How I?m Using Google+ to Create Content and Collaborative Opportunities on my Blogs

Google Plus has been a medium I?ve had a fascination with since Day 1, but it?s taken me a while to work out how to actually use it effectively in my blogging.

I?ve tried a variety of things, including using it as a blog of sorts (making longer posts), for status updates (what I?m doing), as a pseudo-RSS feed (sharing links to posts I?ve written on my blog), looking for great content that others are sharing to reshare, and much more.

But to be honest, I?ve still not found it to ?click? with me??All of this work has been good and benefited what I do, but I?ve not felt I?m really using it as effectively as I could be. That was until last week, when I began to realize that sitting right in front of me was an opportunity that I?d not seen before.

The opportunity was not to drive traffic to content on my blog: it was an opportunity to actually help create content for my blog.

Each day as I sit down to G+ I see the most amazing conversations happening. Each day I see ideas, images, and information being shared by remarkable people. G+ is being used by innovative people who are pushing the boundaries.

As an example of this, recently I was marvelling at the beautiful photography of?+Elena Kalis?on G+. I was completely sucked into her beautiful images and it struck me that I had an opportunity to connect with her and to even shoot her a message. I did, and cheekily asked if she?d be open to being interviewed by me for?+Digital Photography School. She agreed and we published that interview a couple of weeks back.

Then, the other day, I was watching a hangout run by +Trey Ratcliff. It was one of his weekly variety hours, and he had his usual array of guests?people who were clever, funny, and creative. Some of them were reasonably well-known, while others were not (but should have been). All were active on G+.

As I sat there watching the conversation, it occurred to me that I was watching a group of five or six potential guest posters for my photography blog. They were people who knew what they were talking about, who could communicate, and who were obviously trying to get their names out there.

I immediately decided to use G+ to send a message to one of them (+Todd Sisson) asking if he?d consider writing a guest post for me. An hour or so later he?d agreed and we?d decided upon a topic. We published that post soon after.

I also shot another message to two other panelists in that hangout that day. One didn?t reply, but I?m now talking about topics for a guest post with the other.

Over the last two weeks I?ve reached out to around ten people on G+, and five are working with me to create content for dPS as guest posters or interviewees. Another just submitted his second post and is keen to contribute regularly. Yet another is talking to us about a potential ebook collaboration.

All of this activity has taken place in private messages on G+. While this could probably be achieved on Twitter or Facebook, the freedom to write more than 140 characters?or to not have to be ?friends? to message someone?is certainly a big plus on G+.

While there are many benefits of using G+ to drive traffic, deepen reader interaction, build your profile, and so on, I?ve been pleasantly surprised in the last few weeks by how wonderful a place it has been to build collaborative opportunities and generate content.

How are you using G+, other than to drive traffic to your blog? I?d love to hear about your strategies in the comments.

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