Why Blogging Is About Community Not Competition?
This is a guest post by James King of BetterStartBlogging.com. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.
Are you blogging for money? Do you blog with burning ambition to aniline every blog that crosses your path? Are driven to monopolize the blogosphere with your content? Whatever your ambitions are blogging needn’t be so competitive.
Misconception of blogging
Billions of blogs exist on the internet. Many perish from the lack of: enthusiasm; interest; abundance or financial gain. The glamorization of blogging makes the medium attractive towards selected “entrepreneurial wannabes” that assume making a colossal sum of money is attainable in record time.
Reality of blogging
Successful bloggers realize that competition is guaranteed. It is crucial to focus on your reader’s needs. Blogging is about developing and serving communities rather than worrying about competition. The successful bloggers focus their efforts on solving problems. Answers to problems are more valuable and readers will acknowledge great content.
The significance of an online community
The online communities created by bloggers have little boundaries. A strong online community can provide a variety of benefits including:
-
An environment that encourages learning and sharing ideas
-
An environment that has no boundaries geographically
-
An environment where people can network and develop lasting relationships
-
Opportunities to find work or participate in a project
The selfless blogger is the successful blogger
Selflessness is a trait to becoming a success. Blogging is about creating trust and rapport with fellow bloggers and their audiences. A provider of value in any marketplace is on the road to prosperity. Bloggers that develop a selfless attitude by enriching online communities with their experience and wealth of knowledge will forge stronger relationships and networks online.
Blogging provides opportunities to contribute and build rich learning environments. Web 2.0 allows bloggers to comment and create conversation.
An active community is a stronger community
Providing assistance in an active community will provide you with opportunities to be recognized as a specialist. Web 2.0 has given everybody the opportunity to express their view online. Everybody is entitled to their views look at Facebook. People yearn to belong to a community and bloggers that don’t participate in any groups are overlooking huge potential to grow their blog. Bloggers shouldn’t consider joining other communities just to promote themselves. The purpose of joining a community is to provide answers to problems. Have you noticed why forums are so popular? Look at Yahoo Answers.
Two ways to contribute to a blogging community
-
Commenting
The easiest and less time consuming method is comment on blog posts. Blog post commenting has many benefits, but most importantly you are contributing to a learning rich facility. After a few weeks of commenting on a certain blog you will be impacting on a community and become well-known with that community.
-
Guest posting
Creating an excellent guest post for a blog community takes time and needs to be planned carefully. However, the benefits for a fresh writer that has a different approach can make your readers consider content contrastingly. Your content will be viewed by a diverse audience that will appreciate some new colors to this online canvas.
A community must grow to be successful. New members must visit this online presence. A highly competitive approach to blogging is a consequence. Focusing on the number of visits you get everyday isn’t going improve your presence. Solving problems to people’s needs will. A bloggers main focal point is delivering information that helps people to succeed with their issues is the solution.
Do you contribute to an online community and focus on delivering for their readers? Do you write guest blog posts as a way of enriching a different blog? What ways to do contribute to a community? Has this post changed your mindset of blogging?
15 Responses
8.20.2010
I want to improve visitors to my blog. Will commenting improve my alexa rank ???
Second thing i want to ask that how to find guest bloggers? I want guest bloggers on my blog.
Please tell me
Alex Dumitru Reply:
September 7th, 2010 at 4:53 am
You are doing it exactly the opposite of what this article says. Alexa rank shouldn’t matter for you and it will also won’t be influenced by commenting. Try writing quality content and socialize with your readers and other bloggers.
8.20.2010
Hello Rahul,
One of the best ways to improve visitors to your blog is to write guest posts on other blogs. Build a name for yourself.
Focus on giving value to others by creating useful information to giving it other other bloggers. Looking at your blog, there is not a post or page for people to submit a post. That would be my first hint of advice.
