Wanna Help a Fellow Blogger? Think Bigger Than a ReTweet

For a guy who runs a pretty big PR agency and serves some pretty big clients, Todd Defren sure appreciates the little things.

As is his habit, Todd dashed off another thoughtful post this week — this time sharing five tips for dealing with marketing’s relentless pace in the social media era. “Good stuff,” I commented as I shared it via Twitter. Check out Todd’s reply to me and Arik Hanson, who also shared it:

“A RT always nice & appreciated, but it’s the extra couple of characters’ worth of praise that warm the heart. ;)”

A-friggin’-men, right?

ReTweets are nice. I love traffic and attention — who doesn’t? But there are other ways to help a blogger. Better ways.

David Spinks once helped my blog by adding his voice to it with a co-post about brand avatars. He made this blog’s richer, more vibrant, and he brought more traffic than a ReTweet would. Elizabeth Sosnow did the same with her guest post about B2B social media.

Arik Hanson helped me by refusing to let me be without a job. The dude held a Tweetathon on behalf of Sonny Gill and I that generated over two dozen job leads for me…inbound job leads. Think I’ll ever forget that? (Sonny and I returned the favor — with an assist from Southwest Airlines, we got him to Blog Potomac)

When I need advice on joining an agency, Amber Naslund helped put me in touch with Gini Dietrich, and Gini has helped me with advice, encouragement, lead generation and comic relief ever since.

Lisa Hoffmann is my on-call sounding board, and more often than not, saves me from saying something stupid. And when I need an intellectual sparring partner, there’s nobody I’d rather match wits with.

You get the picture. Each of them has left a stamp on my memory — images that don’t vanish like Tweets in a stream.

It doesn’t take a ton of effort to help another blogger — just a smidge more than a RT is enough to make an impact. Try these:

  • Email a word of appreciation, encouragement or kinship to keep the blogger’s drive up
  • Offer to write a guest post to lessen the burden of content creation
  • Give her something of value to share with her readers
  • Listen (remember that old SM rule?) and identify a need — then offer to fill it
  • Reply to other readers in the comments section to turn a pretty good post into a humming conversation
  • Give him a little link love
  • Call, DM or email to ask how their business – not their blog — is, and find a way to help alleviate a business headache

What are some ways you help bloggers?

  • Genevieve Jooste

    As a blogger trying to find her way through the marshes this post couldn’t hit any closer to home. The RT’s are great but they don’t tell other followers WHY they liked they blog or why their own followers should read it. Adding a little extra is always worth the time and trouble. I’ve also found that meeting in real life and having a good brainstorming with fellow bloggers always helps spur the creative juices.

    Keeping blogging Scott :)

  • http://www.jontusmedia.com/ Jon Buscall

    You raise some great points. Since I switched from Tweetie to Hootsuite I’ve noticed it’s actually more work to taylor-write a great RT. It automatically posts without allowing you to edit the original tweet.

    Like you, the connections I’ve made on Twitter that have been most worthwhile have come from people who really bring a personal (social?) edge to the conversation. Gini Dietrich is awesome and done so much to help get me know, for example.

    As Genevieve says, “Keep blogging”!!

  • http://mediaemerging.com Scott Hepburn

    Are you using Hootsuite mobile, Jon? You can edit ReTweets in their browser-based version — go into Settings -> Preferences to switch to “old school.” Not sure if it’s an option in mobile, though.

    Thanks for adding YOUR voice to the conversation. Always good to hear from you.

  • http://www.indiebusinessblog.com Donna Maria Coles Johnson

    Jon: This is an annoying part about using HootSuite online. It’s easy to edit and then RT using the iPhone app though.

  • http://www.indiebusinessblog.com Donna Maria Coles Johnson

    Oooh! Good tip! I just tried it and it totally worked. Only now, instead of “switch to old school,” it just asks you to check (or not) whether you want the Twitter RT. I unchecked it and now, I can edit my RTs before sending. Hope Jon sees this!

  • http://www.indiebusinessblog.com Donna Maria Coles Johnson

    Great post, Scott! I used to be a kind of hit or miss commenter, but now that I know most of the blogs I like to follow, I’m going to do a better job of getting my feet wet in their comment areas. Starting with this one. Thanks for the reminder!

