I often talk about how blogging is all about relationships and how we shouldn’t forget our current readers while trying to attract new readers. Today is no different. Once again, I’m telling you that blogging is all about relationships. You can be a poor writer, but as long as you’re able to connect with your readers and other bloggers in a manner that provokes response and friendships, you can succeed as a blogger. Don’t believe me? I see it all the time. I’m not prepared to name names, but I can list more than a handful of professional bloggers whose writing skills are atrocious. They have 10,000 subscribers and a full time income from blogging, but they can’t learn to spell check or proof their copy. But their poor writing skills are no barrier to their success, because they’re able to master the art of online relationships and communication.

Today, I want to talk about specific ways in which you can build relationships with your readers and other bloggers. Specific things I look for whenever I come across a new blog.

It was my good friend and fellow Northern UK Blogger, Andrew Rickmann from WP Fun who inspired this post. Back in October, Andrew wrote in response to my post, “What Area of Blogging Do You Struggle With the Most?“. In his comment, Andrew said:

“My main problem with relationships seems to be that I never think of a reason to contact someone, on the other hand when people contact me I am wary of being taken advantage of.”

6 Ways to Build the Relationship

Whenever somebody writes a new comment on my blog or I find a new blog in some other manner, here are the six things I look for to bolster our future relationship.

Facebook

I immediately scan their blog for any links to their Facebook profile. I usually find these in the sidebar, footer or about page. If I don’t find one, I’ll sometimes head to Facebook itself and search for them there.

Twitter

Like Facebook, I search for any links to Twitter. Twitter really is a fantastic communication portal. I’ve lost count of the many relationships I’ve built during conversations with new people.

Broken Link

I always make a point of reading lots on a blog I’ve just found. I take the time to really get to know the blogger, the topic the blogger is writing about and the current readers. During this process, I often find a broken link or two. If I do, I always email the author to tell him or her about the problem.

As a Web developer for seven years, I can only guess at the amount of times I’ve been on a site I manage only to come across a link that has been broken for six months. If only a reader had taken the time six months ago to email me via the Web site contact form to let me know.

Each time I do get an email from somebody, I’m forever thankful. It really does make my job easier and improve the experience for other readers. So if you find a broken link, don’t just skip by. Take two minutes of your time to notify the blog author and start building a relationship in the process.

Broken Image

In much the same way as a broken link is a pain for readers and authors alike, so is a broken image. I often find these in RSS feeds where the author has forgotten to use a full URL to the image. Again, take the time to tell the author. They’ll appreciate it more than you know.

Send Your Compliments

I occasionally contact bloggers just to tell them how much I enjoy their blog design or their writing style. But only when I truly mean it and their design or writing style is truly exceptional. The key to building relationships is not in contacting people for the sake of doing so, but in being completely open and honest.

Ask a Question

Is the blogger using a plugin you like? Are they using some exceptional stock photography but you’re unsure of the source? Then ask. Bloggers don’t mind answering questions from readers because it means they get to build their relationship with you. Ask questions. Send feedback. And generally be a good friend.

Whatever the reason for contacting the blogger, do so honestly. Do so with no motive other than to help and assist. If you go in to blogs with the mind set of sending “Great design” comments to everybody in a bid to build a relationship, you’re not going to get very far before your calculated ways are weeded out.

Don’t contact bloggers for the sake of doing so. But do contact a blogger if there’s a honest reason to do so.

Outside of social media (Facebook/Twitter), the relationship should not be a forethought, but an afterthought.

Do you ever contact bloggers to tell them about a broken blog? How do you build relationships with your new commentators? Let us know in the comments!