Following - Following Back at WA
Here is my take on the Follow Button here at WA.
There is a lot of chatter on the chat board. There are lots of questions out there (even my wall) about how many people are being followed and how many that person is following. I follow a lot of people at Wealthy Affiliate. I know some of the other top ranking people here may disagree with my practice.. and that's okay.
If I see a premium member that has commented on a blog post I am reading, I will follow you if I haven't done so already. I figure you have paid to upgrade, that means you are serious enough about building a business online. I know when I first got here, following and follow back affected your rank and many people did the like/follow/comment thing to increase their rank. The formula changed and this type of gaming does not work anymore.
Many people come here from links without knowing how they got to Wealthy Affiliate. But in some cases, they do know why they came and who sent them. When you are just getting started, you need to build some kind of reputation here before you start getting sign-ups and paid upgrades. I think it starts by getting a following. I don't look for all the new people that come on here and follow them. I will probably not post welcome on your board.. ( even though I did this at one time because so many others were doing it.)
I may not see everything you post, but I will try. I view the top 10 Posts many times a day and that grabs my attention most of the time. I watch chat, but I do not chime in much unless I see something I can contribute or see a question going unanswered that I can answer.
If you come to Wealthy Affiliate though one of my links or through one of my posts.. I will follow you back! If you need help, let me know on my profile or send me a message.
Thanks,
Bo the Webguy
Recent Comments
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Hi everyone. I typically follow someone after a discussion in chat or if I read one of their blogs and don't want to miss their next one. One of my favorite things to do is to be in Live Chat with a new member and helping them out however I can. And one way I will do this is to pop over to their profile and follow them. It's my way of saying, "Great talking to you and you can do this".
I find that WA is about relationships and I like to develop those and use the tools we're given here to do that. Whether it's to follow, hit the like button on a comment, or comment on posts like this.
An interesting side note; I recently followed someone and left a comment on their profile that said, "you're on fire" (you know who you are). The point: what we're learning is to write with passion and knowledge in a compelling and engaging way so that people will follow you...transfer that to your websites!
Hi! Just remember how a mouse eats an elephant, one bite at a time, stick with it, all
the best
LOL. Am working in the wee hours, so just the thought of a mouse eating an elephant is hilarious. Guess I must follow you for the next laugh. Thank you. ^_~0351/8/4
Always interested in what you have to say. You have a very sensible way of doing this. I have been getting overwhelmed a bit. Trying to keep up.
Following and being informed is the key to success, rank or not. Enjoy most everything I read, learning everyday and hoping to help when asked. This is the WA community circle of friends and followers. Thank you Bo.
Well I am still a newbie considering I haven't even been here 2 weeks but I'll tell you what, I've grown so comfortable within this community that I've surprised myself. I'm not familiar with all of the rank tactics you describe here but it sounds childish (for ppl to do that, I mean.) If I comment on someone's blog/profile/etc it's because I had something to say. Plain and simple.
I must say that welcoming newcomers and following them will definitely help the newbies feel more comfortable and to engage them to be part of our great community. Some people need the extra push to get involved, however some don't and are pretty much hands on from the beginning. I know that when I started here at WA I did like the fact that people welcomed me and started following me; it made me feel just like home. I believe this is a principle we must adhere although is not mandatory, but we should lead by example and help newbies achieve success by them following what we have done and letting them know that we are here to help them as well. Even if we don't know the answer, definitely someone else here at WA will. This IS what makes WA, as their slogan says: "Online Business Community" and that's what we are, a community, willing to help each other in this Affiliate Marketing world no matter in what level each of us are in. We all started some place, usually from the bottom up, so following and being followed is key to success down the line.
For me, I do follow backs for the most part. I think the best part about the follow system is for learning and motivation. I like to follow a lot of up-and-comers like myself because it`s more relatable too.
I agree with building a reputation here before you build one outside of here on the internet. Most of us are getting started so this is a safe place to do it. Not saying you can't outside of here first. But you will get a reputation here, and then new people coming in under you will see that and it might make them feel more comfortable. Like you are the real deal and will help them.
I know it would make me feel better if I came in under someone that I didn't know and then they have a great reputation here.
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Hey Bo, great post!
I follow because I want to help, and I unfollow those who do not take action!
I follow people so that I can stay in touch with them. I offer my personal help to coach them, welcome people, and try to get to know everyone that comes to Wealthy Affiliate. My inbox streams like it's alive with notifications every minute and I am able to keep a close eye out for questions that go unanswered. Following people at WA is VERY important for me to stay in touch!
However, I do unfollow too...if there is no action being taken or if someone doesn't get back to me. I try to follow people that want help and who are serious about building an online business.
So, if I follow you, don't be shy to get back to me or ask for help!
Carson
That's a great add to my post Carson.Thanks! I probably need to clean some of my follows out and unfollowing the inactives would probably be a positive to my time spent here at WA.