How to Massively Spread Your Online Influence – The Superfast Way

by MarsDorian · 73 comments

kick-ass image credit: tanakawho

Konnichi-wa my fellow Crusaders,

Do you know why some blogs grow like crazy with half the work ? Do you know why the big players get more and more successful ? Do they summon powerful magic to get these kick-ass results ?

Nope. They are simply part of a tight online alliance.

It’s one principle that spreads your influence super-fast in half the time. And that’s why I experienced the biggest growth in June so far. I have talked about this in my video, but I will further clarify the process in this post. By the end of this article, you will know:

How to look for the right people for your alliance
How to promote each other
And how to enjoy the success that springs from it.

Sounds good ? No, sounds freaking awe-some !

What I learned

In the beginning I thought I had to do everything myself: Comment on other blogs, twitter my own stuff, write guest posts etc.

While that brought some traffic, it wasn’t nearly as fun and effective as I thought. I believed:

if you really want to make it big, you need to do it yourself.

Boy, I don’t know what was burning in my brain back then, but that’s obviously not the way to go. Just like in the real world (it exists!), networking is the alpha and omega of a successful life. And you have to take it a step further.

The big players are doing it all the time: Yaro Starak, Darren Rowse, Brian Clark, Danielle LaPorte – they are all heavy into tight networks, that further strengthen their online presence. No matter what you are – indie filmmaker, blogger, food evangelist – if you have an online presence, you need a tight-ass alliance.

This is how you do it

How to look

Get your fire mode on and start rocking your destiny. Search around the net. Who’s a like-minded Crusader ? Who’s in a similar niche and preferably has a (slightly) bigger presence than you ? Hint: find someone who’s equally ambitious, and really wants to expand. An alliance takes commitment, and not everyone is up for it.

If you find someone who fits your style, begin reading his blog (if you don’t do it already) and promote his stuff. Then after a few days or weeks, simply contact that person and say how much you luv him or her. Be specific with your compliments. “You’re grrreat” is ok. But saying: “I luv your writing style, especially your last post on building a blog alliance rocks rivers.” is much better.

And then offer an alliance, and how it will benefit him or her.

As long as you’re genuine, you’ll have good chances. Look out for more.

Too few, and it won’t be effective. Too many, and the workload will overwhelm you. Having a group of 3 – 6 mutual Crusaders works wonders.

Plan your conquest

Now you have your group, ready to take on the digital universe. What now ?

Create your very own Google group, and write down a basic manifesto. Clarify the goal of your group – what do you plan ? How will you support each other ? Set up a call once a week (Skype, baby !), where you exchange your experience and strategies. Share your knowledge.

Start dominating

Action time ! There are so many things you can do to spread each other’s influence but the most obvious are:

Social media each other. You know – Twitter, Facebook etc. The usual suspects.
Share your knowledge. The internet offers every kind of information, but you only have this lifetime, and you can’t possibly find everything yourself. If you find something noteworthy ( a killer app, plugin, blog ?), share the juice. And vice versa.
Comment on each other’s blogs. This is important, especially when you don’t get many comments yet. Thanks to social conditioning, people will tend to do what they see other people doing. So if your “partner” drops the first comment, it’s more likely that others follow up. Nobody wants to be the first ;)
#FF each other. Follow Friday is a Twitter trend where you suggest people to follow. And it’s usually on Friday (*o* ) ! Don’t name too many, three at most in one tweet. Preferably one per tweet. Just like this: @marsdorian is cool guy. Check out his epic blog on spreading your online influence !
Link to each other. Basic stuff. Mention your buddies in your posts, but make sure it’s useful. Write a case study and just give a reason why you mention them, and make it relevant to your readers.
Go JV. The is the top cream of a mutual alliance. Plan a project together – maybe an ebook, a course or a webinar. Go higher and even create a joint venture – how about a co-authored blog ? it’s happening all over the web.

From my experience, I can tell you this: Having like-minded Digital Crusaders on your side will spacerocket your influence in less time. Your social proof will increase, just like your authority. It’s fun and effective. No matter what you do online, this is how you spread your influence.

Are you involved in an alliance ? If not, why ? And if yes, what else can you share ? Any tips. Share it, I want to hear it !

And Please RETWEET and Facebook-share this post !

