Hi Friends! Lately there has been a lot of debate in the blogging world about link parties and whether or not they are still necessary for blog growth or if they have just lost popularity in general. Today I am discussing why I still believe in link parties or weekly blog hops as they are sometimes called. Some of the larger blogs have stopped hosting link parties. Many of those parties have been around for over a decade, and as a blog link party host myself, I can understand the professional reasons why bloggers may choose not to host parties after such a lengthy period of time. I know that it is a huge commitment and responsibility and the decision to stop hosting was surely not taken lightly. Still for many of us, link parties are a super fun way to showcase our own creativity or for readers to catch up on their favorite bloggers’ latest posts or find new blogs to explore. At the end of this post I have listed all of my favorite link parties as a resource.
I personally enjoy link parties both as a host and linking up my own blog posts at other parties. As long as I am blogging I will try to continue to host parties as I feel it is an integral part of the beauty of the blog world for bloggers and readers alike. Each weekend I look forward to enjoying some (link) party time!
The Value of Link Parties
Blog Exposure
Often times I am asked for advice by new bloggers or even established bloggers who are looking for growth. I always tell them about link parties and how important it is to get out there and mingle in the blog world! I cannot emphasize enough how important link parties have been in the success of my blog, both professionally and personally. Professionally I have gained followers and lots of exposure through numerous features. For example, my Spring Is In The Air Dough Bowl Display was recently featured at Inspiration Monday and I had a lot of traffic and referrals from the party.
You can write a blog post and post it on your blog, but only your subscribers or friends and family might ever see it. When you link up several link parties throughout the week on a consistent basis, you are reaching hundreds if not thousands of potential readers who might just click on that little thumbnail to see your latest DIY, recipe or craft post.
Thursday Favorite Things Features at Katherine’s Corner
Each week the hosts of blog parties will feature their favorite posts from the previous week’s party. Every time one of my posts has been featured I have seen a significant increase in traffic and have gained new followers. As a host I like to feature ten of my favorite posts from bloggers who link up each week at Thursday Favorite Things! It just doesn’t make sense not to link up if you are looking to gain exposure and new readers. Sometimes the post you link up at link parties will also be shared on Pinterest, Facebook or Twitter feeds like this one, gaining you even more exposure that you wouldn’t have had otherwise. With social media shares the growth could be exponential.
Professional Partnerships and Lifetime Friendships
Through link parties I have met some of the most amazing bloggers and readers who have now become close personal friends. I took a chance and reached out to several bloggers that I admired and invited them to participate in blog hops or giveaways. Other bloggers emailed me to ask to join the blog hops I host. After a couple of years this group has become almost like family! Most of these bloggers I found through blog parties. Just like going to a real party in the real world with strangers and not knowing what to expect, linking up at a link party and visiting other blogs and commenting is like walking up to a stranger and saying “hello.”
You might be ignored or you just might not hit it off with that stranger. On the other hand, you might make a friend for life or even happen upon a new business opportunity. More often times the experience is positive and worth the chance. Best of all, you can link up in your pjs. No new party attire required!
Link Parties are Fun and Inspiring!
Most of all, I still believe in hosting and participating in link parties simply because they are fun and inspiring! Each week when I link up my latest posts I skim through all the thumbnails and click on several that catch my eye. I have discovered so many new blogs and have found inspiration from real people in the real world just like me! I don’t always have time to visit as many as I would like, but if I see a lot of posts I would like to explore I can always pin the party and go back and visit later.
Homestyle Gathering is one of the newest parties I am loving! There are some really beautiful blogs that have been linking up gorgeous inspiration every Wednesday!
Time Management
If you are having a hard time to with your own blog schedule or are struggling to keep up with posts, then you might think that you don’t really have time to link up at parties either. When I first started blogging I was manually linking up to all of the parties that I possibly could and it literally was taking hours of my time throughout the week. Luckily I discovered Link Party Animal! This is an amazing FREE scheduling tool. You only have to take a few minutes to schedule all of your posts in one place and let the tool take care of the rest. You will have to pick out the parties you want to schedule to each week when your first set up your account, but afterward the automatic scheduler will take care of the rest. There are plenty of parties in different niches to add to your own personal list.
Also it is important to note that all of your favorite parties may not be linked up to Link Party Animal, so you still might have to visit a few parties and link up there. Of course you will want to visit your favorite parties (like Thursday Favortite Things!) each week to see what your hosts have been up to. If you are still struggling with your personal blogging schedule, there are plenty of great blog scheduling tips and downloads on Pinterest to explore.
