Growing Your Blog with Link Parties

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How To Grow Your Food Blog with Link Parties

You can find a live list of Link Parties here: List of Link Parties

Do you know what a Link Party is? I remember when I first came across one, I was completely baffled!

Link Parties are a way to share your posts. The purpose of Pink Parties is for bloggers and the host to gain additional traffic and blog comments. Link Parties are hosted by blogs (“Blog A”) and other blogs go to Blog A to “link” one of their posts to the Link Party. It is as simple as dropping in a URL for one of your posts. 

Typically, the host of Link Parties will select recipes each week that are then Featured the following week in the Link Party post, as well as being shared on social media. In addition, other recipes linked up are also shared on social media by the host.

Most Link Parties are hosted by more than one blogger. Which means more sharing and more reach. 🙂

This is what a Link Party looks like. Here’s a Link Party that is hosted every Wednesday called “What I Ate Wednesday” by Jenn from Peas & Crayons. The thumbnail images you see are posts from other bloggers who have “linked” up to her Link Party.

Peas and Crayons Link Party

Why Host a Link Party?

Link Parties are a way for the host to get additional blog traffic, in the form of bloggers coming to the blog to “link up” a post and to browse other posts linked by other bloggers. Popular Link Parties can have many hundreds of posts linked up, all of which is traffic to your blog.

It is also a way to meet, network and connect with other bloggers. It encourages comment “love” and and increases your exposure in the blogging community.

Plus, it’s a great way to be inspired, seeing all those incredible recipes on your blog!!

Hosting a Link Party isn’t just fun and games though. You need to actually set up the Link Party on your site using a link tool, decide on a name, create graphics, set the rules and schedule, commit to selecting, featuring and promoting weekly “picks”. And most importantly, you need to promote it so people actually come to your Link Party.

I won’t go through all the steps here in this post as I’m writing this post up more from the angle of joining Link Parties. But if you want to know how to set up a Link Party, leave a comment below and if enough people ask, I’ll write up a post!

Why Attend a Link Party?

Link Parties are a great opportunity to grow your blog. When you link up a recipe to a Link Party, you get:

  1. traffic from readers of the Host’s blog who browse the Link Party;
  2. traffic from other bloggers joining the Link Party;
  3. the chance to be selected as a Featured recipe which is then promoted by the host on their blog and social media. In addition, many Link Parties are hosted by multiple hosts which means that your post could be promoted by multiple bloggers!; and
  4. in addition, many hosts also promote other recipes on social media, not just the Featured recipes.
Mila_Girl-and-the-Kitchen_Foodie-Friday-Link-Party

Link Parties are a great way to meet new bloggers. I met my friend Mila from the Girl and the Kitchen through a Link Party she co-hosts, #Foodie FriDIY

I remember when I started out, I linked up to some parties and was lucky enough to be chosen as a featured recipe a few times. I always got a nice bump in traffic. I remember being featured by one particularly large blogger (who no longer hosts Link Parties) and on that day, I got over 1,000 referrals for that one post. I was shocked, I had no idea of the traffic potential!

But you know what? I wouldn’t just restrict yourself to the “popular” Link Parties. The larger Link Parties – some of which have almost 1,000 posts linked up to it every week – means there’s less chance of being featured and there are so many recipes linked up, you get lost in a crowd.

Don’t under estimate the potential of being featured by ANY Link Party host. You just never, ever know when or where a recipe may “go viral”. It’s all about expanding your reach and getting your content “out there” and Link Parties are another great way to do exactly that!

PLUS smaller Link Parties tend to have a better sense of community. It’s impossible to get to know 1,000 bloggers. But it is much cosier with 100 bloggers at a Link Party! Visit some new blogs, get to know them, show some comment love. And watch as it is reciprocated and it grows into friendships.

Blogger friends are gold. Pure gold. They will visit your blog and want to know what you’ve been up to, even if you are bedridden for a week with “man flu” or on holidays and can’t visit their blogs. Forget “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”. Make friends. Real friends. And Link Parties are a great way to make new friends!

