Blog parties are one of my favourite things to do, and in my experience they are an incredibly fun and successful way of boosting traffic to your blog and building a readership.
For those who have never heard of a blog party before, the concept is simple. The host will create a post which states a set of rules. Other bloggers will then share a link to a post from their blog in the comment section and will go and visit other links from the people participating. I love participating in these sorts of events, and have discovered many wonderful blogs and bloggers by doing so.
Hosting a successful party, however, takes a little bit of preparation and time in advance, and requires 100% commitment on the day.
Want to host your own blog party? Here’s my easy step-by-step guide to planning and developing a party that will get the blogosphere talking!
In advance:
1. Decide on a date and time in which you wish to host the party. This will depend on a number of things:
- The day and time of the week where you get your highest traffic.
- A day where you have a large block of time to fully commit to the party.
It’s important to note here that the length of time in which a party can last will be entirely up to you. I prefer for mine to go on for the entire day, accommodating different time zones and giving the opportunity for readers from all over the world to participate. However, I do know of many that prefer just a two or three hour time slot.
2. Decide on a potential theme (although a theme is not necessary – you may wish to host one just for the fun of it). There is no right or wrong to this – you may want to celebrate a blogiversary, your birthday, the release of your new book or a national holiday. You may ask participants to only share posts within this theme, or could leave it open. I often prefer to leave the content of posts up to the blogger instead of requesting a particular subject, as I find that it alienates those who may have a different niche and don’t have any posts that match the criteria.
3. Issue an invitation about a week before. Any earlier than this it’s likely that it will be forgotten, and giving only a day’s notice may mean that others won’t have the opportunity to schedule some time to participate. I like to create a graphic with the details, which I share on my blog and my social media pages and then I contact close blogging friends personally through private/direct messages.
4. Promote your party throughout the week. Of course, it’s never advisable to spam everyone with constant reminders, but sharing the graphic or the details of the party again once a day will retain interest and will notify others who missed the first announcement.
On the day:
1. Create a post for the party which makes clear the rules which you wish participants to follow. These rules will differ depending on the blogger and the purpose of the party. I usually tend to use the same rules each time, which others have been able to follow quite easily and respectfully:
- Choose your favourite post from your own blog. The subject of the post can be anything you like – blogging, food, parenting, life, travel, thoughts, photography… Note: This should be only one post at a time or it will get sent straight to the ‘spam’ folder and I may not be able to find you for a while. You can share up to three links, and for maximum impact I would suggest that you wait a little while in between posting them rather than in one go.
- Paste the link to your post in the comment section of this post and feel free to write a little bit about yourself and/or your blog.
- Enjoy! Relax, pull up a chair, meet new people! Find new blogs, comment on their posts, follow, reblog and share. Let them know that you met them here!
2. Be a gracious host. My settings mean that I have to approve every comment before it shows on the blog, so I have to ensure that I am available for the entirety of the party and approve them as quickly as possible (and check my spam folder as it’s inevitable that some won’t read the rules). Once I have, I try and visit as many as possible and leave a comment both on their blog and in a reply on my own post. It’s a massive undertaking if the party is extremely busy, but I try and thank as many people as possible for sharing a link – making people feel welcome, particularly if they have never visited your blog or been to a blog party before, will encourage them to go and visit others and may become a regular reader. It’s surprising how many feel a little nervous about introducing themselves to new people.
3. Continue to promote your party throughout the day on your social media.
Want to participate in a blog party? I am hosting a Halloween party THIS SATURDAY here at Suzie Speaks, and everyone is invited! Your post/s don’t have to have a scary theme, everyone is welcome to share any links (up to a maximum of three) that they like, and they don’t have to be a recent one. For more information, check out the rules in this post! The party will begin at 9.00am GMT and will go on until 9.00am on Sunday 1st November.
Halloween Blog Party!
I look forward to seeing you all there!
You can also find me on Twitter and Tumblr @suzie81blog, and don’t forget to check out my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/suzie81speaks, my Pinterest page http://www.pinterest.com/suzie81speaks and my Instagram page http://www.instagram.com/suzie81speaks.
I’ve never been to a blog party. It sounds fun.
You’re very welcome to join in on Saturday April!
Thank you. I shall.
It does sound like fun. Perhaps I will come out of my chicken costume for Halloween and consider hosting one of my own in the future! 🙂
Haha! You should Annette – they’re lots of fun (if a bit exhausting, but totally worth it!)
Reblogged this on Annette Rochelle Aben and commented:
Suzi is hosting a BLOG PARTY this Saturday! Come one, come ALL! Oh, if you need to know what that is all about… enjoy this post!
Thank you my lovely!
Sounds fun Suzie, do we have to come in costume?
Haha! Absolutely! Now, where’s my She-Ra outfit?
I’ve got a red velvet witches hat….
Amazing!
Reblogged this on kyrosmagica and commented:
Excited for Halloween? Suzie is hosting a Halloween blog party this Saturday you better not be late or who knows what might happen!!
Thank you my lovely!
I’m doing a Halloween theme on my blog this month apart from a few other posts…. So happy to reblog this for you and spread the word. I Iove Halloween!!
Thank you! You’re more than welcome to share your posts on Saturday!
Thank you Suzie. That would be awesome 🙂
Some great advice here. I hold a monthly ‘Tea Party’ where I feature some recipes I’ve enjoyed from other bloggers then encourage people to attend and leave their own links (doesn’t have to be food related).
I had my third one yesterday and whilst it does help traffic, it’s not as successful as I’d like it to be yet. I’ve found people leave ‘likes’ but don’t leave links or reblog etc, which would help keep it going.
