Following Seth Godin's lead, Dee Barizo suggests that the most effective promotion is the promotion of others. He then proceeds to suggest three ingredients that will get others to promote you: great content, networking and time.

Personally, I think he nailed the trifecta. But it's one thing to talk about these three things, it's a completely different ballgame to execute strategies. So I thought it would be good to brainstorm some ideas in the comment section.

What do you think? What are some of the most effective ways to let others get your name/business/services out there?

Networking is a huge thing for the problogger especially with the web becoming more social. Internet business is now closely mirroring the offline business world. Whoever has the most quality contacts wins. Whoever has the most friends gets the traffic, links, subscribers, and money.

Networking helps in many ways. Whether you need quality links, marketing advice, or someone to keep you accountable, networking can help you reach your goals while also making blogging much more enjoyable. We're social creatures after all. And blogging for bucks can be a lonely endeavor.

If you're new blogger, networking is especially crucial because those early days can be discouraging. Maybe you've got some experience under your belt. However, your network is not working out as well as you had hoped for. You're not getting the links. Your current blogger friends are not responding to your emails. It's time to find better contacts.

Web apps and open source programs are not your biggest asset. Your biggest asset is your IM list, email addresses, and social media friends.

So where can you find quality bloggers to network with? Here are a couple places.

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In this article, I won't talk about how to network. There are great articles out there about that subject. Here are two that have helped me.

Ahmed just wrote a great article about 3 ways to immediately improve your networking skills. Also, check out Caroline Middlebrook's 7 Ways to Connect With People in Your Niche.

Networking is becoming more important in link building because the web is more socially oriented than before. Also, webmasters are much less likely to give links away for free. Many webmasters today know about SEO and link building. They're hesitant to freely link to a competing site. Unless you're a friend or have cash, it's hard to get links these days especially from quality sites. And cash is losing it's effectiveness, because Google's been cracking down on paid links. Many sites are cutting down on selling links.

But the biggest reason networking helps is because it forces you to focus on other people. Quality networking means taking time to know your contacts. Follow their blogs for awhile. Read their posts. Find out which subniches they're passionate about. Find out which topics they would like to learn more about.

Through networking, you can figure out what your contacts want.

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If you participated in the Performancing Treasure Hunt, then you know that the answer was: "Make a new friend every day"

At Performancing, we really believe that this is one of the keys to online success. Reach out, make friends, exchange favors, network...on a daily basis. Sure, you need the right idea, but unless people know about it...your idea ain't going nowhere.

Networking is easy. Unfortunately, there are two major obstacles that most people encounter at one point or another:

1. The Newbie Mistake

The newbie mistake is to NOT contact people like me, due to fear. Get over it. Contact me. Let me know what you want. But first, let me know what you can offer;-)

2. The Expert Mistake

The expert mistake is to grow complacent with your current network. Sure, you're successful. But networks are dynamic. All you 26-30 year olds -> you aren't the energetic younguns you used to be. Make friends with the guys and gals who are taking your place...and in doing so you'll be reinforcing your network.

Success comes from people. The more people you know, the more people you can reach. So start making friends...a new one every day, for that matter.

Promoting websites online, just like in the offline world, is about finding the right people with the right resources and having them help you get the word out. By yourself, you are nowhere near as effective as when you have a network of contacts and friends working together to help you promote your new venture.

How do we do this? There are three key steps:

1. Building the network
2. Making the right contacts
3. Leveraging the network

This article discusses the above topics and shows you how to build a network of contacts you can use to get more traffic to your website. That's not the only purpose of such a network - you can use a network in various ways - community intelligence, resource pool, business opportunities, and much more.

In short, if you want to learn how to build your social network of contacts, this article is for you. Read on...

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As a blogger residing in a third world country, networking opportunities are limited for me. Logistical problems mean that it is bloody hard to hop over to the US for conferences - and in many cases, us non-US bloggers are at a disadvantage in terms of real networking opportunities.

However, if you're a non-US blogger (or a non-US/UK blogger), there are several other networking opportunities available for you. Let's start with the easiest, managing online networking.

It goes without saying that for maximum success, you need to set goals, figure out the best way to achieve them and then get busy moving from point A to point B. It's the same with networking.

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You want to build a personal network and you are doing this via the different social services like Facebook or StumbleUpon. You try to make people your friends and you are writing personal introductions.

Don't hesitate to contact people but do it right!

