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How Can Bloggers Support Each Other?


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Editor's Note: I just created a forum called: Bloggers Helping 

Bloggers Helping BloggersBloggers: http://aalbc.it/bloggershelpingbloggers 

To continue the sharing of ideas over the long term.

 

The goal of the Blogging database on Huria Search is to help readers discover a Blog they will enjoy.  I just emailed all of the bloggers (well 127 out of 195) in the database to solicit ideas on ways we can collaborate and provide mutual support and improve of Blog's readership, revenue, or any factor we deem to be an important measure of success.

If you are a Blogger and did not get my message you may read it here.  

If you would like to add your Blog to our database you may enter it here: http://www.huria.org/blogs/addnewblogform.html

So, how can bloggers support each other?  Let us know by replying.

Edited by Troy
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I am happy to add my brain power to this discussion. I won't vent because you have described the problem well .  I'd love to participate in the development of a strategy that does a better job of raising more of us from obscurity. I do not know exactly what a webring is but let's talk.

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I am happy to add my brain power to this discussion. I won't vent because you have described the problem well .  I'd love to participate in the development of a strategy that does a better job of raising more of us from obscurity. I do not know exactly what a webring is but let's talk.

I am Patricia from www.PatriciaAPatton.com

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Hi Patricia and Missy if you create an account (upper right hand side of the page) you won't have to posts as "guests" and say who you are each time you reply.

Patricia, a webring was basically group of sites linking one to another is such a way that a reader could visit each site by clicking on a link to go to the next website, and the next ,and ultimately return to the first site in the virtual ring of website; hence the name.  At any rate, it was a 90's solution.  We could probably come up with some better ideas.  Here are a few of my own:

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1 - Free Banner Advertising 
I was thinking about having each blog create a banner ad which would display an advertisement for each blog.  The ad could be placed on web website every time the website's page is loaded a different banner for a website could appear.  Of course some Blogs are more suitable for banner advertisements than others, but that is a detail that can be worked out it people are interested in the idea.

Some Blogs only have a few inbound links.  This idea would create 195 more, which would raise everyone's profile.  In would perform better than a paid ad--because it could be done at no cost to the participants.

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2 - Share and Comment
Another idea that comes to mind is the we could all commit to commenting or sharing infor a direct Blog or a regular basis, monthly weekly or even daily.  Some of us are on social media everyday, why not invest in our own properties.  The idea is not to force people to comment just to be commenting, but to find an article that truly interests you share it with other likely to appreciate it and make a comment.

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3 - Aggregated Feed 
I was thinking about creating an aggregated feed of everyone's Blog, publishing it on Huria, and making it available to others.  Maybe the feed could be segmented by category so that readers can customize what the read.  This could actually be monetized, converted into a mobile ap, and more.

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These are just a few ideas off the top of my head.  The first two could be done tomorrow.  The effectiveness of each is really dependent upon participation--the more the better. Two sites working together can help we each--imagine if it were 100 or even 200.  

In some of these scenarios the larger, more established Blogs, will not benefit has much and the smaller newer blogs--but they will benefit.  I mention this because often the larger blogs/websites (I include my own in this category), are reluctant to participant in these activities.  The general feeling, as expressed to me, is that the larger sites have worked hard to get where they are and that the smaller websites will just benefit without putting the work in.  I understand this sentiment.

But I also understand that it is highly inefficient (unprofitable) for each and every website to have to learn everything on their own or pay a corporation.  This only impoverishes indie Black Blogs, which weakens Black voices on the web.  It also takes resources away from creating great content and redirects that energy into things like social media marketing, which for a content provider just cannibalizes your site's content and enriches whatever social media platform you are using

Finally, if there is indeed enough interest to pursue these collaborative efforts.  I'm happy to create a secret group here where we can honestly flesh out ideas and strategies.  

I think the effort will be worth it--when is investing in yourself not?

 

 

 

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Chris that is a good idea and requires no coordination, just a desire to support.

Many of the websites in the database already link to other websites.  Some have a long lists.  I'd like to see the links but also like increase the number of times those links are seen by readers. Traffic is the fundamental problem. 

Popular sites can can help the less popular sites here but this kind of thing is hard to get very popular sites to do.

Right now we have 4 bloggers interested let see how the list of interested bloggers grow over the next few weeks. 

In the meantime, everyone, spread the word.

 

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Hi Patrica, please share the URL of your blog.

Would you mind sharing this effort with your African American Boomer Bloggers friends.  Have you considered using your blog, rather than Facebook, to manage your community? That would certainly drive more traffic (and revenue if you are into that) to your website.  Surely the boomers in your community, would understand why, this makes sense.

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I have shared with them as per earlier post. I had not considered using my blog to manage. But I like that idea although it is not immediately clear how to do that.  Also my contribution to  what can we use to drive more traffic: What about canonical URLs? Just looked them us since I received a paid offer to syndicate my travel writing

 

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I think another simple gesture is to look into adding people who share a similar voice to your blog. If you know 5 bloggers, create accounts and allow them to share their work via your site. Think of it like Medium. Bloggers share their content through Medium and through their site. Why use Medium though when you can link up with another blog and share your article in two locations still reaching a bigger group of people.

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I agree with CD Burns. The canonical URLs is a big word for syndication. It was a new word for me so pardon me acting as if it is so brand new to those of you who know this. But I understand now who this prevents Google from reading it as duplicate information versus syndication which is what I was trying to suggest.

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I'll play devil's advocate from time to time just to vet ideas as I hope people will do with things I suggest.

Chris I was not aware of Media before you mentioned it.  I just joined and posted an excerpt from one of my more popular blog posts: https://medium.com/@aalbc/only-54-black-owned-bookstores-remain-in-america-9ac086de43bc Of course I'm down with anything that leverages our own platforms over anything else.  Organized we could use Medium in a way that benefits us.  For example if everyone reading this would like or share the article I just posted, on Medium, that platform could be far more beneficial to all of us.

Patricia, I think I see what you are saying.  Technically speaking, a canonical URL is just a way to tell search engines which is the prefered URL for a page.  I handle this on my own site by using redirects.  A simple example would be my preference for aalbc.com (without the "www") so if you broswe to www.aalbc.com you would be sent to aalbc.com.

Now as far as using a canonical URL on other websites (cross domain) to boost SEO that is great if you can get other sites to do it. There would be a learning curve involved, becuase I doubt most blogger are that sophisticated.  For example Patricia, if I gave you permission to post, a book review that is already on my site.  How would you, specifically, change the canonical element on the page where you posted my book review?

 

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Patricia responding to Troy. I would ask you what your preferred URL was. I wouldn't make one up. I could not know you preferred aalbc.com to www.aalbc.com  And as to whether we could get folks to participate, because I am just starting to do it, I cannot make a judgment call about its true value except I see why it is useful such that someone would pay me to share from their site.

 

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