Social Bookmarking and Reader Relationships

Every online entrepreneur wants to be seen as an expert in their chosen niche or industry. Why? Because it allows them to gain more traffic, sales, business connections, and ultimately get a solid reputation online. If you want to position yourself as an expert in your chosen field, you can social bookmarking sites for that purpose. Who wouldn’t want to be viewed as an expert in their field?

In real life, we tend to share to others want we like and enjoy. If it’s an exciting book or movie, we tell our friends. If it’s an effective product, we recommend it to loved ones. That aspect of human nature is what social bookmarking sites are all about.

Each time you publish and distribute interesting content, your readers enjoy it. Some readers will actually LOVE your content so much that they will bookmark it through a social bookmarking site, so that they can share it to their friends.

Usually, people can submit content in social bookmarking sites on a wide range of topics. Online users can rate articles, share videos, tag pictures, and many more. Open your accounts in the popular social bookmarking sites, and then add bookmarking icons on your sites for easier navigation.

When people submit your content to bookmarking services, your original content is not copied. Only your content link is submitted as a social bookmark and can be easily shared to other people in the community. Other users are then allowed to rate or vote on your content. If lots of people like your content, it has the potential to move to the front page of the social site, attracting thousands and even hundreds of thousands of readers.

But you have to keep this in mind: People won’t feel it necessary to bookmark your content if you don’t establish a relationship with the. Research and survey in order to find out what people in your target market want. Knowing this vital information will help you provide what people are looking for and are able to satisfy their needs.

Go the extra mile and commit yourself to bookmarking the stuff of people who bookmark yours. Visit their blogs and see if there is anything you can comment on and submit as social bookmarks. Remember, once your comment is posted on a particular blog post, you share in whatever traffic is generated by that post. So be generous in visiting other blogs, leaving comments, submitting their content to social bookmarking sites.

When people leave feedback on your blog posts, make it a habit to reply promptly. Use the initial feedback as a springboard for an ongoing conversation.

Letting readers see your content bookmarked in sites like Digg and Stumbleupon will give them the opportunity to vote for you. It will result in a steady, ongoing stream of content because, as you gain more votes and positive ratings, your content becomes even more popular online.

The secret is to learn how to get readers to like and trust you. You do this by sincerely communicating and being generous with them. The relationship you have with readers and potential customers must be a two way street, where everyone benefits and profits in some way.