Saturday, April 16, 2011

N is for Networking

Networking is a very important and useful element of the internet. This blog challenge is an excellent method for networking even.


Event reminder:
My epic giveaway is still going on until May. Thanks to this blog challenge and some promoting, this blog went from about 188 followers to 225. I thought having just 200 would be super amazing so my mind is boggled over the 225 number. Still time to enter to win prizes. There is a US form and an International form, and the more people that enter the better and more prizes I can give away.
Epic 2 year 2 blog Giveaway


Blogfests:
I don't do many on this blog for a reason but I do enter all kinds of blogfests over on my It's In The Book blog. They are great ways to gain followers and meet other bloggers. In fact, before my epic giveaway on this blog, the second one was ahead in followers even though I've only had that blog for a year. Hosting blogfests is also very fun. My last blogfest, the Broken Hearts blogfest, had 39 blogs linked to those taking part in it. Aside from just the blogging side, I can also see that I'm getting fans of my writing by having those entries posted on the blog. It's just a great source of fun and networking for blogs.


Twitter:
It's a crazy weird form of networking but it's hard not to talk about it. Sure some of us post random tweets about things like our cats or things that followers probably don't care about (so guilty of both) but it is a way to keep in contact. My sister keeps in touch with me sometimes on twitter even, like asking when she is going to get her nook back. I also keep in touch with writing friends, some beta readers and then there are random people who follow me. And twitter I am even more confused about why they are following me but some of them are really cool. I do know a couple agents and other industry people are following my blog, which is exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. Not everyone will like twitter  but that's okay.


FB/Myspace/etc:
These types of sites can be used for networking as well, though I rarely use any. I have a facebook page but not linked to my writing self. I keep in contact with family there but sign in maybe once every couple of weeks. Yet, I have learned at the book blogger & publisher conference that FB is a good source for networking and promoting a review blog.


Conferences/Conventions:
These are great for networking both online and in person. Online cons are a little different since it involves chatrooms, forums, sometimes live discussions recorded, but it's still all online. In person is a whole different playing field. As a writer and even as a blogger, it can be good to go out of the house every now and then to meet people that doesn't involve typing on the computer. I have had some great times at conferences and can't wait till the next ones. I'm trying to go to 2-3 conferences this year even though I'm low on funds. We'll see what happens. Number one goal is the SCBWI summer conference in LA.



How do you network?
What would you recommend to others in particular?

9 comments:

mooderino said...

So far blogging is my only netwworking venture, and it's quite time consuming. Not sure I could do any of the others without my writing suffering. Not sure how others find the time. Is there a secret time management system I don't know about?
-mood
Moody Writing

Spanj said...

I'm a total networking addict spending all my time when I'm not at work on Blogger, Twitter and Facebook. You're right, this Blog Challenge has been great for networking.

Allison said...

I'm surprised by how many new followers I've gotten through this blogfest - as well as new blogs I've found! Going in I just thought it'd be fun to push myself to have a theme every day. I'll definitely take a break before participating in another, but I love finding new blogs this way!

I'm on Twitter too, and I love having conversations with people that way, but I know I'm not maximizing what I could be getting out of it. But it's fun so I'm not complaining!

I'm not into FB or Myspace or anything. I used to use them for personal pages, and even that annoyed me, so I think I'll stick with my blog and Twitter.

Conferences interest me, but I still feel too amateur to attend them. Especially SCBWI!! I'll work my way up to that.

And now that my comment is as long as your post... (sorry!)

- allison writes

James Garcia Jr said...

Hi, Dawn. I remember when my first novel was about to be published and my publisher said, "Of course you'll have to have a blog". I had no clue then. Now I'm all over the place, hoping that I can find the precious time to visit them all and keep the virtual spiderwebbing off of them.
*sigh*
Thanks for asking.

-Jimmy

Sarah Allan said...

Ooh, good N, Dawn! Networking was one of the Ns I considered doing but I changed my mind. I like how you went over other things like conferences instead of just the social networking sites like Twitter. I need to get more involved in the networking aspect, because that's one of the main reasons I started blogging...to put my name out there, meet new people, and be seen as well. :-)

Dawn Embers said...

mooderino - Blogging is a good one and yes, very time consuming.If there is a time management secret, let me know too!

Angeline - Good to know I'm not the only one that might be an addict. This challenge is great but I need to work a little harder at commenting.

allison - It is amazing with the followers from the challenge and the new blog. It is fun to have to do the different posts for each day. Have a good break. With conferences: I started off small and that really helped me get used to them and each year try to go to one now.

James Garcia Jr - Hi. Glad you're here and hope you find time. That can be tough to find balance with networking and doing everything else.

Sarah Allan - Thanks. I hope I'll see you around in the "networks". ;-)

Denise Covey said...

Hey there Dawnie! Well I'm glad you liked Nepal, but yes I can understnad NZ. i would have loved to have done that but I'm going there for another letter!

Great networking post. Love it. Twitter is my fave.

Denise<3

Anonymous said...

I have to get down to networking at some stage...great post. I blog, fb and tweet, but just not too much yet.

Dawn Embers said...

Denise! - NZ has another name? I'm probably not going to know it beforehand but oh well. Thanks for commenting on this one. I like twitter too.

damyantiwrites - Thanks. It has taken me time getting used to it all. Time management is always a good thing to work out with networking and other life stuff.