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Tantalizing web networks image by D’Arcy Norman!

Welcome to the third in a series of posts about beginning blogging for journalists. If you’re new to the series, feel free to view previous posts, including: Getting to know your niche. Want more? View the entire beginning blogging for journalists series.

FIND ONLINE COMMUNITIES RELATED TO YOUR BEAT
You’ve spent some time thinking about niche and you’ve gotten to know some of the people who make your niche hum. It’s time to plant a few more seeds in your social web garden in an effort to generate true fans.

• Join a forum or two. A lot of people who read blogs also post in forums. Interact with your readers here to further massage the conversation. Your news org’s website may have its own forum. Try meeting the readers who are there as well.
• List your interests on your social networking profiles. Displaying your interests will likely attract people with similar interests, who will connect with you via social networking profiles. For example, I’ve met many a friends on my Twitter (@shawnsmith) and my Facebook profiles, which helps me generate an audience for my blog.
• Friend people on social networks and INTERACT. Many people have found me through my blogs and other comments on other blogs, but I connect with them most on social networks. Use Twitdir.com to find people that list interests in their profiles or Twitterwhere? for finding Twitterers near you! Facebook allows you to search any term and find users who list that term in their profiles. Here’s some ideas for finding friends on Digg too! And for good measure, a list of the top niche social networks. You can also find professional contacts at LinkedIn. Connecting with people who share your interests will open you up to new resources you haven’t found before.
• Social bookmark. Social bookmarking sites are the often-overlooked social networks. But these can be some of the most powerful. Try out the Mahalo Share Firefox Add-on and the Shareaholic FF add-on to make social bookmarking easier. After becoming a regular bookmarker, people will recognize your savvy eye for indexing the web. Just make sure you’re not only bookmarking your own stuff. Check out this list of top bookmarking services to find the right one for you.
• Send Kudos to other social networkers. Want to make some friends but not just look like a stalker? Some social bookmarking sites, such as Mahalo and Ma.gnolia and Stumbleupon allow users to send a “thank you” for interesting bookmarks to the originating bookmarker. I’m still somewhat new to those services, but I have found that thanking people for bookmarks can lead to helpful relationships. Checking friends’ profiles from time to time can reveal new resources and possibly introduce you to some of their contacts. Digg and Reddit allow users to comment on bookmarking submissions, which can also be a way to introduce yourself to people with like interests.
• Promote your blog! This tip will lead to more readers than you can expect. Sometimes people don’t list their interests online or interact too much on niche communities. That doesn’t mean they aren’t interested in your blog. Add a tagline to your forums profiles, work emails and back of your business card that promotes your blog URL. You might find some unlikely readers!

While likely not earth-shattering, following these tips can help you lay the foundation for establishing a reputation in your online niche/community. At the beginning, you’ll likely put in a decent amount of work, but as you grow your networks, you’ll be able to see which ones best serve your readers and offer the most return on your blog.

At this point, I participate a lot more on some social networks and forums than others. My preference for some web communities over others stems from the quality level of interaction I get from certain sites/networks.

Have any other ideas for expanding your network in your niche online?

Soon-to-be-published guides include: Finding communities related to your niche and How to increase traffic to past content.

Did I miss anything? Want to share your experiences with starting to blog? Comment here or direct message @shawnsmith on Twitter!