How My Blog Turbo Powers My LinkedIn Connections . . .
Read More: How My Blog Turbo Powers My LinkedIn Connections]]> This week we’re having some fun in the b5media Business Channel doing a “blog scramble”, with everyone doing guest posts on another blog in the channel. My guest blogger is the inimitable Liz Strauss of Successful Blog, explaining how a well-done blog can enhance your network.

How My Blog Turbo Powers My LinkedIn Connections
a guest post for Linked Intelligence by Liz Strauss

I’ve been on LinkedIn for more than 2 years now. I’ve got my fair share of connections, though you would never call me an Open Networker. I’m belong to a forum for LinkedIn members from Chicago and will be attending my first event next week with that group. Yet, If you ask, I’ll tell you the most powerful connection I have to LinkedIn is sitting in my profile in this section.

It’s my blog.

If you want to know who I am, what I look like, what I know about business, marketing, social media, my blog is a 3,000 page organized archive library that serves as an interactive resume. It’s by no means a writing project or a magazine. Blogging is relationships. People stop in for a conversation in the comment box we get to know each other well and deeply enough that often we find ways to do business.

Most of the connections and all of the recommendations on my LinkedIn account are folks that I’ve met though my blog. Blogging offers a chance to share thoughts about business and get responses from intelligent readers. It’s a share something I know and have a conversation about it. The people I meet on my blog often become friends and colleagues. I find them daily on the other end of telephone conversations. They are the folks who are my LinkedIn connections.

When I look at LinkedIn, I see a powerful tool for leveraging connections. That leverage is so much more powerful when first-level connections all have been part of a shared conversation. Then when I ask for an introduction or a recommendation, the folks in my network know who they’re sending and what to say to highlight my best impressions.

My blog has extended the number of my authentic relationships exponentially. I’m talking about people I know and people who know me — not Vcards. Those authentic relationships are my LinkedIn Network. They’re the ones who support me, introduce, and connect me to other great folks much like they are. It’s that base of people who know me that make my LinkedIn Network solid, fun, and sleek to navigate. It’s turbo-powered by the relationships that started on my blog.

Liz Strauss, community builder, product analyst, and social web strategist, writes for Successful-Blog.

I’ve been chatting with a few bloggers of late who’ve been feeling a little down in the dumps about their blogging – so perhaps everyone could do with a little lift.

Lets spend today doing a few random acts of kindness and . . .
Read More: Blogger Appreciation Day April 14]]> Problogger’s Darren Rowse has declared Monday, April 14, Blogger Appreciation Day, saying:

I’ve been chatting with a few bloggers of late who’ve been feeling a little down in the dumps about their blogging – so perhaps everyone could do with a little lift.

Lets spend today doing a few random acts of kindness and encouragement for our fellow bloggers.
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[T]ake a moment to email another blogger and to thank them for something that you’ve appreciated about what they’ve done lately. In a sense it’s a ‘Pay it Forward’ exercise.
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We’re in it together, blogging is about collaboration and together going further than we can by ourselves – so why not help another blogger today by shooting them a word of encouragement, a pep talk, a congratulations, an idea to help them improve or some other positive constructive message. Better still, do it publicly on your blog and tell the world about another blogger who you appreciate.

Great idea. This is something we should really be doing all the time, but it’s nice to have someone highly visible provide a reminder and some focus on it.

Here are a couple of ideas on how to implement this with LinkedIn:

1. Connect with the bloggers you know. Now just because you read someone’s blog doesn’t mean they know you well enough to feel comfortable connecting on LinkedIn. If you do know each other well, just send a LinkedIn invitation (remember to personalize it — make it your thank-you message). If you’re not sure about it, contact them via email first and ask them if they’d like to connect.
2. Give them a recommendation. Show your appreciation publicly — put it on their profile. Be specific and relevant — don’t just gush. Be sure to read Naina Redhu’s LinkedIn recommendation tips first. Also, I generally recommend that people put their blog as a separate position on their profile, unless it’s an integral part of their primary job. If the bloggers you’re connected to haven’t done that, you might like to suggest that to them so that you can make a recommendation in the context of their blog rather than their primary job.

Image by Liz Hiers via stock.xchng