The Love Languages of Blogging

Post by Susie Thomas of Here Only.

To love people in cyber-world, it helps to learn the love languages of blogging. Just as we learn in real-world relationships to love people in a way that they feel love, it is important to learn the same lessons in our online relationships. Here is what I’ve learned so far:

First, comment. Comments are how bloggers feel the love. Comments are how you encourage them, say “I hear you,” and “I understand.” On another level, comments help to increase their blog’s popularity, drive up their traffic, and earn them more readers. Bloggers love comments, and comments are how blogging relationships begin.

Some tips on relationship-building commenting:

• Don’t one-up the post. It’s tempting to say things like, “You think your kid’s story is bad? The other day, my kid…”
• Easy on the advice. The person who posted their kid’s horrible story is NOT looking for ideas on how to discipline her child. She’s looking for understanding, affirmation, laughter, and encouragement.
• Do comment. Even if you can’t think of anything witty to say. Just say, “I hear you” or “Thanks for posting this.”

The second love language of blogging is the link. Links to another blog drives up her traffic, which helps your fellow blogger out. If she writes something interesting, talk about it on your blog, and link to her post. If a bloggy friend has a birthday or is starting a new project, link to her and invite your readers to hop over to their site and comment. In the blog world, nothing says I love you like a hyperlink.

A third love language of blogging is the guest post. This is not something I’ve done much, but inviting another blogger to write on your site is a great way to invite others into your conversations, while at the same time giving them more publicity and increasing their readership.

Even if you don’t have a blog, you can build relationships through your comments and encouragement.

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