesting to find out what each person enjoys doing (other than blogging, which is a given). We’ve discussed other activities and found new people to do them with! Oh, and it never fails – if there is a group of bloggers, at least one of them brings a laptop! I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been having drinks at a bar – with a laptop in use!!
Tish
17 Nov 07 at 4:03 pm
Wow! My article was linked! Thank you!
Tish
17 Nov 07 at 4:05 pm
Great article, Tish. As Garry put it, you definitely are the Social Queen. I even took your advice and checked out our local paper’s website, found some blogs and started commenting. We’ll see what happens.
Nice job getting Tish to guest-blog, Garry! This type of angle really adds a nice compliment to your always-informative content.
Andrew
17 Nov 07 at 5:37 pm
Andrew,
Thanks for the compliment on the article that Tish wrote as well as the compliments on my blog. I am glad to have you here as a reader.
Garry Conn
17 Nov 07 at 6:38 pm
Great Post Tish! Now I know how much it matters to have some friends have own blogs
Too bad it’s hard for me to find some bloggers around my area.
-Mike
Mike Huang
17 Nov 07 at 6:58 pm
Mike – Thanks! I’m sure there are some out there! Check out your newspaper!
Tish
17 Nov 07 at 9:11 pm
Hi, Garry! Be sure to check out my latest post when you have a minute.
Tish
17 Nov 07 at 9:59 pm
Hey Tish,
Great post. I had never even considered looking in my local paper for other bloggers. I’m going to have to check into this, I might be surprised by the number of bloggers in this area.
Very cool.
Christine Senter
18 Nov 07 at 12:24 am
Christine, thanks! I hope you find lots of local blogs!
Tish
18 Nov 07 at 2:06 am
What a great post Tish! Whilst reading it, I did a few quick searches on Google for any other bloggers in my locality, there’s not that many for the looks of things, but I’ll certainly be contacting the ones that I’ve found and look to do some networking.
Great stuff, never even considered this before!
Zath
18 Nov 07 at 8:42 am
[...] Using Offline Networking to Strengthen Your Online Identity, Written By Tish McQueen [...]
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18 Nov 07 at 8:35 pm
[...] the blog over to my readers. This has been a huge success! So far, I have published a post from Tish and David. Both were amazing and very [...]
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19 Nov 07 at 1:33 am
Zath – Thank you so much! Good luck with the local bloggers!
Oh! Another link to my article! Thanks!
Tish
20 Nov 07 at 12:22 am