Tagged as: alliance, blog, blogging, marketing, partnership

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http://www.peopleskillsdecoded.com Eduard @ People Skills Decoded

Blogging alliances are definitely an underused tool. I think this is because it requires us to activate are social part, rather than our writing part, which can be a bit of a struggle for most bloggers. Thanks for the insights :)

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Hey Eduard,

Yeah, it sounds quite easy, but the slight effort it takes should not be estimated. However, if you find ambitious Crusaders like yourself, it's a big GO-GO.

http://www.giveabrick.com/ Eleanor Edwards

I never saw it like this but yes, I have lots of allies and you're right, it makes it a lot more fun and massively more productive. What I haven't gotten involved in yet is the concrete organised stuff you talk about. Sounds like a great plan. I think I need to go and watch your video ;)

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Hey Eleanor, you definitely want to plan the basic outlines, like:
When and how often will you meet ?
What's your strategy ? (link, cross-promote?)

This is easy, but it should be done. It's highly effective.

http://www.giveabrick.com/ Eleanor Edwards

Thanks Mars. I have the email notification of your reply sitting in my inbox, nagging at me to take action ;)

One of my issues is I want to both promote Give A Brick (charity I founded) and myself (entertaining copy which hopes to fund my time with the former) so I'm always a bit torn what to promote where.

Disqus, for example, allows me a link to one site. That's always the charity but it would be nice to be able to add my blog too as another option for a different audience.

Any suggestions?

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

mmm, Disqus only lets you have one profile for your website. If I were you, I'd turn the personal blog into the main base of operations, make it popular and valuable as possible and refer to your charity (while using the mission of your charity as an underlying theme in your writings). You know, build a kick-ass personal brand first. This how I do it, and this is how Nathan Hangen does it. It's really powerful this way.

http://www.giveabrick.com/ Eleanor Edwards

An interesting perspective. The only thing that makes me unsure is that GAB already has a much bigger following than little old me. It's a blog in it's own right, not just a bog standard charity landing page.

You've given me lots to think about, thank you :)

srinirao

Mars,

I pride myself on spotting the bloggers who I know are going to make it and are doing something that really stands out. So glad that we have been able to connect. It's great that you took this and put in text and video form. We often overlook things like this and early stage bloggers can really benefit from this. When we do our BlogcastFM product I'll more than likely have you do a segment on this stuff.

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Hey thanks Srini,

It's easy to overlook, but sooo vital. There's so much to do, and I want to share it all !!

http://cashwithatrueconscience.com/rbblog Ryan

Hi Mars,

Networking is the quickest way to expand your presence. You tap into huge networks with minimal effort. I too tried to do it on my own in the beginning, ignoring this powerful form of leveraging. This happened until I realized the only 24 hours in a day rule. You can't do it on your own and be uber successful in this lifetime.

I RT, Facebook share, and spread the word of my peers all the time. I comment on their blogs, chat them up and thank them for sharing their insight.

Keep in mind that I'm not attempting to flatter them; I am genuinely thankful to have gained insight by absorbing their knowledge. Many of my peers have expanded my presence and my blog has flourished because of this.

Thanks for sharing the pointers Mars. Keep doing what you're doing ;)

Ryan

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

I know Ryan,

you are a networking DareDevil ;) But you are doing the right way: you only share stuff that you personally like and that's worth sharing.
I only flatter those who deserve it, and I keep it real. Too much ego isn't good, but a simple thank you can go a long way.

I believe having a tight alliance is even better than a solid network.
You plan and conspire, and you make strategies for taking over the world. Sort of ,)

http://www.making-your-own-website.com NA | Create Your First Website

Hey Mars,

Look's like some awesome advice.

I would agree with your view. It is really important to network with people who help each other. It is essential in this age, to collaborate.

I mentioned in my previous comment on your video, that even Yahoo and Bing are beginning to collaborate, instead of competing, in the search engine market.

Nabeel

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Nabeel,

that's interesting, but it makes sense that they collaborate. How else can they attack (and maybe defeat?) Google. Are you in an alliance yourself ?

http://www.smartpassiveincome.com Pat

Great post Mars! It's funny because I almost always notice “pairs” of blpgs grow at almost the exact same rate, in multiple niches, and they're always linking to each other.

For example, the PF blogs at GetRichSlowly.org and Simpledollar.com. They both started at the same time and helped each other grow to an enormous size (over 70k subscribers each).

I think online, it's not about competition anymore, but rather about helping each other out for a common goal.

Cheers dude!

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Hey Pat,

Yeah, I remember that from reading Glen's post. But I personally don't think a pair is the way to go. it's not effective enough. The group should be small, but not that small. At least 3 or 4 is good a number. After all, you really want to spread your kick-ass message, right ;)

http://www.heroicdestiny.com David Crandall

Mars, as always, this is so dead on! I was approached very early by someone who proposed the same thing to me. My alliance with them (and other since then) has been awesome.

