Blogging communities build successful blogging careers.
Without a community, you may as well publish a cyber diary. Blogging isn’t a one way street.
Having a loyal, engaging, sometimes rabidly focused community around your blog enhances every element of your blogging campaign. Traffic jumps when your email subscribers share your new post on social media. Your profits grow as loyal readers become willing customers and clients.
All blogging success flows to bloggers who diligently build their blogging communities one human being at a time.
Watch this video as I duck walk vogue and explain one way to build a loyal community around your blog.
1: Be Accessible
Be super accessible.
Set up a clear, easy to see contact form on your blog.
Toss in your email address for good measure.
Being accessible builds community because if readers easily contact you – without having to jump through hoops – you will have few problems growing a loyal following.
Most bloggers do a terrible job in this regard, putting up barriers to communication because they fear being spammed through contact forms or email links.
This is a form of delusion that strikes bloggers who have no online presence but believe they’d be dealing with hundreds of spam emails daily.
Until you have so much business and so many thousands of people connecting with you daily that you are completely overwhelmed, deal with the email spam and lame pitches. Building a thriving, prospering blogging community is well worth sifting through a handful of wack pitch emails.
2: Be Responsive
I respond to all emails within 24 hours.
I usually respond to email within 3-12 hours.
Being responsive did wonders for my blogging community growth because by being alert and responsive I instilled trust in my readers.
Nothing looks worse than seeing a blogger who does not respond to emails, comments or social media requests for days or even weeks. Unless they are world famous – like a Tim Ferriss or Gary Vaynerchuk – you are beyond mad if you are non responsive, or, asleep at the blogging wheel.
Guys like Tim and Gary are super engaging on social media, even though they get hundreds to thousands of engagement requests in a short period of time.
Be responsive. Build a thriving blogging community by being prompt in replying to emails, comments and social media questions.
3: Be Engaging
Being engaging was the difference maker for me. I had formerly been fairly accessible and responsive. But I put things into overdrive by engaging folks who reached out to me. All discussions became…..discussions. Gone were the 2 word, 1 response, end the dialog type chats of my past.
I learned how to probe. I asked questions. I shared answers. I helped people who asked me questions while continuing a dialog.
Grow a blogging community by engaging people who reach out to you. Encourage readers to become loyal community members through the simple act of building meaningful bonds through persistent dialog.
Takeaway
Save the 24 hour hour standard rule for responding to email, no set number exists for a specific guideline, as far as following these tips. Trust your intuition. Follow your internal guide for deciding how much time you will spend checking email or social media daily and how frequently you will check each channel.
If you are easily accessible and freely respond to and engage folks in a timely fashion you will build a thriving, prospering, tight-knit blogging community which will do wonders for your blog. Nothing like having a loyal army of readers promoting you and expanding your brand awareness across the web.
Your Turn
What tips can you add to this list?
How are you building a community through your blog?