The following example was in my Facebook inbox this morning. The mail is nice but it will not work as expected even if this guy is a friend of mine on Facebook already:

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Reflecting on the whole How-To build a Facebook profile issue and also about my engagement here on p.com I came to the clue that being a friendly guy helps to build your personal network.

Nothing new you say?

I am pretty sure that you read a lot of different sources and I am also pretty sure that you never blog about 95% to 99% of the things you are reading about. I propose that if you share a little bit you will get back something.

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Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIN - there are many 'new' platforms through which we can now 'network' with our peers and colleagues. In theory, you can never have enough social networks, but there has to be some limiting criteria lest we get overwhelmed and end up 'networking' 24/7 with the work piling on our virtual desks.

If a platform:

1. Keeps it simple
2. Encourages time-saving
3. Provides access to a group of like-minded people with similar interests

then it's worth adopting.

There are very few platforms that check all 3 boxes. Instant messaging (IM) has it's place (how would you get your business done without Skype?) but it's neither time-saving (you could argue that it cuts down on the lag that emails introduce but IM doesn't 'encourage' time-saving) nor does it give you instant access to a group of people (one-to-one communication).

Facebook and similar social apps have a similar problem with time. As bloggers and generally as people who have non-traditional jobs, time management is especially important. If you're going to spend 2 hours playing with facebook apps, that time's not coming back (and depending on how much you charge per hour, that's anywhere between $50 to $1000 of consulting fees lost).

Don't get me wrong - social apps are excellent networking (and marketing) tools, however if I had to drop something from my list in order to get work done those would be the first I'd drop.

I like LinkedIN a lot primarily because it keeps things simple and doesn't require too much time to keep updated or network with others. I hired the designer for Soccerlens through LinkedIN and for that alone I'm grateful because he's done an excellent job in the past year or so. I've also hired programmers and writers this way. Everyone's experiences are different but if you're getting work done in less time, why not?

Forums offer a balanced blend of all three options. You meet like-minded people, it's easier to 'switch off' and spend less time than you would IMing or Facebooking, and they're extremely simple to use.

Earlier this week I talked about 'giving more to get more' - and while that approach works great on blogs (you reach a much greater audience), the opportunity to build lasting professional relationships is a lot higher in forums. With fewer people involved, you can give each person more attention that you would be able to through a blog.

What do you think? Are forums better for networking than the newer breed of tools available to us?

Debng recently wrote of the importance of social networking. It's true. Successful probloggers are the ones who find ways to engage their readers, and enter into long-running conversations with the greater internet community (rather than spitting out monologues).

I want to suggest that there's another form of networking that most bloggers don't know the first thing about or completely ignore.

I call it selective (back)networking and here's the idea: the internet is just like any other human network. There are hierarchies of authority. If you want to be successful, you need to move up the hierarchy.

That probably sounds a bit disconcerting to some of the "democratic nature of the web" idealists out there, but there is no denying that power gets collected and wielded on the webernet. So how much power do you have?

See, what Deb says in her article is so very true. You need other people to be successful. But your network should not be an egalitarian one. Not all internet friends are created equal. Don't deceive yourself.

The key to building a (back)network is to intentionally and selectively seek out people who 1) have power and leverage 2) are smart and capable and 3) are fair in their online relationships. By building up a social "backbone" of good friends in high-places, you'll be able to execute your plans a lot faster, realize profit a lot quicker, and avoid burn-out a lot easier (ten shoulders are better than one).

"But Ryan Caldwell, you're already successful. What about those of us who are just getting started?"

Suck up and kiss ass.

That's it. That's how you get into my good graces. Start doing me favors and I'll send some love your way. Ask me to do you a favor before you've proven your worthiness to me, and I'll ignore you. Completely and utterly ignore you. But if you've got something to offer me, something that I truly benefit from...then you've got a friend.

That's how things work. I hate to speak the truth when it hurts a little. But it's gotta be spoken. People use each other. That's a fact. But this setup can be mutually benefitial and mutually rewarding.

The trick to building a selective (back)network is to identify people that you want as part of your social backbone. Bend over backwards to show that you've got something worthwhile to offer. And pretty soon your load will be lightened. You'll be in good company.

So if you're just starting out here's my advice: kiss a little ass. The payoff is huge.

A while back I wrote an article called 5 Surefire Steps To Increase Readership 300% (or more) and I remember being personally challenged by the article.

The fact is that some of those steps don't come naturally to a lot of bloggers, including me.

