Grow Your Online Jewelry Business the Friendly Way

copyright by Rena Klingenberg

Most social networking sites have a "Friends" feature. You can use this feature to keep track of other members on that site whose content, links, or other activities interest you.

But even better, the Friends feature also gives you an opening for connecting and building relationships with other members.

When another member adds you as their Friend in an online social community, your profile will now be more easily found by their Friends, which can help you quickly gain a lot of exposure to more people on that site.

On some social sites you'll find that you've received a couple of Friend requests as soon as you've finished the signup process – usually one from the site's administrator, and sometimes from one or two other members as well.

This means these people would like to add you to their collection of Friends on that site, and have you do the same with them.

Sending or receiving a Friend request is a golden opportunity to meet someone, interact, network – and basically do exactly what you joined the social site to do!

So whenever you receive a Friend request, don't just click "accept" and move on.

Instead, do the whole Friendly thing. Go ahead and accept the request, and take the extra step of sending this new Friend a brief comment or message, thanking them for the invitation. Take a look at your new Friend's profile, website, blog, photos, etc. - and refer to something specific you see there that strikes a chord within you, or that you have in common with them. This is an excellent way to start a Friendship!

Similarly, when you come across fellow social site members you'd like to add to your collection of Friends, send them a Friend request – and also a nice comment or message related to something you see in their profile.

Of course the purpose of meeting and adding new Friends is not just to gather the biggest possible list of people. As with everything else in social networking, quality is far more important than quantity.

Making Friends on social sites is a relationship game, not a numbers game.

That's why your goal in meeting and adding new Friends is to encourage communication and the beginning of mutually beneficial friendships. So don't stop after one communication. Whenever you find a fellow member you really click with, keep the messages – and the friendship – going.

When you participate in online communities, be an active part of the flow of abundance by being as sincerely generous to other members as you can. You'll be amazed at the generosity that flows back to you naturally.

Give before taking. Listen before talking. Help others before asking for help. Promote other people's businesses before expecting them to promote yours.

Be a true Friend, and your social networking will be personally rewarding as well as extremely effective for your jewelry business!