How To FIND Link Parties

List of Link Parties for Food Bloggers

List of Link Parties for Food Bloggers. If you host a Link Party or know of one, add it to the list!

The first thing is to find Link Parties. There is no official website, per se, that lists all Link Parties in existence!

Rather than relying on me to collate a list of all the Link Parties, I’ve created a separate post in which hosts can provide details of their Link Parties. Or, if you know of a Link Party, please add the details to the list!

See the List of Link Parties.

How To Join a Link Party

It’s super easy. All you do is go to the post containing the Link Party. Here I’m using the Happiness is Homemade Link Party hosted by Jennifer from Take Two Tapas. Her Link Party is open from Sunday to Thursday every week. The current one  at the time of writing this post is here – “Happiness is Homemade Link Party – May 3rd“.

So I go to her post then scroll down to the bottom and you will start to see the link ups. Right down the bottom, you will see a button “Add Your Link”.

Two Takes Tapas Link Party

Then you will be taken to a screen like this. All you have to do is drop in the URL of the post you want to share, then the name of the post will be autofilled and you will be given images in the post to choose from. Select an image, then click Done – that’s it!

Two Takes Tapas Link Party 3

Go back to the Link Party, and you’ll see your post!

Two Takes Tapas Link Party 4

How To Get the Best Exposure from Link Parties

Especially for large Link Parties, it’s always best to get onto the first page, if you can. The link ups are displayed in chronological order, i.e. in order of when the recipes were submitted.

If you end up on later pages, the chances of being seen are less. It doesn’t mean it’s not worth linking up to! It’s like being on page 2+ of Google search results. You know what I mean…

If you are organised enough, note down the open time of the Link Parties you want to attend, and set your iPhone timer!

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What have I missed? Do you already participate in Link Parties? What’s your experience been?

Don’t forget – if you host a Link Party (or know of a great one!), add it to the List of Link Parties!

Food blogging is how I can shamelessly talk about the food I love to the world. 🙂  – Nagi x

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The Food Photography Book by Nagi from RecipeTin Eats

Comments

  1. says

    I’m very new to blogging and trying to learn how to promote a blog. I’ve been through a couple articles on link parties and not really understood them until I came across yours; you started with the very basics! Thanks for your article, it was super helpful and I look forward to joining some link parties!

  2. says

    Thank you for your helpful hints Nagi. I always wondered about the link parties and I do link up when I have other blogger buddies hat them but never really understood all the benefits before. I really do love meeting new like minded bloggers so it really is a win-win situation.

  3. says

    Thank you so much for this post! Until now, I had never even heard of a link party. Perhaps I’m dating myself, but I was imaging the party-lines back in the day where you’d pick up the phone and there would be slew of people on the other end… I suppose this is the 21st century version of the same thing 😉 Very cool! Thanks, Nagi!

  4. says

    Wow … until now I have been TOTALLY ignoring link parties whenever I saw them … mostly because I had no idea what the hell they were! Ha! Thanks, Nagi … so now I know and I will definitely be checking some of them out! 🙂

  5. Charlene @ That Girl Cooks Healthy says

    Cannot wait to join in a link party. I had never heard of a link party prior to your post Nagi.

    • Nagi says

      So glad Charlene! I really do recommend giving it a go – as I always say, you just never know when and where a recipe may “take off!” 🙂

  6. says

    I link up to just one party predominantly and sometimes to foodie Friday’s…Been lucky enough to be featured in the anniversary round up and couple of other times too. But yes, the best part is other bloggers getting to know u. Traffic I feel is a bonus…but I join it to know amazing bloggrs
    .. friday fiesta link up party.

  7. says

    Couldn’t have been more timely post, Nagi.. I had no clue about link party prior to posting on the fb group… Love u for this post.. Clears out all my doubts.. Thanks

  8. says

    Thank you Nagi for this post! I met wonderful bloggers through link parties too (including Mila! :D) and building those friendships have been fantastic for me! I didn’t know about some of these link parties, mentioned here, so I will definitely be joining in them too! 🙂

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