Focusing on making an impact first of all. A quick traffic review on compete.com suggests your traffic is declining. Focus on developing content, freebies, giveaway and a reason for bloggers to stay and write to your audience.
Alexa rankings are truly a misconception of high traffic. Alexa rankings are only calucated by users that have the Alexa toolbar, but people will only advertise if your Alexa ranking is high.
Change your approach to giving. Give away decent material and for sure you’ll have the traffic you want.
Rahul Gupta Reply:
August 23rd, 2010 at 5:19 pm
Then is there any other way to get actual rank of my website so that i can competite with other competitors of mine.
8.21.2010
Community in all forms makes blogs so much better. Everyone helping everyone is what makes everything come together but ultimately if one person is being helped and not doing anything to help themselves it just makes matters worse.
James King Reply:
August 21st, 2010 at 3:58 pm
Hi Eric,
Nice to hear from you.
As people, we have a gift of helping others. But it is more difficult to help otherselves. So focus on giving in will pay off in the long-term.
I hope your well.
8.21.2010
You are right to say everything about building a community, but that’s just words that’s been said in blogs, ebooks and course, but behind the real world of blogger, almost everyone fighting for a place where they could out run other blogger.
Look, who doesn’t want to get to the top of the ladder? Everyone wants, but only one space is available, so are you going to just let someone else reach the top or do you also want to get to the top?
Although, what I said may be not right, but the fact is in every human being there is a selfishness of money, fame and reputation that’s always cannot delete in our mind and heart, so it’s really hard to build together a community.
You see, everyone who comment always had a reason behind it and guest blogging too, what’s the reason, i bet you already know.
James King Reply:
August 21st, 2010 at 4:07 pm
Hi Bad Blogger,
Firstly, I love your no-nonsense attitude. I am great respect for that, because people know they stand with you.
Everybody wants to get to the top of the ladder, although, the top of the mountain is very crowded, but there is plenty of room at the top. Even if you’re half way up the mountain you’re doing well.
I agree with you that people want “reputation, fame and money”. When I started atmmultimedia blog in 2007, I expected people to visit my site without othering any help to others.
We live in a selfish world. Guest posting has many benefits but fame, money and reputation will come later. This blog guest is a success, but I’ve communicated with 3 or 4 different bloggers.
Thinking about making loads of money in the short-term is pointless. Because you will fail. I am guest posting to network and build a reputation.
Money in its lowest form is a currency that changes in value. Although we need money, it is important to establish that building stronger relationships are more important, because from those relatinships we develop opportunities to work with others.
8.21.2010
Hey James,
Fantastic post – I have slowly come to realise this myself. Community is the key to success. You need to build a following. The nice thing about blogging is that there seems to be so many big names that each offer something slightly different and share big communities.
8.21.2010
Hello Mark,
Thank you for visiting this blog post. It is excellent that you’ve developed a mindset of “value”, I am sure as you know, the value you add the stronger your online presence will become.
I’ve had a look at your blog and you’re on the right lines. By adding value.
Excellent work. I hope you have a great weekend.
I’ll contact you on Linkedin.
8.21.2010
Great post James!
Very important to realise that the value of the community you foster and develop is more powerful than anything you could do on your own.
Of course finding the balance between building your own business and building your online presence is the hard part.
Thanks for the thoughts and the great read mate.
James King Reply:
August 22nd, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Hi Alex,
A community is the vital organ of any blog. Your readership community are people that look up to you for answers and advice.
I agree that balance is very important as well. I am pleased that you like the read.
Many thanks
8.23.2010
H James, a great post, simple but too true.
James King Reply:
August 23rd, 2010 at 11:54 pm
Hi Chris,
Thanks for the comment. You’ve done well, selling one million products in over 30 countries.
I am please you enjoyed the article.
8.24.2010
I totally agree that SEO is not all about building links for PR and SERPs sake only. It should also build reputation and pull potential traffic back to your website. Above all, it should be a give and take relationship.