My Favorite Link Parties
I would like to invite you to link up weekly at Thursday Favorite Things. The party begins every Thursday at 9:00 a.m. EST and runs through Sunday at midnight. I am forever grateful to our main host Katherine of Katherine’s Corner for allowing me to co-host this amazing party!
Below you will find a list of my favorite parties. What are you thoughts about link parties? If you are not a blogger do you still enjoy visiting the parties for inspiration? I love hearing from you dear readers!
Thanks for visiting today!
Amber
Sharing at these great link parties:
*The links are to the host’s home page. You can find more information about the times and days of each party there.
13 Comments
Amber, thank you so much for creating the list of parties! I saved all of the to get back to soon. I love to see what people are posting and had lost contact with a few of the bloggers you listed. Thanks again!
April 19, 2019 at 5:42 pmAmber,
Thank you for hosting, supporting, and writing about linky parties. I agree with all your reasons why you still believe in linky parties. Linky parties are the number one way my blog readership has grown. I miss some of the linky parties no longer in existence and very grateful for all of you bloggers who continue to support the blogging community with your parties.
Pinned this to my Pinterest board, Blog Tips & Sources, for future reference and to provide other bloggers with good information.
Judith
April 19, 2019 at 7:28 pmI totally agree with you Amber! I really enjoyed hosting the ones I have had in the past, and keep thinking that it might be something I’d like to do again. It’s the best way to keep track of friends and new bloggers. Thanks for sharing this, we all appreciate your hard work to keep a place where we all can gather! Happy Easter, friend!!
April 20, 2019 at 11:42 amAmber, thank you for your thoughtful post. I would never have found you and the other bloggers I follow if not for link parties. In fact the very first blog I ever visited happened to be hosting a party that day and I was introduced to the wonderful world of blogging (and bloggers). Each party I visit provides loads of inspiration and amazement at the range of creativity showcased. And every party has at least one surprising post that I am so glad I didn’t miss. Thanks for sharing so readily and performing all the tasks needed to host successful parties.
April 22, 2019 at 10:27 pmHi Amber,
April 25, 2019 at 9:45 amThanks for the tip about Link Party Animal— I’ve been wishing for just such a thing!! And thank you for including Best of the Weekend in your Link Parties to visit!! (Although Ms Toody Goo Shoes is no longer hosting it…. It is me and also Calypso in the Country.)
Thank you Liberty! I will fix the link!
April 25, 2019 at 10:46 amWell, girlfriend, thank you so much for featuring Homestyle Gathering in this post. I don’t get pingbacks on my blog, so this is the first time seeing it! (I wonder how many other times I’ve missed posts because of that issue with Siteground?) As you said, I have found the link party a great way to meet new friends and create a sense community, which I think needs to continue to be nurtured in the blogging community. I also believe it’s a great way to get exposure to all kinds of readers, as well. Thanks for sharing this, Amber… it was very encouraging!
April 25, 2019 at 1:45 pmOh, and THANK you for that big ol’ list of parties! Going to visit all the ones I don’t link up to… yet!
April 25, 2019 at 1:47 pmThank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared.
April 26, 2019 at 4:09 pmHi Amber, thanks for all the great tips on link parties. I saw this article last week, and promised myself I would swing back and read it. So glad I did!
April 30, 2019 at 10:06 pmI’m a fairly new blogger, so finding all the different parties has helped me get my blog out there, and meet so many other wonderful like minded bloggers! I’m learning so much through them. I will continue to link up each week and am looking forward to being included in a blog hop!
Thank you for stopping by to share your message last week as this week it gives me the chance to include you in my Friday Features!! Bloghops are something I have been doing for years, I have 2-3 of them going every week. #omhgff and #omhgww Your post has been Pinned and will be shared on Instagram!!!
If you haven’t had a chance be sure to stop by and share again.
May 3, 2019 at 10:56 amHappy May!!
Is Link party Animal the only scheduler. When l the inlinkz changed link party animal does not post to most of my parties anymore. I have email link aminal 3 times with no answer. Do you have this problem or know how to fix this. Thank you,
August 5, 2019 at 11:29 amHi Susan, since writing this post I started having some problems with Link Party Animal too. If I figure it out I will get back to you.
Thanks for visiting!
October 3, 2019 at 9:28 pm