CONCEPTS AND

PRINCIPLES OF
NETWORKING AND
LINKAGE BUILDING
WHAT IS NETWORKING?
PRINCIPLES IN
NETWORKING
AND LINKAGE
BUILDING
1. GIVE MORE THAN YOU GET

• It’s critical to remember that networking is a two-way street.

Many people that want to build their network are only motivated
by what they can get out of their network, rather than focusing
on how they can help others.
• There is nothing wrong with wanting to get something positive
for yourself out of your networking efforts, but it’s important to
take an approach that will also benefit others in your network.
2. BE GENUINE

Networking is highly personal. Although things like email and

social networking sites make networking online very easy, don’t
forget to prioritize the personal aspect. Just because you can
easily reach out to any blogger or marketer through their site or
social networks doesn’t mean that you should quickly write a
generic message to them, or send a canned message that
you’ve also sent to 10 other people.
3. BE PROACTIVE

If you’re starting from scratch you will need to take

action in order to build your network. Once you reach
a high profile in your industry or niche you’ll have
plenty of people coming to you, but if you are just
getting started you will need to be proactive in order to
build your network.
4. TAKE A LONG-TERM APPROACH

Building a strong network, just like building a

successful business, takes time. Of course, it is
great when you can see the results of your
networking efforts quickly, but the real value of
those efforts will be seen in time.
5. PRIORITIZE QUALITY OVER
QUANTITY

• It’s not important that you have thousands of people

in your network. What is much more important is
the quality of those connections.
• The quality of your connections will involve how
well you know the people in your network, how
relevant your work is to one another, and the
level of influence of each of you.
6. DON’T FOCUS ONLY ON INDUSTRY
LEADERS

One of the mistakes that many bloggers make, in my opinion,

when it comes to networking is that they focus exclusively on
highly influential bloggers. Sure, it would be great to get to
know A-list bloggers, but they have so many people
contacting them on a daily basis that it is really difficult to
make a true connection with them.
7. BE APPROACHABLE
While it is important that you take action when it comes to
networking, it’s also important that others are able to easily
reach out to you. Your website or blog should include a
contact form that is easy to find, or at least list an email
address where you can be reached. In today’s world of social
networking it’s also a good idea to link to your profiles at sites
like Twitter, Google+, and Facebook (or whatever social
networks are popular with your audience) so others can reach
you that way if they prefer.
8. SET ASIDE TIME FOR NETWORKING

There are so many aspects to running a blog or a website and so

many things that need to be done. It’s very easy to overlook
networking or to let other duties and responsibilities take a
priority. But in order to build a strong network you will need to
dedicate time for networking and connecting with others. The
best way to be sure that networking will not be overshadowed by
other tasks is to set aside time in your schedule specifically for
networking.It doesn’t need to be a lot of time, but it should be a
part of your daily, or at least weekly, schedule.
9. BE ORGANIZED

As your network grows it becomes increasingly important that

you maintain some organization. You’ll, of course, want to have
easy access to the contact information of everyone in your
network, and I also find it helpful to have a list of people that you
consider to be in your network. This list can be helpful for
identifying people that you haven’t communicated with in a while,
so you can reach out to them every now and then.
10. NETWORK IN PERSON, WHEN
POSSIBLE
There are so many great opportunities for networking
online that we tend to forget about all of the things you
can do to make connections face-to-face. During the
years that I have been working online I have not met
very many people in my network in person, but there is
no doubt that the face-to-face connections that I have
made have added something very significant.