Blogging: A newbie’s perspective on Linky Parties
So I ‘ve been blogging for 6 months now (officially) and after reading post after post, I’ve come up with my take on SOME of that advice floating around.
I feel I have enough linky party participation behind me to be able to give my take. I have been visiting linky parties for the entire time I’ve been blogging live. And I have hosted for half of that time.
I personally think that some bloggers have lost site of the reason behind the parties and have gotten caught up in the rat blogger race. We are pressed for time and we are in and out of the party without really participating like we should.
FOR THE PARTY PARTICIPANT
Linky Parties (aka Link Party, Link up Party, Blog Link Party)
When I first started blogging and heard the term “Linky Party”, I wonder what the heck is that? Almost all of the posts/articles I would read on Blogging 101, How to Blog, Beginner Bloggers, etc., they all mentioned how much linky parties can help your stats.
Before I go any further, let me define a linky party.
LINKY PARTY (aka Link Party, Link up Party, Blog Link Party) – A “party” hosted by a blogger for other bloggers to “link” up their posts for more exposure. Mainly, linky parties are given by bloggers for bloggers. However, any viewer can benefit from linky parties. Most parties are loaded with DIY, recipes, quotes, inspirational, motivational, crafts, views and opinions. Some will also host social media hook ups and blog hops. These can be quite handy if you are trying to build any or all of your social media followers or get more traffic to your blog.
HOW DO I FIND A LINKY PARTY? – I started by doing Google Searches on “linky party”. I came across directories, other bloggers parties and other bloggers lists of parties. There are tons out there to find. Here’s my list, where I like to party.
Here’s a google community to join that other bloggers will post up their parties – Share Your Link Parties.
WHAT DO I DO AFTER FINDING THE PARTY? – Basically, that’s going to be up to the party host. The host is the blogger holding the linky party. In some cases, you will find more than one host, or a host and co-hosts. Either way, the rules will be listed. If you are going to link up, you should follow these rules.
There are two types of link ups “InLinkz” & “LinkyTools” that you will see.
RULES – ALWAYS, ALWAYS, check the rules. Some parties are themed, meaning you can only link up certain posts like crafts. Some are anything goes. And some are in sections, so don’t do what I’ve done and put your recipes in the craft section. Although sometimes I feel my recipes are crafty, they’re technically not crafts. 🙂
FOLLOW HOST – If the host requires you to follow via social media, then do so.
LINK BACK TO HOST – If the host requires you to link back to them. Either link back to them on your post(s) that you are linking up, or create a page like I did and refer them to that page on each post you link up. This way, they will know that you have followed and respect their rules.
WHAT’S ALLOWED – Pay attention to what type of post you are and are NOT allowed to link up. Most parties do not allow Etsy shops, Linky parties and Giveaways. But some do, so pay attention.
LINK UP! – Link up your post(s). Make sure it’s the post you link up and not your main page. There will be a place, usually below the “rules” that says “Add your Link” or “You’re next….Click here to Enter”. From there just follow the directions. You’ll paste the URL of the post and be able to edit the title some and the image. For Inlinkz, the image will be automatically chosen, but if you have more images, you can change by selecting them.
VISIT OTHERS – Most hosts will ask you to visit other links. But even if they only suggest you do or don’t even suggest at all. I, personally, think you should. Otherwise what’s the point of linking up. Just imagine everyone doesn’t visit the other link ups…..uh, none of us will get a visitor. Therefore, wasting our time linking up in the first place.
THANK HOST – NOT A RULE, but I think it’s only courteous to thank the host for hosting the party. Just my rule for me.
MISC –
Here are some of my personal tips that may help you be successful!
-Create bookmarks for Linky Parties and separate them by day of the week. This will make it easier to find those parties.
-Share the party on social media. This helps the host and you in the long run. The more bloggers that come link up the more chances your post will be viewed.
-Some parties start the night before. For example, my Teach Me Tuesday party starts Monday evening at 8pm CST. This one is a mystery, however, the earlier you get to a party, the more people will see your links.
-I always try to give the later link ups more love. So if I’m the 100th link up, I start at the bottom to pick whose link gets my attention and view. It’s a given that the first link ups will been seen more. This is why it’s good to try to be there close to when the party starts. However, it’s not always possible.
-You should shoot for at least 10 parties a day if possible. If not, do what you can. You may not be able to start at this number, but it’s a good goal to shoot for.
-Most parties do have what they call features. Features are link ups from the previous week that either the host or co-host hand picked as their favorite or they might feature a link up for the most views from that party. If you get featured, you can put this “badge of honor” on your page, be it on your post that was featured, a separate feature page or on your side bar.
