This is the latest installment of Dear WordCount, an advice column that answers your questions about writing, blogging and running a freelance
Dear WordCount:
I am new to blogging. I found my blog listed on a blogroll last night. I have never interacted with the person and I don’t know how they found my blog. This blog is the first one that I have encountered that has material related to mine. Does the person wants to be helpful? Or is the person trying to benefit in some way? I did notice they have over 80 websites in their blogroll. Is this just a normal part of blogging and what people are supposed to do? I’m also curious what normal etiquette is in this situation. Do I say thanks? Or should the other blog owner have said, “By the way, I linked to your blog?”
Thanks,
Susan
Dear Susan,
It’s common practice to include blogs that similar to your own in a blogroll. A blogroll is a list of blogs that typically appears in a left- or right-hand column on the front page of a blog. People use blogrolls to link to resource they think their readers would find helpful, or to other blogs that cover the same ground they do.
If someone’s included your blog on their blogroll, it’s a sign they consider you legitimate and a part of the community of bloggers who write about the same thing. Be flattered, especially since you say your blog is very new.
“They probably just thought your blog was cool. Blogrolls to me are just a way to tell people what blogs you like,” says Dylan, who like you is taking part in the 2011 WordCount Blogathon.
Turn a blogroll into an opportunity
You could turn this into an opportunity to build up traffic to your own blog, which is another perfectly acceptable practice. Start by reading and commenting on posts written by the blogger who added you to their blogroll. If they respond, build up a rapport so that one day when you write a post you’re especially proud of you’re comfortable asking them to leave a comment. That could lead to swapping guest posts.
Blogrolls fallen out of favor with some professional bloggers for a variety of reasons. In recent months, I’ve cut mine back substantially to a list of essential resources that I think freelance writers should know about. I also minimized it because it’s not a heavily traffic area of my website and I’d rather have people reading my posts than linking out to other places.
Still, blogrolls serve their purpose, and many people still cultivate them. If you’re just starting out and want to establish yourself, a blogroll’s a good way to do it.
Here are some more tips on setting up and using blogrolls:
- What is a blogroll (About.com)
- Blogrolls – Yes or no? (Success Blognet)
- Free tool: build outreach lists from blogrolls (BuzzStream)
- Are blogrolls defunct? (Performancing)
- Bye bye blogrolls (Fernando Gros)
What do you think: Do you have a blogroll ? Did you have one but dropped it? If you’ve kept yours, have you changed what’s on it?
It’s interesting you cut back your blog roll, and I understand that. I have some links to websites and blogs I feel are important, and I would feel funny not having any links to other sites at all. I think I would feel solipsistic – the internet is all about connection and community, and wouldn’t want someone to think I am just typing away while contemplating my own navel. (I like to look at all navels.) Secondly, some of the links I provide are to environmental sites, like Tree Hugger, and The Green Guide, because green living is my passion and I always hope people learn something new that they will implement in their own lives when they go to those types of sites. Also, in WordPress anyway, if you choose in your editor the VISUAL version instead of HTML, you will see when you input your link that they give the option of the other site opening in a new window. Which means that your own site is still there when they shut the other window. I think that helps somewhat.
Sawyer
Good observations. When I first put up a blogroll the links I put in it were a lot more random than they are today. As I honed down the subject of the blog, I did the same with the blogroll.
I also believe in the “aspirational blogroll” – in other words, link to a group of the best bloggers on the subject you write about in the hopes of eventually being one of them. It’s the old fake it til you make it mantra.
Michelle
Hi Michelle!
Sorry, this comment is unrelated (or maybe not completely) to the post but in a rush, I did not know where to send the message to you.
I am (or Blogger is) experiencing technical difficulties, and I cannot publish (nor access my account) my post for today. Does that disqualify me from the Blogathon?
Incidentally, I was going to talk about including a blogroll on tonight’s post, I cannot publish!
In panic, Joanna
Hi Joanna:
I’m aware of the situation at Blogger, although another blogathoner just tweeted that it’s back up. As long as you wrote every day you’re fine.
Michelle
Thanks for the quick reply, Michelle.
Yes, I can see my page again but it still remains only in read-only mode; as Blogger stated they are still trying to resolve some maintenance issues.
I officially missed posting for WordCount Blogathon on the 12th of May, since it is now 1: 00 am here in the Netherlands. 🙁 It is for me a personal let down since I had the goal of 365 days of continuous blogging.
It was a factor I did not consider – technical issues!
Should I simply publish the post meant for the 12th today together with that of the 13th?
Again, my apologies if I am not channeling all these questions at the appropriate post/email for it! I will do it next time.
Besides being flattered, I think the owner of the blogroll should also advise the blogger who wrote the posts..