A couple of weeks ago we talked about Exploring about.me and finding lots of fun and creative people, but what do you do once you’ve found those awesome people? Then, it’s time to start interacting and today we’d like to focus on two ways to connect on about.me, through compliments and emails.

Compliments

Compliments are, of course, a great place to start and the perfect way to draw someone’s attention to your page. If someone gives you a compliment, don’t forget to respond to him or her and remember you can do more than just say thanks.  You can invite the person to get coffee when you’re in the same city, ask them to follow you on Twitter to build your following or add you on Linkedin to make a business contact.

These small steps can be the start of a great relationship and are often what spark business deals, new jobs, partnerships and all sorts of other interactions that our users write us about weekly.

Email Me

While the methods above are great ice breakers, you may eventually find yourself wanting to send a longer compliment or thank you to someone, or maybe you want to connect more directly to set a business partnership in motion. Then, don’t be afraid to click that “Email Me” button.

Once you do, personalize your message and make it stand out. If your message is interesting, the person you’re sending it to is much more likely to relate to what you’re saying and respond.

In order to connect well, you can compliment something specific on a person’s page, like their picture, something they talk about in their bio, a school they went to. Or you could draw their attention to a common interest like kayaking or reading. Whatever you do, make the message thoughtful. It doesn’t have to be long, but make sure what you say you say with meaning because the person will know if you’ve just sent the same message to ten people or if the message is personally meant for her.

Then once you’ve sent the message, be patient. Everyone is busy and it could take them a while to write back to you, but if the message is well written you’ll likely get a response. If you don’t get a response, don’t take it personally, there are many other about.me members who have things in common with you and are excited to connect.