How to Approach A Potential Linking Source

I know you've come across blog posts online which you really liked.

That's great!

So why not use this to your advantage?

Instead of just reading the post and not taking it any further - take it further!

Contact the person who created the post.

Tell them what specifically you liked about the post.

Then you can tell them you'd like to link to their post on your blog (if you want to)

Then the ball is in their court!

But if you don't want to wait for them to "grant" you permission to link to their blog you can link to it to begin with and then say in your comment:

I hope you don't mind but I really loved your post and linked to it on my blog. If for any reason you'd like me to remove the link just let me know.

If the blogger has a direct way to contact them such as an email or a contact form use that, but if they don't you can make a comment at the bottom of the blog post. Generally these comments are moderated by the bloggers themselves so they'll read your comment.

Wait what about the potential linking source you mentioned in the title?

Well because you're linking to something you like, there's no harm in it, and it may additionally earn you a link from the blogger you linked to.

Of course you're leaving it up to them to decide to link to your blog or suggest it to their readers and/or friends.

But I find this non-pushy approach is much nicer than saying "If you link to me I'll link to you" - that just reminds me of a second-grader mentality. Why not just link to them because you enjoyed it?

Not asking for a link could = getting a link

Who knew?

Creating wacky approaches for you,
CB Webmaster

P.S. If you want to link to a specific post you liked you may want to make a brief blog post about it. Here's what I suggest.

Triggered Ideas

So a lot of my posts come as spin-offs from my other posts and others are triggered ideas from something I read.

So how do I get these triggered ideas?

It's really this simple:

1. Whenever you can visit blogs that have similar content to your blog.

2. Scan through their blog postings archive.

3. When a headline catches your eye as appealing click on it.

4. Now you're going to scan the text quickly for key words that trigger a thought of your own. It's important that you don't actually read the blog post because then you'll just start to assimilate that person's ideas and that can lead you down a treacherous road.... so instead just briefly scan the text for the words that trigger a thought of your own.

5. Okay so now you have a word that triggered your own thought and you're going to get a whole slew of ideas related to that triggered thought. So now you go directly to your blog and begin writing your post. Wait no rough draft? Nope! Blogging is supposed to be spontaneous! Get it all out! Then you can go back and "pretty it up" - proofreading and editing your post so it's clearer - as your thought may not always look as well on paper as it sounded in your mind - just rewrite it until it conveys the message you want it to.

That's it! Wait, what about blog etiquette? Don't I have to link back to the URL of the post that "triggered" my idea?

Here's my guideline for this situation - as long as you didn't read the post and use the ideas that person had in their post in your post then there's no need to link back (unless of course you just want to share it with your readers).

However, if you didn't listen to me and read their entire post and found yourself referring to some of the points they brought up then yes definitely hyperlink to them in your blog posting and you can even thank them for their contribution if you want!

So there you have it! A new way to generate many new ideas for your very own blog postings!

Not as cheeky as you thought,
CB Webmaster

P.S. You can also pay attention to cues in your environment. I was just looking at a hole in my sock and it gave me an idea for a whole blog post - read it here.

P.P.S. Don't forget to bookmark the blogs that give you triggered ideas - so you can always go back for more!

Your Philosophy Affects Your Success!

I've spoken many times about my "philosophy" which is about coming from a place within yourself where you want the best in life - not just for yourself but for everyone.

Well I came across an article today that really hits that point in terms of blogging:

Want. Want. Want. Blogging is About Giving.

It's pretty great to get a confirmation like that!

It's almost like realizing that what you're thinking is not only in your mind - that there are people "out there" who also grasp the same concepts/experiences.

I guess that's why people get so much out of support systems.

It's a way of reassuring ourselves that we're on the right track.


Hope this helps,
CB Webmaster

P.S. With this perspective I believe you can create success for your blog.

Hey that's MY idea!

When you get ideas - a lot of times they are triggered by something you read from someone else online - that's okay. But I like to do the following:

Provide a hyperlink to the blog posting/article that inspired me within the content of my blog posting.

Why?

Well because:

1. It's nice to give credit where it's due (we do live in a society afterall ppl! lol Common decency is making a comeback or so I hope :)

2. You are providing a solid helpful link to your readers.

Which creates happy readers because they just got a helpful link handed to them without having to do any of the leg work to locate it! (look closely and you will see your readers jumping for joy and nodding their heads - "Yep that's what we want!")

And what do happy readers mean? More Rss subscription sign-ups, more references, more links to your blog posting, etc, etc, etc. This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

3. It gives me an easy way to return to the original posting whenever I want! (My very own personalize bookmark system!) I can always go to the blog and at the top of each blog there is a Search button to search within the blog which will easily locate the bookmark for me in the event that I forget which posting it was in.

Just think - your bookmarks can travel with you whereever you go instead of sitting uselessly at home while you're off and about having a good time! Put those lazy little buggers to use! lol Give them their walking papers...oops I mean shoes :)

Oh and in case I didn't mention it don't just rip off other people's ideas (see note above on common decency). I'm talking about using their posts as jump off point for your own idea.

Respectfully yours,

CB Webmaster