As Webmasters we know that content is king, in fact I would hazard a guess that you have seen that phrase used almost as regularly as ‘Lorem Ipsum’.
Content is the reason you rank, it is the reason you don’t rank, and it is the reason the internet was (accidentally) invented in the first place.
They tried to tell us just how important it is over and over again but it took a Panda and a Penguin to finally make us realise the true power that content has over the internet.
But that leaves us with a conundrum, a quandary, a question – a question that has plagued content creators since the dawn of… well, about 1998 to be realistic.
To Keep or Not to Keep?
You have just finished drafting the most awesome piece of content you have ever written. The story is hard hitting and late breaking, the information within is juicy and top notch – and the title and SEO benefits are second to none, so now we need to find a relevant site/blog with good domain authority and a strong social media presence to give our awesomest ever content to.
“What?!?! But that, I was, you said… awwww man!”
Giving your content away is the most powerful way of getting your own site ranked in the search engines and I can personally attest to this as it the main methodology I employ to rank my client sites , but that doesn’t make it any easier… I know!
When you are writing articles on plumbing in Colorado or eco-friendly office spaces in Michigan it is obviously really easy to give this content away. No matter how well you write the article (and I write them well) you don’t really care where that content sits, but when you have a reputation to build and a name that you own it becomes a completely different story.
Bloggers are a Gregarious Bunch
Webmasters who produce content want nothing more than to rank their site in the search engines. They have products to sell and services to deliver and where the traffic comes from and what they are saying plays second fiddle to the bottom line of the business. Making sales? If the answer is yes then chances are they aren’t too fazed that ‘Johnny from Sydney’ is saying bad things about them on Facebook.
When you blog though, everything changes because although you still want to rank your site in the search engines, the way you go about getting there has to be approached from a social level.
Blogging is as blogging does, and blogging does social really well.
Word of Mouth Marketing
I am not going to generalise and give bloggers a niche, but I will say with certainty that all bloggers started in their chosen field because they had knowledge and a desire to share that knowledge – so it goes without saying that bloggers of all kinds think first of social marketing and second of SEO, which is EXACTLY WHY we bloggers struggle more than most webmasters to give that awesome piece of content away.
Keep Your Content AND Give it Away?
Imagine a world where you could have the best of both … worlds (gee I didn’t think that sentence through).
As Bloggers we have two priorities: Creating awesome content, and Sharing that content with as many like minded individuals as you can.
The first priority speaks for itself – create content, and make it awesome. It’s not rocket science, unless of course it actually IS rocket science, but I digress.
The second priority however is a bit ambiguous so let’s define it further:
Sharing your content: Ok so that isn’t too complicated. Use Social media and any channel you can find to share and/or syndicate your content
Like Minded Individuals: Now this is where it can get tricky because what exactly does that mean?
Is a like minded individual someone who also likes your chosen topic/niche? Is it someone who potentially wants to buy something you are promoting?
Whichever answer you chose is irrelevant because both scenarios put you in the same boat as every webmaster online – competing against thousands of pages in Google and Facebook to get in front of potential buyers and those interested in what you have to say.
But there is a third answer – and one that instantly puts you ahead of the game, because when you are blogging, a ‘like minded individual’ is also… every other blogger!
Why try and outrank your competition when you can outsmart them?!
Bloggers, it is Time to Engage.
This brings me to the answer to the great Content Conundrum, and a wakeup call for all aspiring bloggers out there.
What is Blog Engage ?
BlogEngage is a blogging community like no other, and a place where there are more ‘like minded individuals’ than anywhere else I have come across online.
How Does it Work?
Bloggers submit their latest blog articles to for exposure, backlinks and traffic. All articles submitted are sent to the upcoming page where users read and vote on the submissions. When articles receive enough votes they become published and are then found on the Blog Engage home page.
The community that has been built here, and continues to grow exponentially is one made of bloggers and bloggers only. These are webmasters who realise that as important as what you have to say is, the need to share that knowledge and be heard takes precedence.
And by golly, they’ll go out of their way to share it too. But there’s a catch.
Blogging by its very nature requires sharing and BLogEngage is a community where these expectations do not change. If you want your content shared and discussed then you need to make an effort to share and discuss others content too, and it’s actually a really good thing!
Time vs. Return on Investment
Time is the one thing that stops most of us getting things done – ALWAYS, and when you are blogging this commodity seems even more precious. This is compounded by the fact that socialising takes time – a lot of it, so you really want to make sure you are getting the return on investment from it.
Have you ever measured the results from the time you have spent on Facebook or Twitter? What about blog commenting? I bet you got more traffic from the latter than you did from any of the social networks. Why? Because it was bloggers who read your comment, not Facebookers/Tweeters/Instagrammers/Pinteresters… etc
Bloggers will always be more interested in what you have to say and in sharing your content because deep down they want you to repay the favour, so doesn’t it make logical sense that if you are going to spend time on a social network, that you do so in one surrounded by like minded individuals? 
