The "What" "How" & "Why" of a Link Party

If you read my blog post from yesterday {click here}, then you know why I am excited.  I am rolling out a twelve day DIY series PLUS a link party starting December 1st! Whoop! It's like Christmas...oh wait.    As I promised in yesterday's post, here is the "what, how, and why of a link party."    {I really need to insert a big fat disclaimer right about here stating that I am not an expert on link parties...emphasis added!}   What is a link party? 

It is by no means meant to sound scary or super techy. It's a par-tay, friends. A party needs a host, right? So, usually the blogger that created the party is the host and the festivities will happen at their place. The link party can have a theme or not...it's all up to the host {ie. for my upcoming link party, the theme is broad: anything Christmas}. As far as an invitation, if you want to participate, then the "guidelines" are typically clearly outlined by the host, so you can consider yourself invited...as long as you follow the rules! In order to join the party, you will need to determine if you have a blog post that lines up with the theme and guidelines and then submit it via a simple form {more on that in the "how" part}. The submission form is usually provided by a third party {let's call them the caterer...I'm really trying to keep this analogy going, folks!}. I am using Linky Tools to "cater" my party...Brent is the creator and he is way helpful!

How do you link up?    Usually, at the bottom of the host's blog post, you will find a little box that says something like "your are next...click here to enter." A form will pop up with some basic information for you to enter. Here is a screen shot of a sample form.   

  #1: The first box says “link it to” – this is where you put the URL of your specific blog post {not just to your blog homepage!}. You can copy and past that link. Easy peasy.  
#2: Caption or title – you can put your blog post title or whatever you want others to see {make it catchy...not sketchy!}. This caption will show up under the little thumbnail picture that you will select in step #4.
#3: Your email address.

#4: Select the image you want to display {if you don't have an image in your post, you could upload a picture of yourself or just leave it blank} You can either check “From File” and this will take you to your computer where you can pick a picture from your "my pictures" file or wherever you save your pictures. Or you can choose to pick your image “From Web” . This will take you to pictures from your specific blog post. I usually choose to pick my picture from the web because it's easier.
#5: {not pictured} Crop your picture

If you are submitting a Facebook note, the same steps apply {but let me know if you have any issues!}.
  After you have submitted your post, take a few minutes to look around and see what others have submitted! Its the nice thing to do {Santa's watching!} ;)
Why participate in a link party?     Link parties are one of the best ways to grow your blog and share your hard work...all while networking with other like-minded and talented people! Obviously, linking up to a blog with lots of followers or email subscribers is great, but I have found some of my closest blogging friends by connecting with blogs similar in size to mine since my link doesn't get lost in hundreds of others. There are other more technical reasons and benefits for linking up...like SEO and stuff :) but I won't go there.    I really hope that this post has been helpful! Feel free to to ask questions in the comments and I will do my very best to answer them!
I hope to see you here December 1-12 for....

Umph Umph Whoop Whoop {that's me partying}. If you want an easy way to be notified of the upcoming series, "like" my Facebook page {conveniently located on my right-hand sidebar...see? right. over. there >>>}
See you soon!

{connect with Emily here}