It's also a great way to stay encouraged too! My opinion has always been that relationships are key to anything we do. Smart observation and strategy!

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Heya David,

that's awesome. Yeah, it helps also to get the momentum going, because you are telling each other to keep rocking. The effects can be amazing, if you find the right people. Looks like you did.

http://www.urbanizedmedicine.com Jennifer Barthe

This exactly what I needed to hear right now. I just started a new blog, my fifth, and I need to connect with like minded people ASAP. So glad I came across this post. Now it's time to implement your advice. Looking forward to seeing the results.

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Rock on Jennifer,

it's something I should have right from the beginning. Just like in the real world, it yields massive results and it's ridiculous fun too !
Do as soon and epic as possible. Like right now. Go ;)

matthewneedham

Great ideas here Mars. I think that's great advice for forming an alliance.

Thanks for sharing.

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

thanx Matthew,

go rock yours !

http://twitter.com/Murlu Murray Lunn

Right on Mars, creating these mastermind type groups can greatly boost your influence and growth online.

It's great to have an actual hub to get things done because you can try to keep up with everyone but once it's rolling, it's sometimes hard to keep up.

Like you said, find others that are equally ambitious. We're all in this together, it's not competition – millions of searches? There's plenty to go around.

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Hey Murray, I would say that it's actually easier once everything's rolling.
The pressure to keep up makes you more ambitious, you want to kill, just like your “peers”.

And yeah, competition is only for average people.

http://www.nextlevelblogger.com/about Christian Russell

yes sir! tight alliances make the world go round. This is how biznas has always gone down. Not much has changed since the old world with no interwebz :-) people getting together, swapping ideas and making things happen.

Just don't expect awesome partners to fall in your lap or for things to happen overnight…OR for people to “help a brother out”, just because you're so cool. Alliances only work when things are mutually beneficial. As with all things, you get out what you put in!

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Hey Christian,

I don't expect anything. I promote my “peers” as much as possible, and I share all of my knowledge. It's digital karma, the fun way.

http://www.nextlevelblogger.com/about Christian Russell

you're a troo playa sir. One of the few out there doing it right, for the right reasons. Rock on :-)

http://www.websitebegin.com Joe Boyle

Although it helps, I disagree with the idea of commenting on eachother's blogs just for the sake of an alliance. I am, currently, in an “alliance”, but we only share and comment on each others' stuff if it is worthy.

It helps encourage better content! Great post, anyway!

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Hey Joe,

I get your point – never do anything for sake of something. But honestly: Don't you want to make every blog post worthy commenting on ?
That's my goal, and it's the goal of my fellow Crusaders. Make every post comment-worthy.

http://www.websitebegin.com Joe Boyle

Well, by only helping out other people's content that is worthy of our time, we help convince others to write good content. If you want my tweet or comment, you're going to have to work for it, much the reason why you're getting my comment, today.

http://jonathanbutterworth.com Jonathan Butterworth

That is such a great idea Mars! I have heard before that it helps to team up with other like minded bloggers but you explained the process very well. Especially since you encourage having at least 3 in a group.

It is sad but true that the number of comments on a blog can create premature judgment so having your group comment on your posts is a great way to encourage others to do the same.

Thanks!

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Hey Jonathan,

yeah, it always boils down to psychology – nobody wants to be the first. Once you see one comment, you see others following. In order to get over those initial stages, one should always consider building a dream team. Start with one. And the rest will unfold.

http://www.stevescottsite.com/ Steve Scott Site

Hey Mars. Glad to see that you're helping people realize they don't have to do EVERYTHING. Outsourcing and blogging alliances are two good ways to get things moving quicker than you could do alone.

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Hey Steve,

Outsourcing is something I consider too in the near future, as soon as the workload gets too heavy – especially the technical stuff. Life's really too short to do everything yourself.

http://www.waliqfactory.com/ Michel J. Gagnon

Thanks Mars,
Alliances can definitely help you spread your influence, but it can also easily bring you more troubles. As Christian wrote, “alliances only work when things are mutually beneficial.” I was wondering if you've ever had a bad experience with an alliance? I guess the worst-case scenario is that it would just disintegrate, but I'm curious to know anyway.

