How to Be a Good Blogging Neighbor (While Also Helping Your Own Blog)

One of my favorite parts of being a blogger is that competitiveness is relatively low. Instead of fighting for one top spot, multiple bloggers can all be at the top together. In fact, helping each other out can really help yourself along the way. So what’s the downside to being a good blogging neighbor? As far as I can tell, there isn’t one. If you’re looking for ideas to help other bloggers, check out of a few of these:

1. Write winning comments on others’ blogs. One of a blogger’s many goals is inspiring engagement with his or her audience. When you read a blog post by another blogger, leave a helpful comment. What is a “helpful” comment? One that goes beyond “hey, great post.” Give specific feedback, ask questions, or relate to the post in some personal way. Bonus – writing comments on someone else’s blog helps your blog’s SEO and traffic.
2. Create tutorial posts with blogging advice. Share your wisdom. Don’t worry about giving away your secrets; in blogging, the attitude you should have is not competing with other bloggers, but learning from them and helping them. Telling other bloggers how you organize your schedule, create graphics, and drive traffic will not decrease your success; it can actually increase it, because you will become a blogging authority.
3. Follow other bloggers on social media, especially with your blogging accounts. Many bloggers believe it is common courtesy to follow back, so you will be growing your fans at the same time.
4. Share posts from other bloggers on your social media accounts. Doing this will definitely score you brownie points with other bloggers, but it’s also good social media practice: social media experts suggest sharing 20% of your own content and 80% of outside content on your accounts. Moving beyond self-promotion will make your audience happy, your spotlighted bloggers happy, and, in turn, you happy!
5. Host link parties, guest bloggers, and blog hops as a way of sharing your audience with other bloggers. All three of those methods help grow the traffic, SEO, and audience of other bloggers (as well as yourself). It will also expand the content on your own blog so that your readers get a little more diversity.
6. Share content from other bloggers on your blog. You can do this through a simple backlink, or you can create a roundup blog post. This is where you gather all blog posts of a similar topic into one of your blog posts. Make sure you include a hyperlink to each blog post!
7. Create a directory of your favorite blogs or blogs similar to yours on your sidebar. You can also share your favorite blogs by creating an account and following other blogs on BlogLovin’. Anyone who follows you on BlogLovin’ can see the blogs you follow as well.
8. Create a blogging community. You can do this through social media groups (on Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn), and you can also gather bloggers in your region to meet up in real life. You can share advice, as well as pass along information for locally-inspired posts or opportunities for local sponsorship.

Bonus: If you host your blog on WordPress, use the CommentLuv plugin. Whenever someone comments on your blog, the title of the last post they wrote on their blog will show up with their comment.

What are some ways you try to be a good blogging neighbor? You can practice here by commenting below!