BlogEngage makes Engaging Easy.
With a name like Blog Engage one would hope so… but seriously, the tools and services provided to members within the BlogEngage community make sharing and interacting not only easy but quite enjoyable too. Listed below are some of these options/tools and a brief synopsis of why I like them:
- Connect with Top Users:
Not only do you get promoted as a top user (something to aim toward) you also know exactly who is currently the most active and therefore has a lot of influence on this particular network. Chances are they have a lot of influence in the blogosphere in general so it’s a good idea to connect with as many of them as you can. - Contests and Giveaways:
They constantly have contests and giveaways so you can win prizes and even cash just for doing what you would normally do - Join Groups, Chat, Vote… engage!
There are a number of tools that make the whole experience of engaging more enjoyable – almost like a mini version of Facebook for bloggers only. And Speaking of Facebook
ALL your Questions Answered!
I have been spending some time around the Blogengage community of late as I slowly get back into the swing of blogging again and one thing that has continued to surprise me is how engaged the members are. They have a facebook group which I often spy on and every so often one of the community members asks a question, usually technical or SEO related, and incredibly these questions are answered within the hour – with at least 3 or 4 members throwing in support and offering further assistance where necessary.
I have been a member of a car forum for over 10 years and I still don’t see that level of support amongst its members!
And for the Busy Blogger there is always the option of automating the syndication of your content…
What is the value of Blog Engage Syndication?
With a monthly RSS Subscription you no longer have to worry about manually building backlinks and can focus on more important factors such as building key relationships with other bloggers. When you post, we syndicate, it’s as easy as that, no hassle, no fuss. The higher the package the more social media marketing and backlinks your blog will start seeing.
Check out the different RSS packages here:
Sign up to Affiliate Lights and earn recurring commission when you promote the BlogEngage Syndication Services.
Google+ it
BlogEngage it
Pin it
Kube it
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
I am a member of Blog Engage and it has help my site grow tremendously. I enjoy reading other bloggers articles. I comment on the articles when I have something of value to offer, and I share them on my social networks. Naturally, fellow members do the same for me. It is link building done naturally. I have made a lot of friends on Blog Engage it is a great community.
HI Larry,
Thank you for epitomizing what blog engage is all about. Your comment is the perfect addition the post and a great “I told you so” to any doubting Thomas’s out there
Reminds me to stop being a hypocrite and get over there and start.. ENGAGING
Hi Larry, thanks for the compliment. As mush as you enjoy Blog Engage we also enjoy having you as a member of the community. I hope we see more and more people joining our ever growing community.
Good Morning! You asked for help promoting your post and it was my first time interacting with you on Google+ (that I’m aware of). I also believe it’s the first time I’m here.
This post you’ve written is 3 posts in one. I love the first section; in fact it’s quite good; nodding all the way.
Then, you launched into a landing page for Blog Engage and then an affiliate marketing program for RSS feeds (I think).
Can you please tell me what the takeaway should be from this piece? Are you an owner of Blog Engage? Are you a promoter of the RSS affiliate program? I’m a bit confused, Alex, about your branding goals.
I want to stick around and see how you respond, as I’m telling you flat out that I like your writing in the first third of this piece.
Hi Jayme,
First off I appreciate both the support and the encouraging comments left on G+. I am glad you like my style of writing as it is something I take great pride in and enjoy thoroughly. (How malleable is this language!)
Now onto your thought provoking comment..
This post was written as part of a promotion of blog engage, a blogging community that… well, you’ve read the post
I have been using Blog Engage’s Platinum RSS service to automatically syndicate the feeds on a number of my sites and have found the results well worth the $10 a month I pay. The ROI is good and the community that Brian Belfitt has built there is one of if not the best online community for bloggers that I have found.
As such, when Brian asked who would write the post (he asked 10 bloggers in total) I gladly accepted.
This post therefore IS indeed a sales pitch for both the blog engage community AND the paid RSS service that you can get as a member of said community.
That being said, everything I stated in the post holds true and the points made were incredibly valid. I do admit, and consequently apologise for the fact that the post did not exactly flow well at the end leaving you wondering what the take away is.
I guess the take away is simple: if you are a blogger and you are blogging for the sake of it, for the experience and the fun (with the intention of making money from it being a side note or future ideal) then you need to stop worrying about SEO and all the other rules that apply to webmasters and go and surround yourself with other people in the same boat.
Bloggers are the most gregarious of folk and so use that knowledge to your advantage.
Thanks, Alex, for explaining that so well…perhaps you’d consider adding a bit more of YOU into the ending of the piece above to bring it back full circle.
