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Taking Pleasure Seriously

5 Tips For Building An Active Blog Community

A strong and active community is the secret behind every successful blog.


Community members not only come back to see what's new on the blog, they also act as ambassadors of the blog and attract a new audience of similar interests, and by doing so, they increase exposure to the blog.

Before I introduce the tactics I used to create a community around my blog, it's important to understand what the difference is between an audience {traffic to a site} and a community.

An audience is something in a single direction. The audience reads the content you write or skims through the photos you post on the blog. But the audience isn't interactive, doesn't share feelings, thoughts and opinions about what they read. And most likely won't share content from your blog with others. A community, on the other hand, is something much more active. The community is made up of people who love the interests of your blog and how you think about certain topics. These are the same people who follow the blog on all social networks, respond to posts and sometimes even appear in your inbox in response to the last newsletter you sent {if you still don't have newsletters, keep reading…}.


In this post, I'll share 5 tips with you to help you turn casual blog traffic into an active, engaged community.

 

1. USE YOUR OWN VOICE –

One of the most common mistakes beginner bloggers make {but not only beginners…} is that they write their blog posts in a dry and too sophisticated language, like an article written for university or a school textbook. During my 3 years of university studies I tried to avoid boring articles and I always searched the internet for summaries of articles written in a much more flowing language {and I'm really not the only one…}, so why would I willingly want to spend my free and expensive time reading articles that are written in a boring way?

In order to create a real connection with your readers, it's very important for the blog to be written in your own language and tone of speech. Exactly the same language you use when you meet your friends for a cup of coffee. Yes, it's as simple as it sounds 🙂 No need to use forced sayings and terms you would never say in a normal conversation – just be you.

It's this kind of authenticity that makes your readers connect to you on a personal level, even to the point where they feel they really know you in real life. This creates a level of closeness that makes people want to come back to the blog again and again to catch up on what you, the real person behind the blog, have to say.

One important thing you should pay attention to no matter what style or tone of speech you use, is proofreading and proper punctuation in the right places. I know you're not writing an article here for the university, but it's still important for your content to be readable and understandable to blog readers.

2. THE CONTENT IS THE KING –

It all starts with good content. The content of the blog shouldn't only interesting to you {after all, you're not writing “dear diary” here…}, it should speak to your audience and give them real value.

I know you've read this a million times but if the content of your blog isn't interesting, inspiring, teaching something new or even entertaining in any way, people won't spend more than 10 seconds on your blog, and they certainly won't come back for more.

After all, we live in a time with so many distractions from all directions – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, thousands of content sites that update new articles at a hysterical pace, a million television channels and countless magazines, oh – and there's also real life too… So if you don't produce different and unique content, the kind that benefits your readers, you just aren't giving them a reason to come back.

Your goal is to create the best content you can. I know it takes time and it's a lot of work, but it's better to post more valuable posts less frequently than to post uninteresting posts on a daily basis that will cause readers to leave the blog without looking back.

3. LEAVE ROOM FOR DISCUSSION –

One of the most important characteristics in a community is the discourse, and the best way to create this discourse {whether on the blog itself or on the social networks that accompany it} is to ask questions.

Once you raise questions or write about topics that stimulate discussion, you make the reader become much more involved. At this point the reader begins to think about your content in terms of his life and that's how he changes from a viewer from the side to an active member of the community.

When we feel that we're an active part of a community, we create a deeper and more authentic connection with the brand and make it part of our identity.

The easiest way to get a blog discussion started is to add at the end of each post a question about the subject of the post and to the way it fits into the reader's world {you can find examples of such questions at the end of this post or in other posts on my blog 🙂 }.

4. DON'T LEAVE YOUR READERS HANGING –

in continuation to the previous section – if you managed to create a discussion and people reacted to your post, don't leave them hanging… always respond back! These are real people who decide to share their thoughts and opinions on your blog, with your community. It means that they value what you have to say and it's important for them to be involved, so if you leave them hanging, chances are that this connection between you will weaken, and that's a shame.

I know it can take a long time, and as a blogger you have enough stuff to do as is, but whoever read your post and invested time leaving a comment, deserves the time investment in answering him back.

By the way, this also applies to comments and responses on the other social networks that accompany the blog.

Remember – without a dialogue there isn't a strong community, and as the leader of the community you must be accessible and lead this discourse {especially at the beginning…}.

5. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, A NEWSLETTER –

One of the biggest mistakes I made as a beginner blogger was that I didn't create a blog newsletter from day one.

For some reason the very word “newsletter” was very threatening to me. It seemed to me like something huge that I would have a hard time controlling with all the other blogging tasks I had, and besides, I thought there was no reason to bother learning a new system and the whole newsletter field before I had a little more “meat” on my blog and social networks.

Oh, I was so wrong…

There are lots of reasons to start a newsletter for the blog {if you want to read more about this, write to me in the comments and I will try to write a post about newsletters soon!}, but one of the main reasons is to strengthen the sense of community around the blog. One of the reasons why bloggers start a newsletter is to send updates about new blogposts, but it's really not the only use of a newsletter {although it's a very effective way to create high quality blog traffic}.

