SITS stands for The Secret is in the Sauce, where the  ”secret to success is support.” It’s a very simple idea, executed with panache. Here’s how it works:

1. Embed the Sitstahood badge in your sidebar. (See the girlie badge to the right.) It alerts other SITS Girls “that you love comments, and that you will visit bloggers who comment on your blog!”
2. Comment a lot. Go to Sitstahood every day, if possible, to comment on the daily post. This means you showed up for Roll Call. Then follow the 3 links for the Featured Blogger and leave comments. Featured Bloggers are selected from the Roll Call, so that only active SITS Girls are featured.
3. Supply links to your 3 best posts to be considered for Featured Blogger.
4. Follow Sitsahood (RSS feed, Facebook, Twitter, Google Friend Connect). Does that seem like a lot? Well, it’s all part of networking.
5. Subscribe to Sits Girls email so you remember to make your daily visit and follow through on commenting.

I don’t know how long Sitstahood has been operating, but it has a Google PageRank of 5 and an Alexa Traffic Rank of 107,486 (21,346 US). Not a bad back link to have. I’m joining right now.

How easy is it to be a Featured Blogger? I don’t know. If you’re a SITS Girl, comment here and let me know your experience. Remember, the secret to blogging success is mutual support.

Related posts:

1. Dynamic Blogging Community Sites Added to àlaBuzz List Blogging community sites have recently been added to the àlaBuzz...
2. àlaBuzz Tying for 12th Place in Best WordPress Design 2009! – Add Your Vote to this Underdog Contender? As one of the do-it-yourself sites using a free theme,...

"Flokka is a global blogging community for women in business and leadership; a place to connect and be inspired by other like-minded women, to share and promote your business, and develop both you and your business."

REVIEW

Flokka is a vibrant online community of blogging business women.  Members showcase their business blogs in the blog directory, and connect with other business-minded women from around the world.

Member Blogs

If you do not have a blog, you can launch one (or several) from the Flokka site for free.  Both Flokka-based blogs and external member-owned blogs are added to the Flokka Blog Directory.   Essentially, Flokka offers an opportunity for greater visibility and brand development within a respected business venue.  In addition, members enjoy a quality backlink to their blog from a high-ranking site.  (Flokka has a Google pagerank of 5.  Flokka traffic rank, as reported by Alexa, is currently 108,608.)

There are just 100 or so blogs presently in the directory, but keep in mind that Flokka was launched only last October.  The blogs range from very professional to personal, although a fair number are barely set up or are not regularly posting.  (Now is a golden time to become established in the community and grow with it.)  Here’s a sampling of active blogs from the directory:

• Cornelia’s Marketing Blog, owned by marketing consultant Cornelia Luethi.  You must check her May 21 post for a good joke about the consultancy business.
• Women In Business, owned by Kathy Martin, targets the unique niche of women involved in family businesses, particularly those working with their spouses.
• Sacred Space Artist, a blog with an intriguing name, is owned by Kerry-Ann Stanton.  Her November 16, 2008 post is about spiritual leadership and the personal qualities of resiliency, empathy, and grace.

Business Articles

Flokka houses a library of over 300 business articles that support the continuing development of business women.  Informational articles cover a wide range of topics; everything from starting a business to handling media interviews.  A number of articles are motivational in nature, aiming to inspire action or to increase personal awareness; one of my favorites is Releasing Your Wild Woman, by Amber Smith.

Member Activity

In the Latest Posts section you can read the most recent entries from the Flokka editorial blogs, member blogs, and the Flokka network of blogs.  Member-owned external blogs are considered network blogs.

The FlokkaCafe makes a bow to Twitter: Here a question is posed, and members

respond with a comment of 150 characters or less.  A monthly prize is awarded for the most inspiring, wittiest, and/or valuable comment.

You’ll find forums in the Discussions section.  Including:

• General Discussions, where you can introduce yourself and promote your business or blog.
• All Things Business Blogging, where you can ask questions or share tips and ideas.
• All Things Flokka, where you can catch up on site news or offer feedback.

It looks like the Discussions section was lauched about one month ago, and presently there is sparse activity.  (Again, this early stage of Flokka’s development is an opportune time to become involved in an online community – and be noticed!)

Blog School

Besides advertising, the single revenue producing activity on Flokka appears to be the Blog School.  You can enroll in an online course for $47.  The Getting Started and Better Blogging courses are scheduled to begin in June.  The course format consists of ten tutorials over a two-week period of time, with a third week allowed for completing assignments.  The forums are open to students, providing a neat way to get blog feedback from Flokka community members and classmates alike.

Flokka Blogs

The Flokka editorial blogs are valuable resources.

• The FlokkaClass Blog highlights online courses (non-Flokka) and tools that can help you with your business websites and presentations.
• The FlokkaConnect Blog provides tips for successful networking and links to online networking opportunities for business women.
• Check the FlokkaEtc Blog for site news, member spotlights, blog directories to which you can submit your blog, or to learn how to guest post for Flokka.

Go to the Blogs section, and click on the letter “F” to find all seven Flokka blogs listed.  You’ll find further entries on business leadership, books reviews, balanced living, and more.

Final Summary:  Flokka Site Pros and Cons

When I came across Flokka a month ago, I immediately knew I would review it.  As I was studying the site for this article, I registered as a member – not just for research purposes, but from the desire to become involved in a really sharp online community for business women.

Pros

• Great framework is set in place to support site growth
• Valuable business information resources
• Varied avenues to support and to network with blogging business women
• Because Flokka is relatively new, it offers opportunity to grow with an online community

Cons

• Participating in a relatively new online community offers less exposure for your blog or business (I’m betting Flokka will take off, so this is a temporary condition)

Flokka was founded by Fiona Powell.  It is based in New Zealand.  Read more about Fiona and her vision for Flokka.

Related posts:

1. Dynamic Blogging Community Sites Added to àlaBuzz List Blogging community sites have recently been added to the àlaBuzz...