Who Should You Network With? Probloggers Or NON-Probloggers?

Getting the attention of Darren Rowse, Brian Clark or John Chow may lead to a lot of benefits. A simple link could result in a spike in traffic, which has the potential of boosting your blog earnings. For these reasons, I can’t blame other bloggers for worshipping them. What’s depressing, however, is to see some bloggers limiting their networks only to Probloggers.

Probloggers And Non Probloggers

Probloggers are the likes of Darren Rowse (Problogger.net), Brian Clark (CopyBlogger.com) and John Chow (JohnChow.com). They are the more experienced and established bloggers who have been online since the earlier days of blogging. Non Probloggers on the other hand are those who just got started with blogging. Those who are still building reputation online. Those who are still struggling with traffic, comments and inbound links.

From my personal experience, networking with Probloggers has been very rewarding, especially when you have established a good relationship with them. Once, when I was still blogging for BloggingMix, I got Darren Rowse to link to one of my posts and the result was overwhelming. Traffic went up so as with my comment and inbound link. Since then, I’ve been looking forward to getting the attention of Probloggers. Sad to say, I forgot the Non Probloggers.

Networking With Probloggers Vs. Non Probloggers

Bloggers build their network for several reasons. Some of these reasons are:

• Networking opens new opportunities.
• Networking boosts online reputation.
• Networks can be a great source of information and support.

Considering the nature of the Blogosphere, networking is a must if you want to succeed. For the same reason, I’ve invested so much time in building my network over my 4 years of blogging. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned about networking… that is: Networking with Non Probloggers leads to better results.

Why does networking with Probloggers most likely to yield little or no results?

1. Probloggers have HUGE networks already. This means, they have little time to spend to each of their networks. As a result, your chance of getting noticed… of gettting their attention… of getting links from them is very little.
2. Problogger is to Problogger. Quite evidently, when you look at the network of Jeremy Schoemaker and other Probloggers, they’re mostly a bunch of Probloggers too. Why? It’s because they get more benefits from networking with fellow Probloggers than when they network with a newbie.
3. What’s in it for them? Probloggers don’t simply link and promote your blog even whey you’re in their network, they ask the question: what’s in it for them? If you are not offering them enough incentives, you might as well forget getting their attention. In case you haven’t noticed, the best way to get John Chow’s attention is to pay him. Otherwise, you need to come up with a really devious idea that appeals to him.

Alternatively, you can build your network of Non Probloggers. Networking with them is more likely to yield better results… mutually beneficial results. Here are some reasons why networking with Non Probloggers yield better results:

1. There’s more Non Probloggers. The fact is, there are more Non Probloggers than Probloggers. Another fact is, competition to network with Probloggers is tough as more bloggers prefer to network with them. In contrast, Non Probloggers make up most of the Blogosphere and the competition to get their attention is very little. This leaves you with a higher probability of getting their attention.
2. Unlike Probloggers, Non Problogges have the time. Because Non Probloggers are usually newbies, they’re still on the process of building their networks. In other words, you have a better chance of establishing a mutually beneficial relationship with them.
3. Non Probloggers are more welcoming. As Non Probloggers are new to blogging, they need all the support and information they could get. This presents you with numerous opportunities to network with them. Moreover, Non Probloggers have been proven to be more generous to their network, less picky of who they network with, and more appreciative of the little things you do for them.

Conclusion

In conclusion, networking with fellow bloggers can help you succeed online. But networking too, needs some strategy. You have the option to network with Probloggers, Non Probloggers or both. But limiting your network to Probloggers limits your opportunities of getting more results from your networking efforts. You should consider networking with Non Probloggers as the benefits you are likely to reap is so much more compared to the benefits you get from networking exclusively with Probloggers.

That’s my take of the issue. What’s about you?