Since writing that blog entry, let's count how many of the "suggestions" I actually followed:

1. Interview Other Bloggers

Well, I haven't really done a single interview in the 2 months since writing that article. I am in the process of changing this by interviewing David Krug about his new approach to online business. Keep an eye out for the interview over at businesspundit.com

2. Offer To Guest Blog

Nope. Nada. Haven't done it. Guess I was waiting for an invitation.

3. Run A Carnival:

Nope. Not me. But Raj has started the Carnival of Internet Pros which I've thoroughly enjoyed. Let's hope we can keep that up.

4. Encourage Reader Participation

Hmmmm. I guess I've done an alright job with this at Performancing by asking the community some questions.

5. Become a Listener

Terrible. Terrible. Embarrassed. What else can I say. Well, that's the point of this post:

Listen and Participate

Today I asked an SEO friend, Dee Barizo, how he'd recommend launching 8 new websites that I've just started. His response? Submit to social media sites? Nope. At least not as the main strategy. Old fashioned linkbuilding? Nope, not exactly. Here's what he said:

I would have bloggers spend a lot of time commenting on other related blogs even if their content production drops. The web is becoming more social and getting those blogger contacts is gonna be more and more important, since they can give powerful contextual links (the best kind of links, by far)

Got that? Even if content production drops. Keep paying them. But redirect them to focus on building social nets that will lead to readers and niche-relevant links.

And now to satisfy the title of this post....

Three Things Bloggers Should NOT Neglect

1. Participating, daily and over long periods, in the comment sections of the popular blogs in your niche.

2. Linking *in every article* to at least two other relevant articles on related niche blogs.

3. Developing conversations with readers and other bloggers by asking questions, participating in debates, stirring up controversy, or whatever it takes.

And stop the damn monologue already;-) kk?

Liz Strauss has a fabulous article over at the Blog Herald entitled The Two Webs: Information or Relationships? I recommend that all Performancing members read it and savor it.

The basic gist of the article is that there are two webs: one structural, the other relational. The structural web is the one that a person considers when doing an analytical measurement (e.g. total links, etc.). Unlike the structural web, the relational web is the one that consists of human relationships.

Human relationships can sometimes be represented by the structural web, and algorithms rely on this sort of representation, but the structural web isn't good at differentiating structural aspects that indicate true human relationship, as opposed to manipulated structure.

The take home point of the article for me was this: those of us who are ultra-analytical tend to place excessive value in the structural web to the neglect of the relational web. We are prone to doing whatever we can to manipulate the structural web (e.g. buying and selling links), while ignoring the reason the structural web acquired value in the first place.

So why does the structural web have value? Because of the way it has been used to measure human relationships and human interests.

Ok, So what...

Well, after several years on the web, it's my view that you can ultimately achieve more success at the structural level by focusing on the relational level. Sure, focusing on the structural level is easier on the surface, but in the end, I think it takes more work, more man hours, and is a self-perpetuating monster (buy more links to sell more links).

What can you do

Here's my tip. Get the attention of high profile bloggers in your niche. That should be your number one focus for the first 12 months of blogging on a site. Screw the SERPS. Screw Google. Screw Yahoo. Screw Live. Well, not really, but don't pay attention to them. Really. Ignore them altogether.

Instead, make it your only priority for one full year to do whatever it takes to get the attention of at least one high profile blogger in your niche. Spend the 10 hours each week you would have otherwise spent on artificial linkbuilding to 1) write good articles and 2) make insightful comments on blogs in your niche.

A Recipe For Success

Focus all your energy on the following:

1. Write good original articles
2. Link out to other blogs in your niche in *every* post
3. Write articles that provide commentary or opinion on articles from other blogs (include link)
4. Comment your ass off at 3-5 other blogs in your niche (but make the comments snappy and good).
5. Once a month, write a great article that deserves to be emailed to a *great* blogger or two in your niche for critical feedback (what do you think of this article?) - Then send the email(s).

I think that with these 5 steps, you'll locate yourself definitively within the web of online relationships, and become much more successful than with mindless SEO. Sure, mindless SEO gets you a few visits here and there, but unless you are one of the best there's a terrible ceiling for what you can achieve by trying to do everything within the structural web.

In fact, even the best SEOs have gotten there, in my view, by networking and getting the right friends at the right time, and this can only happen in the relational web.

So here's to 2007 becoming the year of relationship building and networking! And here's to your success!