You know, b/c of your RSS program I am now absolutely fully confused (more than before) about how RSS works. Would you be willing to help me understand that for my community and in so doing, I can promote what you’re doing with Blog Engage?
I’ve been blogging 3 years professionally; I’m not all about how to kick it up a notch higher, and I’m interested in what you guys are doing.
I’m going to poke around the site and gain some insights, but you obviously are a pro here and I’m a student.
Good point about injecting more me – and speaking of which, read the post I just published then, short sweet and ALL me
With regards to the RSS service and Blog Engage, that is all Brian Belfitt’s baby (find him on Google+ as he made the first comment on this shared post on G+)
I strongly recommend that you go check it out and sign up as a member ($20 one time fee) – I am not phased whether you go through my link or not – that is how much I stand by the fact that this community will only help you grow your blog and associated community.
The time spent there is going to be at least 10 times more fruitful than time spent say on Facebook.
Now with the RSS Service and how it works allow me to (attempt to) explain:
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, the premise being that when you create a website there is a ‘feed’ version of that sites content that you can create (they call it burning a feed)
This feed is basically a simple version of your sites content that constantly updates as your site does.
What that means is that services that have an RSS ability can simply plug in your feed URL (usually your site.com/feed or its feeds.feedburner.yourname.com) and then your sites content will be syndicated (shared) to their site without you having to do anything other than give them your feed url.
Now services like Blog Engage basically provide that service, with a community around that, but like with any feed you need to manually input the new URL of the post you just published to the service (in this case Blog engage) and that is where the platinum RSS service comes in.
For $10 a month I get three different website feeds automatically being ‘fed’ into the BlogEngage system. That means that everytime I publish a post on any of those three sites, that content is automatically being sent to the blogengage network and then being shared socially through all the blogengage channels.
Granted you still need to interact and ENGAGE for the service to really benefit you and your growing blog but even from a simple SEO perspective the benefits outweigh the cost.
Hope that makes sense and you are not now screaming at pigeons trying to do a Nicki Minaj impersonation
Done. On my way everywhere you told me to go. I have a feed; need one for Triberr (!) and readers, and yet it is still a bit of a conundrum and a topic I want more clarity on e.g. content curation, feeding my stuff on three wires/feeds, etc.
I have to come back and peruse all this more closely…you’ve really pulled me in with both feet, Alex! See what happens when you ask for help on G+?
Hi Jayme, Alex is a customer, long time members of the Blog Engage community. This article is his post under our affiliate program. We share our sales with our members when they refer us new members and business. I hope you see value in the post and decide to join us in the community.
Hi,
I love when you said BlogEngage makes Engaging Easy because that’s exactly what we get on the platform. The engagement, the traffic, the exposure, etc are all the goodies of this platform
Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful weekend
Hey Enstine,
Thanks for reinforcing the points about BlogEngage, always good to hear first hand how it is working for bloggers
Hey Enstine thanks for the great comment, you know we love having you as part of our community it means a ton that you enjoy it so much.
You make a great point about how hard it can be to share content once you’ve sweated and struggled over it. It’s counter intuitive, yet the only way to beat Pandas, Penguins and… well what’s next Parrots? Petunias?
I’m a member of Blog Engage and I love it. Your readers should definitely check it out.
Hi there Nicole, thanks for supporting the content articles I really appreciate it! You are a long time customer and friend and I hope we continue on that path for a long time to come.
Thank you Alex for introducing blogengage to us and discussion the benefits a blogger can get from joining this community. This is a great group where bloggers are encouraged to share their best articles and improve their craft.
well said about blogengage. it is very helpful information. waiting for more info.
I have been a member for a month. I have a new blog. I write 1-2 times a week. In one monthly traffic increased from 47 visits to 301 a day. I can’t get enough of Blog Engage. I visit BE daily and I’m trying to start my own group of friends who have the same sense of urgency as I do. I like blogging and commenting. BE gives me a place to comment and most of the bloggers respond. It’s a friendly community and now I realize that a lot of the big new bloggers that have been around 4-5 years also visit BE daily. I know because I look to see who’s visited that day. That’s a big strategy for me-be where successful bloggers are. The only thing missing is brian’s next creative idea that will increase this traffic even more. I am so glad I joined BE.
Hi Jennifer thanks so much for the kind word! I hope Blog Engage brings you a lot of new friends and blog readers. I think you’re strategy is simply amazing and if you keep doing it you will see huge results from our community members. I find Blog Engage to be great for bringing in direct traffic and over 3 – 5 months you will also start seeing a dramatic change in search engine traffic as well. Our backlinks are very high quality in the eyes of Google which helps increase your blogs authority. Thanks again for the kind words it makes me really happy to know you are so happy with our services.