Joining BizSugar.com’s thriving online small business community can boost your networking efforts, but learning how to be a superstar contributor will help you even more with increased visibility to perspective customers and partners.
Here are some tips for your climb to superstardom:
- Be informative. Sure you can promote your own blog posts occasionally on BizSugar so long as they are relevant to our small business news and information focus, but a wide variety of links to articles from a variety of sources including traditional news media, video and a wide variety of bloggers will add to everyone’s experience by increasing the variety and perspective of information being provided.
- Comment often. Strong article submissions can be great but sometimes good comments on the story links provided by others can be even better. Be respectful but stimulate discussion. Ask questions and disagree if you must. A good commentor is known for his/her ability to make others in the community think and to create conversations around important topics of interest.
- Vote. When you vote for articles you appreciate you encourage others in the community to vote and comment on your submissions as well. Let others in the community know what you think by registering your vote on article submissions you feel have enriched the community.
- Add value. Whether it’s an article, video or blog post you are sharing with the community or comment you are leaving on someone else’s submission, always ask yourself how this post can add value to the whole community. Other members will judge you by the qualities you bring to your networking relationships and by the overall value you add to everyone’s experience not by the number of sales you made or the number of visitors you drove to your Website.
Shawn,
Great list of tips on how to become a “superstar” contributor! Maybe we should have a special title or name for it? I have seen that active users on forums have special titles depending on how much they have contributed.
The last point, add value, is very important according to my views on how you act on a market, exchanging ideas with rational individuals.
Hmmmm. Definitely something to think about as far as giving top contributors some kind of title. Suggestions welcome…
Martin,
You brought a smile to my face – I can’t get the word “Sweet” out of any title I can think of, and that seems so… well… sweet 🙂
And it brings to mind all of the derivatives: Sweetener, Sweetness, Sweetie. And then you could go down the path of Sugar & Spice
I’m definitely not any help brainstorming this afternoon 🙂
Shawn – thanks for the suggestions! And on another note, is anyone giving any “Sour” votes to the non-business related submissions? I have not done so. It’s true that most of the submissions here are valuable content for small businesses – and the off-topic submissions do stand out like sore thumbs.
Cindy,
You are so sweet! Thanks for your kind words! 🙂
Brainstorming session: Cane sugar queen, raw sugar king…
As a chile head, I like the phrase “sugar & spice”.
I have had the same question regarding the “sour votes”. I think people have a hard time to end on sour note after reading a good post. You should know that people are trying to send non-business related submissions, but most of them are caught by the moderators. Maybe I should click on the lemon after I have added the my own first submission at test the system! 😉 I like citrus fruits, especially lime. Do you want to test my Persian Lime Martin(i) drink? 😀
Hmmm, where is my editor?! 😉 Sorry for the typos.
“I think people have a hard time to end on a… ”
“…added my first submission to…”
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to vote on others’ submissions. In social media, you must give first in order to receive. If you would like to attract more votes for your articles, try voting on other people’s articles.
When you vote, others can look up your profile and will see your submissions and your website. It’s a way for you to come to the attention of other people.
Try it — more than once. Remember that consistency in social media also is important, not just a one-time effort.
Anita,
Good advice. I haven’t submitted any articles by myself yet, due to the fact that I am busy with reading through all the great content on a regular basis, finding new blogs, sites and resources, compiled in a convenient fashion.
I want to get a sense of the nature of this social bookmarking site and how the network is developing through time.
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