  • http://mediaemerging.com Scott Hepburn

    It’s tough to keep up with all the content out there, isn’t it? I’ve met so many insightful people via Twitter, and I struggle to keep up with them there. Then if you add in subscribing to their blogs, commenting on their posts, and returning to the blog when the conversation grows — it’s a lot! And that’s just for the voices I’ve already discovered…when am I supposed to discover NEW voices?

    Oy. When do we get our clones?

  • http://www.jontusmedia.com/ Jon Buscall

    Hmm, I only just heard this. @Scott, Disqus didn’t send me your comment!

    Anyway, thanks. I’m now updating Hootsuite :)

  • http://www.scribnia.com/author/show/473/david-spinks/ David Spinks

    I still think we should start hosting debates regularly.

    This post is right on. It’s the extra step that you can take to let someone know that you’re there for them, or that you’re listening.

    It’s something you can use to engage with your readers too. I’ll never forget the first time I commented on Jay Baer’s blog post and he emailed me to thank me, and respond to my comment personally. I also never forget how Jason Falls would reply to every comment, even one from a no-name like myself.

    Taking the initiative to make someone else feel just a little bit special, is something that the best professionals and bloggers understand well.

    David, Scribnia

  • http://mediaemerging.com Scott Hepburn

    Jay and Jason are two guys who definitely get it. I got an email from Shel Israel once after commenting, and deeply appreciated it.

    As for our debates…I’d love to, but I’m afraid that in my weakened condition, I could take a nasty spill down the stairs and subject myself to further school absences. Maybe a one-off?

  • http://spinsucks.com Gini Dietrich

    You know why I love you? You’re one of maybe five people who think I’m funny! :) As I’m reading this, I’m nodding my head and also thinking about one thing that bugs the heck out of me – people who RT without adding their own value. To Todd’s point, it’s really not hard to add your own two cents. Let’s THINK instead of just do. And. Thank you my favorite Charlottetonian!

  • http://spinsucks.com Gini Dietrich

    Love you, Jon!

  • http://spinsucks.com Gini Dietrich

    David Spinks a no name?? Hahahahaahahaha!!!

  • http://www.WriteWrongOrIndifferent.com Marie Anne

    Amen is right! Anyone can push a button, but taking the extra second to personalize it carries great weight. I liken it to the difference between a personal thank you note (email is ok if it’s personal) and a form letter.

  • http://twitter.com/MomieTullottes Lyn Lomasi

    So true! Often, it’s those extra words of praise and encouragement that keep me going!

  • http://mediaemerging.com Scott Hepburn

    I’ve read some great posts about Twitter’s effect on blogging (Did it kill blogging? Save it?). I think the ReTweet is the mortal enemy of good blogs. Sure, RTs bring traffic (maybe), but they also bring high bounce rates, and the exponential growth of the firehose may be drowning out (*groan*) intelligent discourse on blogs.

    Sigh…glass half full today…

  • http://mediaemerging.com Scott Hepburn

    Great analogy, Marie Anne!

  • http://mediaemerging.com Scott Hepburn

    Keep at it, Lyn. Real bloggers are the ones toiling when nobody’s giving ‘em “Atta boys.”

  • http://spinsucks.com Gini Dietrich

    I totally agree with the thinking that Twitter is killing blogging. When we look at our referral sources, it’s always Twitter first and we’re really trying hard to figure out how to switch that so the traffic isn’t so reliant on me. I guess if I’m going to tweet a new blog post, why would anyone subscribe to it? We’ve had some pretty good luck with this with clients because they have industry organizations and list serves that drive traffic. Most don’t use Twitter at all.

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  • http://twitter.com/wendykeneipp Wendy Keneipp

    I think the commenting and responding to what other people post is a more advanced stage of social media and one that is intimidating for many, many people. Just hitting the retweet button is easy and pretty non-commital. But taking the time to share thoughts in writing and having them permanently posted somewhere on the internet is a step beyond the comfort zone. We’re used to passively watching the news, reading newspapers and books, and then talking with family or friends, but not being asked for our opinions and encouraged to share. Conversations like these are necessary to help educate readers of the importance of interaction in this new medium. Thanks to all for the post, referenced post from @spinsucks, and all the comments!

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  • http://mediaemerging.com Scott Hepburn

    Awesome perspective, Wendy! It’s kinda like the Forrester Technographics Ladder — more people are comfortable joining networks or watching conversations than commenting or creating content.

    The implications for all of us — bloggers, PR/blogger outreach, community managers, brands — are pretty significant.

    Thanks for sharing your insights!