Friend Friday: Rules of Engagement

I’ve decided that one of my blogging goals for the month of April is to answer Katy of Modly Chic’s Friend Friday questions consistently each Friday for the whole month! I thrive on goal-setting and love answering Katy’s thought provoking questions when I make the time, so this goal should be one the easier ones I accomplish this month!  I thought this week's questions were interesting and though I don’t think I’m any sort of authority on blogger etiquette, I’m happy to offer my opinion and point of view on these Friend Friday questions.  So here are my responses!

1. Guest Posts are a good way to gain new exposure. What do you think is the appropriate way to go about securing a guest spot? I would suggest before making requests for guest posts or anything else that you first reach out to the blogger through social media and regular commenting to build a relationship before making the request. I think most bloggers are more likely to accept requests of this nature if they are already familiar with you and have had a chance to view your blog and see if your content fits into their personal preferences and aesthetic. Everyone has their preferences, but I think making a guest post request by email is most appropriate. But just in case, you might want to look carefully at the blogger’s contact page to see if they list preferences in the ways that they want to be contacted. I think it’s also important to keep in mind how far of a reach/popularity the blogger has before making a guest post request. If a blogger is highly popular, it might be difficult for the blogger to agree to every guest post request because of time contraints even if the blogger really enjoys your content and would like to support you as a fellow blogger.
2. Leaving comments is essential to growing your blog. But how can you leave a comment without coming across as ‘follow me’? You want to remain consistent and authentic in your blog comments as you are in your blog content. It's helpful to stay on topic and say something that offers to the discussion before addressing any personal things like requesting someone to 'follow' you. I don’t mind if bloggers ask me to ‘follow them’ but it’s not really necessary because I really do make an effort to follow you or at least stop by your blog and visit if you take the time to comment.
3. We’ve all gotten a mass email at one time or another asking for blog exposure, a link exchange, etc. But mass emails don’t work. How do you make your email stand out from the crowd? Taking the time to build a rapport with bloggers before ‘cold emailing’ them makes you stand out from the crowd in my opinion.  I don't think any blogger at any level really appreciates impersonal 'form' emails.
4. In interacting with other bloggers, where so you draw the line between seeking support and begging for exposure? I love the sense of community that blogging usually fosters and as in every community, there is nothing wrong with seeking support. As long as there is a sense of balance and you are not always asking for support/help but also offering it as well, then you are fine.
5. What’s one rule of engagement error you have made and how have you remedies that? I wouldn’t call it an error, but because of time constraints, I don’t always get to comment on all of the lovely blogs I read. I try to comment as often as possible on blogs I enjoy, but there are only so many hours in the day and as much joy as I get from blogging, I do have other things that require my time and attention.  I've built in time each day to catch up on commenting and blog visiting and that has helped me to be a bit more consistent.  I'm also working to be more consistent with my social media presence because that is also integral to successful blogging these days.  As a frequent subway rider, I sure wish my phone worked on the DC Metro so I could catch up on commenting during my commute!

 If you are interested in participating in Friend Friday, visit Modly Chic for more details.