Link Love Not for Sissies

Should I Start a Blog for My Small Business? is the question asked by Allen Taylor. His recent newsletter describes four reasons why.

Here is his 3rd point:

"Thirdly, don't promote your competitors. Promote yourself. No-brainer? You would think, but I see small businesses promoting their competition all the time."

Okay, this is the same discussion that comes up when we are working with new blogging clients.

We recommend they research other blogs in their field, leave meaningful comments on them, and start participating in the Blogosphere. We encourage linking profusely to other resources they find on the Web which benefit their readers.

So I asked Allen to elaborate on his comment on competitors, and here is his response, excerpted from his email:

in"I appreciate where you're coming from on the blog issue. Yes, it is true that commenting on industry issues and linking to other sites to reference them is the proper thing to do. I highly recommend it. I believe most industries have enough third-party sources to gather information and resources from that linking to one's competitors isn't necessary. However, I have done it and if you do it the right way you can discourage the click-through rather than encourage it."

"But won't I be linking to my competitors?" blogging newbies often worry.

"Yes, but they'll find them anyway, and you'll look good because you are generous and confident in your own services," our response goes.

Yet obviously there is something here that requires careful discernment.

Please note that what I am doing here in this post is the very thing that we are talking about: modeling linking behavior to someone, Allen Taylor, whose expertise overlaps our own.

I am linking to a (possible) competitor, sending some link love and some readers his way. Will we lose business because of this?

Maybe, and of course I hope not. Allen is also in business to help people with their content issues on the web, so that overlaps with ezines and blogs. But we have different business models and probably different clients.

The point is, you want your readers to find the resources most appropriate to their needs.  Are you courageous and confident enough to be generous?

Hey, who said being transparent, authentic and generous was for sissies?