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Hi Michel,

I didn't have a bad experience yet. The closest thing to “bad” is that not everybody is showing the same commitment. There are no dangers, you just got to find people that are ambitious enough to go high and support others along the way. Seriously Michel, consider creating/joining one.

annahaller

I thought the same thing too Mars when I started, that I had to do everything myself but as time progressed I realized that I can't and that I need to form an alliance as you mentioned.

I am still in the planning stages of one because it is important to get like minded people that share in your same vision as well. It is a good way to spread the love among the community and it's a win win for everyone!

Good luck with your mastermind group, I'm sure it will no doubt be an awesome one!

Anna

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

lol,

thanx Anna. Everybody is just doing their best to rock their part of the web galaxy.It's just awe-some when you find like-minded Crusaders who share similar goals.
And Anna, plz don't plan to long. Just jump and do what you have to do. Now is always the best time ;)

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http://twitter.com/PrecillaSedney Precilla Sedney

Thanks for your comment! It was really nice. I rarely get some supporting comments, so I appreciate yours!

You got some great tips! I've never thought about forming an alliance with my fellow bloggers. I mean, we always try to help each other, but we never really “sat down” and decided to make things a bit official.

But I can see why it works. because it's your own personal support system. Everyone can learn and benefit from each other.

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Hey Precilla, I had to do it – the flavor was just too creative.

You should #definitely consider creating your own group, if you want to spread your online presence that is. Re-read this post if you have to, or just go out and build your network. Easy and super-effective.
ANd keep rock-ing with your blog.
sooo c-r-e-a-t-i-v-e

http://ryanstephensmarketing.com/blog/ ryanstephens

Mars – I definitely think there's a lot of value in forming an online/blogging alliance. Some of the most successful people in the world got to where they were because they were participants in exclusive mastermind groups. The only thing I'll say is that it's easy to get caught up in wanting acclaim and sharing, re-tweeting, etc. mediocre content just because they're you're friends, et al. Part of being in the group should be to challenge each other and hold each other's content to a higher standard.

Cheers!

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Hey Ryan,
that's a go go.
I told mine that it must really worthwhile – highly relevant and kick-ass any way possible. It's a dangerous trap when you promote each other's average stuff, life doesn't have to be this way ;)

http://twitter.com/Guapologa Profesionales Imagen

It's an easy-to-follow plan and I love how you explain it, step by step.

I'm actually working on several of this ideas and it's cool to notice I'm not so lost on my social media work.

Thanks for this post, it rocks!

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Hey,

no worries – my pleasure. I hope you implement some of it – networking with fellow crusaders is the way to go to spread your influence online…while having tons of fun !!

http://www.tammycamp.com Tammy Camp

Wow! Brilliant, practical and very useable advice there Mars, thanks!

So 3 – 6 mutual crusaders is the magic number you say? That's going to make it tough to choose my Caped Camp Crusaders . . . but yeah, more would become out of hand.

I guess this is a sort of formalization of what we all do already; comment on the blogs of bloggers who share similar goals and live similar lifestyles. Do you find that making it more 'formal' gives it a super power boost?

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Aloha Tammy,

It's more than formalization – it's a really tight network. You have Skype meetings, share you experiences and your knowledge, support each other spreading the message and even do business projects together (what I'm involved with now). You get also the pressure to do better, because you are in positive competition to earn your right to belong to the group.

http://virginbloggernotes.com/ virginbloggernotes

I've been doing this in a random, natural way with great business/personal rewards, but this has inspired me to really DO it in an organized way.

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Go for it, Jean.

Simple planning and organizing is way powerful then just saying: Let's help each other. If you make it “official”, there's commitment.

http://www.writersaddict.net/ Ryan Hanzel

Very informative post Mars. I found this article useful since I am in the process of redoing my blog for the most part after my most recent break. Any advice is always beneficial! Glad to be back in the blogosphere!

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Hah, Ryan, welcome back.

Get your juices going and spread your creativity. It's sometimes hard to back into something if you are out of momentum, and that's why you have to gain it back.

http://www.financiallydigital.com Nunzio Bruno

This was a great post mainly because I just reached out to another blogger right before I got here. Man I need to start going through my reader before I go through my To-Do list. You are totally right on with the alliances. My new philosophy is all about having my hands in as many different pots as possible but only if I can continue to carry my weight and make the interactions valuable. No one want to engage in a partnership where the other is lazy or just wants results with no work. I care about the people I work with so I want them and ultimately myself to do well :)

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Hey Nunzio,

it's absolutely vital to find someone who's as ambitious as you. Someone who is burning with passion. Not only will this help you achieve your online goals faster, but you will also inspire each other to do better.

