Blogger Tip: Building your blog power team

Get friendly. Your blog depends on it.

You know how they say it takes a village to raise a child? Well, it ALSO takes a village to raise a blog.

Something I discovered early on in blogging was the importance of building a network of people who can help support your site. I like to think of this network as your blogger “Power Team”. These individuals typically possess skills you don’t, or they have access to resources you as a new blogger, don’t have yet.

Most bloggers are idea generators and writers, or at least experts in their industry or field of work. This makes them incredible content creators. Unfortunately, to develop a successful blog, even the best writers need a little help.

That’s where your power team comes in: to fill in those gaps.

My advice, get friendly with these people. Network with them, offer to trade services (see my tip below!), or ask to pick their brain. Having these experts as resources will make all the difference, trust me.

So who exactly are these people? In my experience, these four power team roles have helped me immensely in building my brand, growing my followers, and elevating my blog content:

1. Designer/Developer

Good for: Defining your visual brand identity, logos, business cards. Advancing your website, customization, website user experience. 

Web platforms like WordPress and Squarespace, or photo editing apps like Canva, make it easy to design and develop a blog with little-to-no experience. In the beginning stages you can get away with these basic resources, but as you build your blog you’ll want to consult with people who’s expertise is in designing and developing websites. For example, Job Offers & Bad Boyfriends is in the midst of a brand and website refresh. The initial logo and design was something I threw together in an afternoon. For this refresh however, I employed the help of a graphic designer to help me develop a more consistent visual brand.

2. Photographer

Good for: Taking professional head shots, gorgeous blog post photos, and an ego boost (I love when photographers tell me I look pretty!)  

As a blogger, it’s become grossly apparent the importance of  beautiful photos. This has probably been my greatest struggle, because darlings, I’m NOT a professional photographer. Fortunately my topics don’t warrant excessive visuals like food or fashion blogs, but that doesn’t mean I can get away with shitty photos. Becoming close with local photographers and photog bloggers changed my game. The minute I started using more original photography on my blog, I felt like one of the big girls.

3. Publisher/Editor

Good for: Getting published, link backs to your blog, sponsorships, personal klout. 

In my first few months of blogging I found the Indie Chick Writer’s Network on Facebook and was introduced to The Indie Chicks, a badass online publication for women. I joined the Facebook group and started talking with the Editor. I learned she was looking for career content, and offered to link back to Job Offers &  Bad Boyfriends if I agreed to publish a few of my articles on Indie Chicks. In a matter of months, I was a published writer on their site and was getting direct referral traffic to my blog from Indie Chicks. Having a publication back my blog increased my exposure and credibility almost instantly.

4. Other bloggers

Good for: Advice, guest blogging, sharing content, partnerships, and making new friends!

Sometimes the most influential members of your blogger power team are OTHER bloggers. The best way to get noticed in the blogging community is to have other bloggers vouch for you. Start networking and developing relationships with other bloggers in your city or within your industry (fashion, art, travel etc.). In Chicago, I quickly found Windy City Blogger Collective, which was an incredible networking outlet and gave me exposure and access to some of Chicago’s best bloggers.

Having fun yet? Oh wait there’s more! 

BLOGGER TIP: Trading services

Good for: Bloggers without ca$h flow…yet.

What it means:  Offering to trade one of your skills for the expertise of a power team member.

Why it’s great: Everybody wins…for free.

How to: First things first, make sure what you’re offering is an even trade. If it is, then I only have one thing to say to you: Don’t be afraid or shy to ask. It may seem bold or awkward at first, but believe me, all the cool kids are doing it.

How about examples: I thought you’d never ask.

Say…you need a photographer: Offer to be a muse for their photography portfolio if they will do a photoshoot for a blog post you’re working on.

Or…you need a guest blogger to write about a topic outside your expertise: Reach to a fellow blogger and offer to write a guest post on their blog and share with their followers.