Networking Round-up: Making the networking wheels go round

Well, hello! Welcome to my first monthly roundup on networking!

I met someone a couple of years ago who said that networking had changed her life. Really?

For some reason, I thought work projects would land on my desk electronically – and exclusively – through smart social media networking. Not so!

Here’s what happened when I took the plunge and went to my first meeting. It seems that Natalie Howells felt equally positive about her first networking experience, too.

Now, a long way down the networking track, I have met some remarkable people working in all sorts of fields. It has been both enlightening and inspiring. I have loved every minute of it. I, too, could probably say networking has certainly enhanced my life both personally and professionally…

So how did I get this gig? You guessed it! By networking. I attended Britmums Live 2013 which I thought was awesome. I was blown away. Good relationships were cemented and new ones founded over those two days. One of my newfound friends was Emma Clark Lam, author of  ‘Sister for Margot‘ which is definitely worth a read. (I gobbled it up!) Here’s Emma’s account of the conference from the point of view of networking. After the Britmums’ dust had settled, I met with Susanna Scott who invited me to write a monthly roundup, so here I am – kicking off the networking roundup – and I am delighted!

I will do my best to incorporate varied and recent links from lifestyle and business blogs to keep you entertained and interested. The door’s open to bloggers up and down the UK and worldwide, so feel free to tweet me links to your networking posts and I’ll do my best to share them. Going forward, I would like to share blog posts from, loosely speaking, around a month before my roundup. For the purposes of this – my inaugural roundup – I am going to cast my mind back a little further and share a few of my favourite networking blog posts.

So, grab yourself a cuppa, and let’s crack on…

… Seems a few of us might have missed a trick. In Manchester recently, there was a Britmums Meetup at the Kellogg’s factory. Rachel Nicholson, @MummyMakesCakes, met up with Susanna and Jen at this event and became rather partial to their salt & vinegar cracker crisps. Bet they were delicious. On the networking front, she also mentions that she met Sarah McIntyre, @jabberworks, who told her she believes in wearing something amazing for work events so she will be remembered. This brings me neatly onto the next point…

When it comes to networking, there is definitely some etiquette. Gill Chappell’s flabber was gasted when she came across someone who disregarded the natural way of things in the world of networking. Karen Sanderson attended a conference in Las Vegas and reported that 50% of the people she met did not have a card; the other fifty percent were not dressed for the part! Oh dear…

Fortunately, Ute is on hand with her tips on how to network. The secret is not to network; the skill is in being a bit more subtle. It’s about building relationships… 

I have no doubt that, whilst Emma Clark Lam might have had a few butterflies before she entered a room of 400 people when she entered the fray at this London networking event, she carried it off with some aplomb. Maybe she was not networking after all – just building lasting relationships in the way Ute describes.

As for Katie Waistell, @leaveabully, who has just started to blog as a way of promoting her book “How to Leave a Bully”, she has been something of a networking butterfly over recent days. Here’s her account of what she has been up to. Guess what? I even get a mention! I connected her with one of the Country Wives (who I had met initially at Britmums Live 2013). That’s how the networking wheels go round!

I love hearing and reading people’s networking stories. Please send me your blog posts of networking tips, hints and tales about building relationships, and where these connections have led. I would love to hear them.

So, until next time, thank you!

About Lindsay McLoughlin

Lindsay McLoughlin has a love affair with social media. She combines these tools to great effect with her other big love – blogging! She runs a copywriting, blogging, editing and proofreading service at www.proofedbylinds.co.uk She writes about business, about topics of national interest (eg. Olympics, Royal Baby). She also writes an interview blog profile series called “Writer meets…” and sponsored blogs for her business clients. She loves talking to and interacting with anyone that will “listen” over social media. Check out her blog at www.proofedbylinds.co.uk or connect with her on social media. She’d be delighted!

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