FOR THE HOST
HOW DO I START THE PARTY?
GET A LINK UP TOOL
Visit “InLinkz” & “LinkyTools” and decide which one you would like to use. I’m not as familiar with Linky Tools, so I can’t give a lot of information there. But, I do use InLinkz. And yes, I went ahead and paid for it after my first party. I paid about $20 for a full year to have all the options and not be limited. Your choice. I know a lot of bloggers that still use free accounts.
Once you sign up for one of these services, you will create your party. You will decide how long you want it to last, what time to start and what time to end. You will have an area for your description. I use this area for my party “button” and for rules. You can also choose the size of the “thumb nails”, how many columns you want, how many characters you want to allow in the link up descriptions/titles, etc..
After you “create your link up”, you will be given a code or html depending on your platform you use. At InLinkz, you choose if you are on self hosted wordpress blog, then you’ll chose that and they will create the code you need.
CREATE A BUTTON/LOGO
This is totally optional, but most parties have a specific “graphic” that is called a button for the party. Here’s mine:
If you choose to have features, you could also have a separate button for people to use to add to their site.
Here’s a great post, that I followed, to create your own blog button. I used it for my party button, same concept.
How to make a blog button using free programs.
You can create your own graphic, but you definitely want to create the code for the graphic. This gives a url for your button. This way, anyone can just copy the code, insert it on their page and BAM, they have the graphic and a link back to whatever URL you chose. 😉
CREATE A POST
Whatever platform you’re using, you need to create a post. The code you got from the link up tool will be placed in your post. Now, how you format and layout your post is up to you. If you are thinking of hosting, go to other parties and see how they set theirs up and get some ideas. Then make it your own!
Make sure you are clear as to what you will be allowing to be linked up. For example, DIY, Crafts, & Recipes. You do not have to stick with your genre if you don’t want to. If there are link ups you will NOT allow, please be specific. My party allows anything that teaches us something.
Make sure your social media links are visible and everyone can find them.
Always preview your post to see the link up information prior to publishing. I’m sure I don’t have to say it, but I didn’t want to not say it.
PUBLISH / ADVERTISE
It’s time to publish your post/party. Now go advertise it on all your social media letting everyone know to come link up. Some linky parties allow you to link up linky parties. You may want to take advantage of that to get the word out. When most people start coming to your party, they will keep coming back.
DURING / AFTER THE PARTY
By all means, these are suggestions and ideas. Not RULES.
RESPOND TO COMMENTS – Hosts benefit as well from bloggers linking up at their party and should always respond to the ones that took the time to comment.
VISIT ALL WHO LINKED UP – thanking them and to choose your “features” if you have any. This may become an issue if your party grows beyond that. If so, let everyone know. Or, you can do like I did and get a co-host or two. Split the tasks.
FEATURES – Have a feature or two, or three of some sort to entice people to keep coming back and showing appreciation for them linking up. It always makes me feel good when I’m featured. It’s that big pat on the back we need during this process of blogging.
TOO MUCH STUFF – A personal peeve of mine – don’t have such big pictures or tons and tons of stuff to say before getting to the party. We’re all pressed for time and when the page takes forever to load or you have to go through all that to get to the party, it just wastes time. I have stopped going to some parties just because of this. I’m really not trying to be rude, but if I’m linking up to 10 parties a day and visiting at a minimum of 2 other link ups from each party. I’m already putting in precious time. I know it’s a great way to get us to other parts of your site and to “promote” other posts, but some overdo it.
BENEFITS FOR ALL
Linky parties are great for both the party goer and the host.
-Everyone gets more exposure to their sites.
-You get to meet other bloggers.
-You will learn so much from the other bloggers it’s not even funny. That’s my favorite part.
-You will grow your social media in the process of all this linking up and visiting you’ll be doing.
KEEP IN MIND…when you first start blogging, bloggers are your best friends. Without other bloggers helping to promote you (via social media), it’s going to be a longer, harder road. Other bloggers, especially seasoned bloggers, have worked up their followers and when they repost or repin one of your posts, all of their followers will see it too.
Respect the blogger 😉
Rock on!
~Bobbi
Co-contributor/author for www.3glol.net. I have 1 husband (hehe), 4 kids, 2 son-in-laws, 1 daughter-in-law, 9 grandkids, and 5 pets. Breast Cancer Conqueror – 15 years now 😉 I have worked from home for over 10 years. I am OCD about a lot of things….clutter, organization and cleanliness being the main issues of mine. I love to cook and have started putting my food up on the blog. Go look see!!