Three Principles for an Expanding Online Influence

Blogging, for some, is a hobby. For others, it’s a career. For me, it’s perhaps a tiny bit of each (more the latter), but it’s mostly a way to get an extremely important message out – how you can know you have eternal life. In addition to blogging here at Life Here and There, I also blog here, here, and over here. Plus, I really like Twitter, Facebook, and a few other sites. So I’m beginning to understand what it’s like to expand an online influence, and though it’s certainly not the greatest priority of my life by far, I do see an eternal and purposeful impact.

How do you do it though? How do you expand your online influence? How do you get your message out to more people? I’ll tell you what you don’t do – don’t just throw up a website and hope for the best. Growth in the realm of online influence requires work like almost any other endeavor in life.

HERE ARE THREE SIMPLE KEYS I’VE LEARNED ABOUT…

Contribute Something of Value

Tons of people log onto the internet every day asking the same questions… how can I make money? how can I get something out of this thing? If you’re like me, you’re nauseated by each new site you stumble across offering the opportunity to make millions only working a few hours per week. Is that really why we’re here? Or… is it to give?

My own goal in blogging is to give something – to contribute something useful and helpful and perhaps encouraging. And I think that ultimately, people respond well to us when we’re coming with a contribution and not just a desire to collect something.

Connect with People

I’ve met some fascinating people from all over the world as a result of blogging. I “know” people in England, Canada, Iran, India, and dozens of other countries. Here’s what I’m learning – people generally help each other out. I know people of different religious and political viewpoints and while we don’t agree, it’s nice to find something in common with people who often seem so different from myself.

If you want to expand your online influence, grow your blog, tell your story to a wider audience, or market your product to a bigger base, you’re going to need the help of the crowd of online civilization. You’re dependent upon your tribe – the community of people who follow and support you. So make sure you’re not a selfish connector. As I said before, contribute!

Read, Research, and Enjoy

One thing I’ve learned from preaching is that you can’t give a drink to thirsty people if you’re running dry yourself. You’ve got to be fed, which in the blogging world, means exposing yourself to ideas and thoughts. I read constantly. In fact, I read a whole lot more than I write, and that’s how it should be.

There is more to share, but I thought I’d turn the tables and ask you – how have you expanded your online influence?

photo credit: PaperThinSerge