Safety in numbers. A strand of three is not easily broken. One puts a thousand to flight, two put ten thousand to flight. The more the merrier.

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Blogging is a lonely, solitary way of life. The only person needed is you – the computer, internet, and research make good blogging possible, but that’s it. There’s no support. No encouragement. No carbon based life form to share your dreams, fears, and doubts. It’s possible to blog alone. You might even develop a large following and make yourself some money. You can do it … but do you want to? There’s no shortage of blogs on-line. Why not take advantage of other people’s experiences and knowledge?

If you really want to see your blog succeed, find (and join) a blogging community. There are a couple of types of community.

1. Find a group of similar bloggers. Get on Google and start searching. Facebook features groups for everything – dog lovers, new moms, mandolin players. Search for your people. You may want to find a group of general bloggers dedicated to writing and networking better. You’ll probably find a group of like-minded bloggers – connect with everyone else who’s writing about classic cars. Once you find your crowd, join them!

2. Start a community blog. As a new writer I loved posting to my blog, but I didn’t have many followers. As I joined writing groups and attended conferences, however, I met some amazing people. A group of us decided to join our talents and create our own group blog: The Barn Door. We’re all Midwestern writers sharing about life in our part of the country. Over the years we’ve supported, encouraged, and helped each other as individuals, not simply contributing members of The Barn Door. (2023 Update: The Barn Door no longer exists.)

Just because you blog from home in your pajamas doesn’t mean you’re condemned to a life of isolation. Getting involved on-line allows you to connect with others, giving and receiving the help and advice that results in better blogs for everyone.