That said, whilst I do promote it on social media throughout the day, I’ve so far not thought to do it in the run-up. I’ll try this next month, see if it helps a bit more – put a date in your diary for 29th November! And I’ll look forward to popping by on Saturday 🙂
Ooh thanks Haylee! It takes time to build things up – you’ll find it will grow each month and then all of a sudden it will explode – it takes a little while for people to catch on sometimes…
I hope so! I want to help other people’s traffic, not just my own 🙂
That’s what I love doing too – I was really helped out by really popular bloggers when I first started and I’ve never forgotten that!
Same here – I may only have a small readership so far, but it’s surpassed what I expected and much of that is down to promotion from other, much larger bloggers. And because I like hosting tea parties, virtual or otherwise!!
I love going to afternoon tea, particularly the posh ones! It’s a shame that I don’t actually like tea though haha!
Happy blog party Suzie! Hope it goes wonderfully well 🙂 xx
Thanks Helen – feel free to stop by and share a link if you’re free… How’s the holiday going?
Over the jet lag now and it’s going great! Lots of photos and inspiration, friends and family, couldn’t ask for more 🙂 xx
So glad you’re having a good time!
Reblogged this on KRISTINA STANLEY and commented:
I’ve never done a blog party before, but I thought I’d share this anyway. If you host one let me know. I’d love to take part. Thanks to Suzie Speaks for posting this.
Thanks for the reblog Kristina! You’re welcome to come along and share your links on Saturday!
I’d love too. Thank you for inviting me.
Great info here. Thanks for sharing with us.
Thanks Kritstina!
Sounds great! 😀
Thanks! Hope to see you there!
Oh man, it’s going to be difficult to decide which posts to share since I’ll have all 5 Nightmare Before Christmas recipes finished by then! Can’t wait.
Thanks Leisel! I look forward to reading them!
I just finished writing my post for my blog party this week, Suzie, I haven’t had one in awhile, maybe people will wander back and forth. 🙂
Great! I’ll add a link to yours in mine so they can hop on over!
Thank you kindly, Suzie, you’re awesome. 🙂 And I’ll post the link to your blog and mention #SundayBlogShare 🙂
Aww thanks my lovely! Thanks for all your participation in #SundayBlogShare too!
Yeay! Wonderful, Suzie! Thank you so much for hosting this party! I cannot wait! You are the best!! Cher xo
I love it when you join in my parties Cher – you go and visit everybody!
Ah, bless! Thank you, dear Suzie! Well I am super grateful to you for hosting the best parties in the blogosphere! I’ll certainly be there, with Halloween treats for all, and visiting your guests!! Cher xo
Thanks Cher – I look forward to it!
Me too, Suzie!! Thank you!!! Cher xo
I’ll give it a try!!!
Let me know how you get on!
that’s great! thanks for all info and of course the party! 🙂
You’re very welcome! Please forgive the late reply!
I think these are fantastic and really thought out tips, Suzie! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Dustin!
Thank you for the invite. I’ll be there!
I have never hosted a party but like to go to others when I can. I’ll see you on Saturday! 🙂
This sounds like it could be a very good party!
Ooh another party! Do we need to dress up?
Reblogged this on Steve Says… and commented:
Blog party at Suzie’s! These are always really good. This time since it’s Halloween feel free to dress up, just try not to have a costume as awkward as any of these http://steve-says.net/2015/10/22/the-worlds-top-10-awkward-halloween-photos-2015/
Will there be candy?
Super! I started my blog a few months back and just recently started to expand into serious blogging habits like scheduling posts, writing them beforehand, and learning the blogging world and networking opportunities! I just recently learned about link-ups and blog parties! I just joined my first link-up today! And will be starting my own on Thursdays! I also am doing a blog hop right now and love connecting with other bloggers! I haven’t done a blog party yet so I’m excited to join you on Saturday!
Wow you’ve jumped straight in there! Let me know how you’re getting on with the linky’s – great way to meet people!
wow interesting you got me thinking
Thanks! Let me know if you are going to do one!
https://bklynboy59.wordpress.com/2012/11/13/who-are-you/
I rarely do this (once or twice maybe?) but I’m commenting before I read your post. I have never held a blog party and am looking forward to reading this. Your posts are always so informative and clear. I don’t know that I’ll actually do this, but I want to thank you for sharing all your blogging, partying, pinteresting secrets with us. 🙂 Be back…
Thanks sarah – let me know the next time you want to host one!
I think this idea of blog parties is cool. I liked this post because it gave a lot of information that I did not know.
I will try to attend your blog party. Thank you for having it. I love Halloween. 🌹
Annie💕
I’m so glad you liked it – thanks!
Oooh, I’ve not heard about blog parties before, but I love the idea! Sounds like a great way to meet fellow bloggers.
Thanks, Suzie!
Oooh – I think I’m in for Saturday! Sounds like fun!
Hi Suzie,
I will be promoting your party for you at my Weekly Roundup tomorrow.
Janice
A very belated thank you janice – I’m so sorry for the late reply!
Hi Suzie, It’s all good. I didn’t seriously have expectations of meeting anyone at your blog party because I arrived so very late. The next thing I knew, I had a new follower who said he met me on your site at your party!
Janice
Thanks Janice – that’s great!
Love this post!! I’m going to Indiana over Halloween and am going to try to blog while I’m there BUT I will try to see if I can stop into the party for a little. But if not I’m looking forward to reading your comments when I get back 🙂
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This was my first party – I loved it, and I really appreciated learning about the process of hosting one 🙂 Many thanks for sharing your experience.
Thanks so much my lovely – I’m really pleased you enjoyed it!
Reblogged this on theowlladyblog.
Really appreciated learning about the process of hosting a party.
Thank you – really pleased you found it useful!
Great job! Thanks for sharing
Thank you!