You have to find this out yourself and check how good you work together. THe risk is pretty low. Even if you “end up” with someone who's not doing much, you can always leave.

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http://darrenlcarter.com/blog/ Darren L Carter

Hey Mars,

Man, this is a really powerful post. I think you're exactly right about networking and using the power of others to strengthen your online presence. Good advice on how exactly to do it too.

Peace,
Darren L Carter

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

thanx Darren, I hope you do it (already;)
It's fun too – you feel like having your own little crime syndicate :=)

http://andbreak.com/ Julius Kuhn-Regnier

Nice article Mars. I totally agree with you here. If you want to grow fast you need to find others who are like minded and connect to them. That's one of the best ways to grow your blog.
This of course means that you need to learn to give. As you've mentioned you might in the beginning simply start commenting and also start promoting the articles of the person you want to connect to. This is actually one of the most important steps. But that's usually what everyone does. The next step you explain in the article above is the essential one. Simply contact the person via email and share why you like his blog or his posts and get to know him.
I definitely have to do it more often ;)
http://www.alexwideman.com Alex Wideman

I just recently made a friend through Twitter who is quickly becoming my blogging partner/ally. Networking is extremely helpful because you can learn from each other while helping one another grow through cross-promotion. It's not always easy to find others who are on the same level/popularity that you are, but it is definately worth the effort. I personally find it to be quite fun.

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

it's freaking awesome, that's what it is.
I wish I had known about its power earlier, but hey, you can't have it all.
It's awe-some that you have fun doing it as well, because that's essential.

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James Critelli

Truly outstanding article. I've always thought that Social Media was great for networking but never realized how much you could accelerate the process by creating an alliance. I've never heard of a Google Group, could u tell me how I'd start one?

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Hey James,
all you need is a free Google account (if you use Google mail, you already have it)
and then go to Google groups
or go directly to http://groups.google.com/
The advantage is that you create your own little space where you can exchange and share/edit the same documents, and even create a group-related email address. The features are pretty cool, use them to build your own ass-kicking digital alliance ;)
Lots of success, James !

Stanford Smith

DUDE – Stop giving away the best secrets! Seriously, this post hits the sweet spot:

Since you are giving away all the ninja secrets – I'll add – Make #FF a WIN/WIN by telling folks why they should follow an influencer. It's a cool thing to do and will get on your comment will get on the influencer's radar.

Oh hell, one more -
Select 2 influencers and buy their stuff. There's no better way to get your influencer's attention than to put cash in their pocket. It shows your commitment and your determination to make a connection.

Alright, how about you go on vacation dude before you give all the good stuff away.

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Hey Stanford,

Knowledge needs to be shared ;)
I already do #FF and give a reason why. It's useless mentioning 7 peeps in one tweet without giving a specific purpose.
And buying is pretty useful too – you are right. You can always say how grreat one person is, but by buying you show that you mean it.

Vacation time won't be in this life my friend. Not in this ;)

http://www.bizchickblogs.com Tia Peterson, BizChickBlogs

Hi Mars,

I like your thinking and you're totally right about success being a team effort. I wouldn't have it any other way.

http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

Thanx Tia,
it's simply awesome to be part of an international alliance that helps each other spread their influence !

meganmatthieson

I'm literally looking down the list of commenters to see who else is getting your goodness. Love you Mars! This is EXACTLY what I need to do. If you ever think of anyone that's in my niche (still searching for tagline- saturated steps in creativity and love. ok. too obtuse. i'm an artist. i'm a writer of found self love. i rock it.) send me the names! :) I've no fucking idea who my competitors are. But I'm searching! Thanks and love-
http://fungeezer.com Steve

Interesting stuff, Mars. This takes the whole social thing to a different level! I have been working on developing a network of likeminded people. Perhaps I need to work at it a bit harder!
http://www.mediagrow.net MediaGrow

Mars I agree 100% you can't do it alone, its just too much stuff. We all need help when starting out, My philosophy is “Give before Get” Help other and they will help you,

Great Post

Marios
http://businessbeware.biz/ Ashley

Wow, nicely put!
Lyndsaypower

Hey, I LOVED you article. I just started working with a smaller Real estate comapny in Newfoundland, and we are just starting to realize that we need to get more with the times and start taking advantage of these social networking ventures. We're on Facebook and Twitter ( twitter I am new too) but I'm thinking I we really new to start with the bloggs. Do you have any advice for a rookie blogger??:)

Lyndsay
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