Do you participate in blog link ups? Should you?

Over the years my linking up has ebbed and flowed. As my blogging priorities and focus have changed, I find some link ups work for me and some don’t. But here’s the truth — link ups are a great way to connect with other bloggers and to build your audience.

While I have seen countless benefits to my blog and reach through linking up, there are three reasons joining link ups is good for you and your blog.

1. Focus

Participating in link ups has helped me focus my thoughts on more than one occasion. As a member of Holley Gerth’s God-Sized Dreams Team, I added a post each week to a link up with a specific theme. This was a great tool me for to capture ideas and be accountable about writing.  I’ve found I am more focused when I join link ups regularly as I know what sort of posts I need to write.  Also, when I find myself suffering from writer’s blog, creating a post for a link up is a great way to jump back in to writing.

2. Community

Participating in link ups has given me the opportunity to connect with bloggers I may otherwise have never known. I love Emily Freeman’s What I Learned link up every month. Bloggers share about everything from the trivial to the deep, and I love finding new writers to follow and interact with. Link ups can also be a great way to connect with bloggers who have the same passions and interests as you do. Participating in link ups related to a specific conference or event can be a fabulous way to build relationships with other bloggers.

3. Growth

Many of my seasons of blog growth are directly connected to posts I wrote for link ups. For a couple of years I participated faithfully in the Top Ten Tuesday link up. Some of those posts remain my most shared and most viewed even though they were written two or even three years ago.  {Talk about evergreen content!} Another way to grow through link ups is by thinking outside the box. For example, Lindsey of The Pleated Poppy started What I Wore Wednesday as a means of accountability for herself. But it has become a huge link up with women in all seasons of life. I’m certainly not a fashion blogger, but I have found I enjoy sharing how what I wear impacts my quest for living simply. Sharing those posts in the WIWW link up has brought new readers to my site, often those I would never have otherwise connected with.

There are so many link ups out there. I highly recommend joining the fun. Whether you participate weekly, monthly, or just on occasion, you’ll benefit in several ways from connecting with other bloggers.

What is your favorite link up?