In my opinion, yes, at least for beginner bloggers.
Linky parties and blog hops are worth it. Here’s why:
- If you want to be a successful blogger you need blogging buddies. It will make your writing life much easier, having a community of follow bloggers supporting your work. Linky parties and blog hops are primarily for bloggers. You can find friends in your niche with the same goals, and obtain very helpful advice from the seasoned blogger.
- A blogger must also be active on social media. Blogging is dependent on social networking. The two are intertwined. Social networking will help you develop a following and draw more traffic to your blog. If you want to monetize your blog you must have traffic! One way to social network is by using linky parties and blog hops.
- By being a part of linky parties and blog hops you also learn how to host one yourself. For the host especially, this is a great way to draw people to your blog. For one thing you are offering free advertising! “Come promote your blog on my site!”
What kind of linky parties and blog hops are out there?
Currently Los Gringos Locos has a Wordless Wednesday Linkup. I love photography and this is a simple post for mid-week. The set-up is easy, as Inlinkz saves my settings for repeated use, and WordPress has a plug-in called Duplicate Posts. With the two I am able to set up Wordless Wednesday in minutes. I visit various WW blog posts and share my linkup so that other bloggers will visit Los Gringos Locos.
Los Gringos Locos also is getting ready to partner with two other blogs to co-host a homeschool and parenting linkup every Tuesday. We are going to pick our favorite posts and feature them the following week. I made a badge for promotion in Photoshop and next week I will put the first link-up together. We are shooting for Tuesday, September 2nd. After that I will be able to use Inlinkz and Duplicate Posts to swiftly set it up every week.
Don’t get burnt out on partying and hopping!
I am telling you this before I go into my next point because I want you to know I do support linky parties and blog hops. But… frankly I am linked up and hopped out. When I discovered them a few months ago I was visiting every single one I could find. It was great for the reasons I mentioned above, and now I am tired. I want to write. I don’t want to link and hop. If you do it right it takes time! You shouldn’t just leave your link and run. Even if there are no rules, it’s nice to leave a comment, give the blogger a follow, or share the linkup. I am not perfect and sometimes I do race to get WW shared and done… but for the most part I try to practice the guidelines above. Good linking and hopping takes time.
Instead of visiting every single linky and hop that I could find, I decided to look for those in my niche. Particularly WW and soon, homeschool and parenting, so we can spread the word about our new link-up. I can’t worry much about the other days of the week or the other types of link-ups. I don’t have time for that. Chances are you don’t either. We are moms, wives, and some of us have full-time jobs outside of blogging. Time is precious. Use it wisely. I hope this helps you in your decision to link and hop, or not. Signing off, Tina
Tina lives abroad in Mexico with her husband and four kids. They are active in homeschool, travel, and their Bible ministry. Tina loves writing and photography, thus she blogs.
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