Being that this is the Internet and from what I’ve seen everything (and anything) can researched and found in as little as one or two properly used adjectives, I plan to focus my next set of blogs on niche social networking.

Okay, breathe. Yes, I realize that are tons of social media networking sites (technorati, stumbleupon, digg, tumblr, etc), my statement is not for you to go out and join all of these sites (if you haven’t already) but to pick one or two sites that seem to cater more to your specific niche and start there.

It’s not about the quantity of social media sites you belong to but the quality of the site and how it fits into what your blog is talking about. Think of it this way, if you sign up for a popular social media site and their blogging demographic tend to focus on technology how will your blog stand out – long term – in that particular field? How many hits or visits can you expect to receive from that site?

Also, signing up for multiple sites equals more work for you, which depending on your time schedule can be either a blessing or a curse. In order to receive traffic, one has to go out and find similar people and start to slowly make your presence known in your niche. If you pick a social media site that doesn’t cater to that niche regularly, you are causing yourself more harm than good.

So, the primary rule should be as follows:

1. Start off small and acquire more when ready. Pick one to two appropriate social media sites, register yourself and start searching for blogs that are similar to yours. Friend them, as well as make sure to keep up-to-date on the doings of their blog – keep in as much contact as possible. If there is a way for you to showcase a particular post (stumbleupon is good at this), do that because it will definitely garner a lot more interest not only for their blog but for you as well!

My rule of thumb is in order to make myself succeed, you need to pay your dues, which in some cases may be just visiting blogs and leaving comments. In other instances, you might have to write emails to the blogger OR ask to guest contribute, it’s okay to start there because you only can go up from here! Stay positive.

Feel free to ask me any questions or leave comments, I love to hear what you all think!