Friend Friday: Rules of Engagement

A number of bloggers have reached out to me recently about how to deal with Tweets, emails, DMs etc… from people who seem to be only pushing their own blog. It got me thinking – for a new blogger the rules of engagement with others in the blogging world is uncharted territory. We learn a lot about how to do it from trial and error.  – Katy of Modly Chic

I’m not a new blogger, but I definitely am a newbie to the fashion blogging world.  So this week’s FBFF questions really made me think about what I do and why I’m doing it.  Maybe it will prompt others out there to do the same blogger soul-searching.

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?

The first time I got a “guest spot”, I did it purely by accident.   If I do a review or feature on a product, service, band, artwork or another blog, then I will email that person and let them know that I did a feature post.  I do it just to let them know I enjoyed whatever service they provided.  In turn, my blog post is shared with their company or friends and that gives my blog just a little more exposure.  For example, I wrote a review regarding my experience at a night club after seeing Alan Wilder perform a show and sent it to the publicity department of the venue.  This was just to let them know what a great time I had at their beautiful club and nothing else.  The publicity person contacted me back to ask if it was ok to  feature my post in their concert review section (see the post here).

Leaving comments is essential to growing your blog. But how can you leave a comment without coming across as ‘Follow Me. Follow Me!’?

I don’t leave a comment with the intent of anyone following my own blog or to sprinkle my link around.  I do it because I like the blog I’m reading and I am making a comment in support what that person said.  I think if you comment with only the intent of getting your blog “out there”, then you will come across as if you are desperate to have people follow you.

We’ve all gotten a mass email at one time or another asking for blog exposure, a link exchange, etc… But the mass emails don’t work. How do you make your email stand out from the crowd?

I believe that I only sent any mass emails through Facebook when I was first getting my blog started so that my friends could see my new endeavor.  I really believe that if you are genuine in your intentions, that will shine through in your correspondence.  Check out my answer in the first question because I think that answers how I make my emails stand out.

In interacting with other bloggers where do you draw the line between seeking support and begging for exposure?

I think what Kristy (of Full Time Fabulous) did is a perfect example of how to gain support without begging for exposure.  When she was in the final 10 for the Sunglass Hut blogger contest, I remember getting just 1 email from her through IFB, and that’s all I needed to get behind her so that I could show support.  She did all the rallying through her blog, and I didn’t feel like she was begging.

What’s one rule of engagement error you made and how have you remedied that?

Not knowing when to quit.  I was trying to get an album/CD review read by an artist’s publicity person so that it could be added to their official page somehow.  I received a response back regarding my first email, and tried to keep corresponding with her to make sure she didn’t forget about me.  After the 5th email, she finally said, “Do you know how many bloggers are requesting the same thing?  I’ll get to you when I can…”  That stopped me dead in my tracks.  It was then that I realized I can request twice at the most, then just stop.   If you don’t hear back, you don’t.

Fashion Beauty Friend Friday is a Google group for bloggers to converse on a given topic each week. Katy from ModlyChic sends the questions, bloggers post their responses and then add their post to the list of people sharing their thoughts on the subject matter. To get started, check out this great tutorial on Grit & Glamour here.

(Image:  Be true to yourself by sighgee on Polyvore.com)