Posted by: David Spinks - 9 November 2009 / 15:44
Photo cred: cjnzja
Last night was yet another extremely active and insightful blogchat. Mack Collier asked the question: Should you view your blog as a community site?
You can find the full transcript here, but since those things can be very hard to follow, I’ve written this week’s recap, for your reading pleasure…
First, we discussed if a community is always needed. Should every blog have a community? While most of the contributors seemed to agree that a community could help most bloggers, many pointed out that it depends on the goals of your blog. Some felt that not all blogs are meant for interaction and community. Here are a few takeaways:
- Building a community on your blog is key to its success. Engaging in conversation between readers enhances the experience. – @prcindy
- YOU own the blog, but a community site works because multiple people feel a sense of ownership in content created there. – @MackCollier
- Community may not be the point, but readers who feel more connected may visit more often & comment more. – @Hacool
- Without great content, there will not be a community built around it. Isn’t that safe to say? So yes, I think content>community. – @Shinng
Ok, so if you’ve decided that building a community around your blog is a good idea, how do you start? Here are some methods that we discussed:
1. Increase interaction/Encourage discussion.
Communities are largely built around conversation. Any way that you can develop the conversation between you and your readers, and your readers with each other, will help you develop a community.
- Respond to every single comment on your blog and in the words of @tyr “seek to be interested not interesting. – @Ribeezie
- In order to be a community the participants have to talk to each other and not just comment on the blog. – @klandwehr
- Why not try to encourage commenting? Like ending with a question. Ask them what they think of the topic. - @centsiblelife
2. Venture away from your blog.
You can try to keep the conversation in your blog, but the fact is, if you write a good post, people will discuss it on other platforms. You should be there to contribute to the conversations taking place on other platforms. Rather than complain about twitter stealing comments from your blog, use it to your advantage.
- Dialog can be wider than a blog. Doesn’t have to be on one site. This discussion (blogchat), for example.
– @zen_habits
- The discussion may start on the blog but often times it spreads to the other social media platforms. – @dmgerbino
3. Show your readers appreciation.
Sometimes it’s just a simple thank you comment or email. You can it a step further and reward your most active readers by featuring them on your site or in a post. The key is to let your readers know that you’re listening, and that you appreciate their contribution. Just make sure that you don’t alienate your “less active” readers by only rewarding the most active.
- One of the things I do to enhance community on the blog is to direct tweet commenters with a personal thank you. – @dmgerbino
- Reward the people that are contributing to your community, Commenter of the Week, etc, that encourages more interaction – @MackCollier
4. Involve your readers.
The concept of a blog community means that the readers feel like they help build the blog. Think about ways to involve your readers into the growth of your blog. Ask for feedback, ask commenters to guest post, incorporate reader comments into your posts, etc…
- Involve people with guest posts, community projects, etc. Give people opportunities to INVEST in your blog. – @MattChevy
- I’ve been running a daily poll on my site for a couple months now. Helps engage a little. – @
- NONE of us Build a Community, the Community already exists, We just provide a platform for communication. – @Eric_Urbane
- I see a lot of bloggers creating Facebook Fan Pages for their blogs. How many have created a strong cmty & conversation there? – @SonnyGill
6. Participate in the “larger” community.
Comment on other blogs. Talk to people on twitter and other social platforms who share similar interests. A good community focused blogger realizes that their blog community is part of a larger community.
- We should be looking to help promote each others’ efforts, involve more in the conversation. – @JGoldsborough
- The community may be a collection of peer blogs w/overlapping readership.- @hacool
Thanks to everyone who participated in blogchat and provided such great contributions. If you haven’t attended blogchat before, come check it out…all are welcome. It’s hosted by @MackCollier every Sunday from 8-9PM (cst). Just follow the hashtag #blogchat on twitter.
Tags: blog, blogchat, Community, recap
