Do You Follow the Unwritten Rules of a Linky?

Now that most of us are heading back to school, you might be heading back to that thing you call a blog and getting into the groove of posting regularly again...  That includes participating in Linky Parties!  If you're a new Blogger or a seasoned one, keep reading to discover all the "unwritten rules" of Linky Parties.  You might just discover you're not giving all the Linky Love  you should be!

I'm so happy to be back with my Primary Pack friends today!  My name is Cara Taylor, from Creative Playground.  This topic is an important one, especially if you're a new Blogger.  Let's back up and define a Linky Party...

Linky Party (noun):  A Linky Party, or Linky, is when the author of a blog (Host) invites other blog readers to "link" up their blog posts that relate to the same topic as the Hosts.

BUT...There are basic procedures and manners to follow that you're not told and just expected to know.  Today, I'll share these 7 "rules" so you're not the Broken Link of the party!

 The first step is to link up your own blog to the Host's post.  But what do you link up from your blog?  You're related post or your blog itself?  Forget your Homepage!!!  Readers hate nothing more than to click on your link, expecting a specific topic, and they're lead to your Homepage instead.  So take the time to get the URL of your specific blog post and link that!

 You need to mention the Linky Host at least twice in your own blog post!  The Host will probably have a button (image) for you to include in your post AND you should mention them by name.  You really should link their name back to their blog also.  So mention them thrice, not twice.

Please make sure your blog post matches the Linky theme.  You'll look desperate for readers if you don't.

You shouldn't just link your blog and that's it.  If you don't do the next step, you won't get many readers to your own blog, which is the purpose of participating in the Linky in the first place.

Pay close attention to this unwritten rule.  If everyone did this in the Linky, they would all benefit extremely!  After you link up and post your own post, you're not done there.  If the Host doesn't give any direction to visit anyone in a certain way, than come up with your own method of visiting the other blogs in the Linky.  Maybe you want to visit all the even numbered blogs, or all the blogs that link up after yours.  Whatever method you choose, please make sure to visit the other blogs because that's what makes the Linky successful!

This rule is probably the most important for you personally.  When you visit the other blogs, you have to give them some Linky Love!  By that I mean you have to leave a comment that is meaningful.  Don't just say, "I'm visiting you from Cara's Creative Playground Linky..." because that doesn't show that you really read their post.  Leave a comment that will BRING readers to YOUR blog because of your sincerity or relevance of your comment.  If you're successful with this unwritten rule, you've mastered the entire purpose of the Linky Party!  So make sure to give some Linky Love...

Don't get discouraged if no one visits your blog or comments.  You just make sure you're following the Golden Rule and doing what you're supposed to.  Eventually, others will notice in the blogging community and visit your blog, which is what you want!  Right?

I hope these unwritten rules have helped and you learned something new from at least one of them!  If not, you're a Linky Party Love Giver and pat on the back to you!

I'd love to hear if you have any other Linky Party unwritten rules or pet peeves that really irk you.  Leave them in the comments below!

Until Next Time My Friends,