I am looking forward to soon announcing another new opportunity that I recently accepted (and that gets a total #woohoo) which means the more this blog continues to grow, the more I must strike a healthy balance within blogging and social media. I’ve written a ton of popular posts relating to these topics but today, I am sharing some fabulous sites that are worth investing your time in addition to visiting your favorite blogs. Whether you are a newbie or a veteran blogger I highly recommend the following to help grow your blog:

Join Supportive Blogging Communities: These communities offer resources and support in helping you reach your blogging goals and are wonderful places to meet other bloggers.

SITS is one of the first communities I ever joined and I found so many new and supportive bloggers in this forum. This community also offers Bloggy Boot Camp, a fantastic blogging conference run by none other than the SITS Girls themselves which they host in various cities across the country. Another very supportive community (of course I have to plug my own) is TMC because it’s another outstanding, supportive platform developed for bloggers to get noticed while networking with those who have similar interests.

Participate in Great Memes: This is a wonderful way to meet new bloggers and have your writing highlighted through a link up.

Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop is literally famous and a wonderful way to connect with bloggers while writing some great content in the process. It’s the perfect assignment especially if you’re struggling on not having a topic to write about because Mama Kat will give you tons of reasons to blog! Shell’s Pour Your Heart Out is also a very popular meme. She gives bloggers the opportunity to write passionately about something personal as well as the chance to link up to meet other bloggers as well.

Get More Exposure by Guest Posting on Other Blogs: Guest posting on other blogs gives you the chance to be seen by a completely different readership.

We all know Jill is one of the major pioneers of blogging and she has set up a section on her blog dedicated to highlighting guest posts. Of course, I also love the community here at Theta Mom so guest posting for the Network is another fabulous way to get noticed. Many other bloggers have set up a guest posting section so reach out and get your writing seen on other blogs.

Improve Your Writing Skills: Compelling content is paramount and is the driving force behind what fuels our blogs so it’s imperative that we continually improve our writing skills.

A supportive community like The Red Dress Club lead by the lovely Cheryl, Nichole and Katie is another fantastic way to meet bloggers and improve your own writing in the process! Just like a weekly meme, this site is also dedicated to providing bloggers with topics to write about with specific instructions including the chance to link up.

Stay Updated on Current Blogging Trends: Staying ahead of current trends in the blogosphere is vital in maintaining your blog.

One of my favorite sites that always provides buzz worthy information relating to the blogosphere (and in many instances as it’s happening) is She Posts. This is a perfectly organized site supported by many talented writers that never disappoint. Whenever something is happening in the blogosphere, She Posts will be one of the first to deliver the news. So you can totally imagine my excitement when I was recently featured on this amazing site. 

Be an Active, Supportive, and Engaging Member of Social Media: Continue to engage in conversation and network with others.  You already know that Twitter and Facebook are imperative tools for bloggers to utilize daily so while you are active in this space, retweet posts that you enjoy, link back to other bloggers, respond to comments when you can and continue to engage your audience. *But the key is to not let all of this consume you so much that it begins to take over your life.

My final piece of advice? As your blog begins to grow, don’t get too big for your britches and don’t forget where you came from. We were *ALL* newbies at some point. Just as in the real world, treat others the way you want to be treated in the blogosphere.

Enough said.

What are some of your favorite sites or helpful resources in the blogosphere? Where do you invest much of your time and how do you strike a balance within blogging and social media?