The newsletter is your way to create a much more personal connection with your community, since whoever signed up for the newsletter gave you their personal e-mail address and actually wants to receive an e-mail from you once in a while. In addition, in the newsletter you can send things that you share only with members of the community and not on the blog pages. This is exactly the place to ask questions and share things like new experiences, interesting tips, and even things you've found online that can also interest your community.

If you still don't have a newsletter for your blog, I recommend that you start one today. There are many companies online that provide a platform for creating a newsletter, some free and some charge for this.
I recommend using Mailchimp, which is undoubtedly the best option for new bloggers since it's totally free for up to 2,000 subscribers and because it's very easy to work with and create beautifully designed, professional emails.

The only two drawbacks I encountered on this platform were : 1. The selection of fonts is quit limited 2. If there are people listed for more than one mailing list, they're counted more than once, and then you can't know the exact number of subscribers to the newsletter.

 

Building an active community around the blog takes time, and as you see, it requires quite a bit of work, but this is what turns the blog from just another website to a successful blog that people want to spend time on. Don't be alarmed if you don't see results immediately, the longer you apply these tactics, the more the sense of community around your blog will grow.

 

What are you doing right now to create a community around your blog and which tips from this post are you going to try? Tell me in the comments! 🙂

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163 Responses

  1. You know it’s so easy to get caught up in who is doing what with their blog. But I have learned that it is key to take care of your own and remember what are YOUR goals and aspirations. I rather read great content any day from a small blogger over mediocre musings from a popular one. Great tips.

    Reply

    1. .Thanks La Shell! I totally agree here.. great content which provides REAL value is key
      And we’re all just need to do our own thing and not get distracted by others.

      Reply

  2. There’s something odd going on with your Pinterest image. The Pin button is off to the side. It shows up when I put my mouse on the image, and disappears when I try to click on it. I’m using Chrome.
    ANYWAY. I’m so happy I found your blog. It’s GORGEOUS! Instant fan. Your Instagram is beautiful too.
    Building a community has been difficult for me. I get amazing comments, but I don’t think visitors come back. Maybe if I make some good freebies? Do you suck people in with freebies? That’s what they always say in Pinterest but I have no idea what to make…
    Thanks for your advice!
    Oh also, your website bar doesn’t recognize http://www.coffeecatskimchi.com as a URL??

    Reply

    1. Thanks for letting me know! I’ll check into that right now!
      Also, thank you so much for your kind words! I’m so glad you find my site and Insta inspiring 🙂

      Building a community is quit difficult for everyone, you just have to keep at it and don’t give up. Try different strategies and slowly but surely you’ll see what works best for you.
      Freebies are great for getting people to sign up to your newsletter and then, if you play your cards right, you can actually create a sense of community through the newsletter you’ll send. Try thinking of stuff that your target audience needs or wants – whether it be something to help them to solve a problem they’re dealing with or even something inspirational that they might want to get 🙂

      Reply

  4. Thank you for sharing all these tips! How can I contact you? I have some questions that I dont know if I can ask you here.

    Reply

  8. Thanks so much for your tips! Going to subscribe to your newsletter now 🙂 just started my blog and really needed a post like this one ?

    Reply

  9. One of the best post I came across. I am new to the field and I often try to learn and grab knowledge from here and there. But this is one of the best posts I came across.

    Reply

  10. The most important part of a community, in my opinion, is that it’s no longer about you, it’s about we. In order to create this communal structure, let your readers express who they are. This can be done in a number of ways, but the easiest is to just.ask.questions.

    Reply

  20. Hii,
    Great article! All the articles you have, they enjoy reading and learning a lot. Your article is very helpful for me. I hope you will continue to write such good articles as well.

    Thank you

    Reply

  25. Thanks for sharing this informative and easily understandable article. Looking for blog from some time about building blog community.

    Reply

  27. Hi, thanks for sharing such an informative blog post about the importance of building an active blog community. Great to read.

    Reply

  32. I am glad I stumbled upon your site. I am a very lazy blogger. I am too busy to update my blog. But with your post, I think I am ready to go. Thanks so much.

    Reply

  42. Thanks for giving us so much shine !!
    Great tips man! Worth reading. To be honest, at first sight, I thought you’ll use the same old tips people used to write on their blogs, but here I learned some new things in this key Point, something out of the box!

    Reply

  44. In my opinion, is that it’s no longer about you, it’s about we. In order to create this communal structure, let your readers express who they are

    Reply

  62. Thank you! In our industry, we know that you only get a few crucial seconds to make a good impression and engage potential customers. We aim to help you make the best of it!

    Reply

  63. Yes, the main mistake done by people is that they be too formal while writing blogs. I had many situations where I was forced to check the meaning of some words in Google (LOL). They write it like a novel, with awesome words, but only English lecturers will understand. This reduces the interest of readers to visit back.
    By the way, this was a good piece of advice.

    Reply

  67. I loved this article lot, it has very useful information. I always tried to give a catchy lines and dialogues. But this article helped me to keep pitch low and connect with readers. Please do share such article that help us to build such community.

    Reply

  70. This article is very useful with great latest ideas.
    It helped me a lot to keep a perfect pitch in blog.
    Thanks, please do keep updating such article.

    Reply

  72. Your very right @Hedonstit, expecially number 1, “use your own voice”. Tune matters alot in blogging, when i started blogging as a news blogger, I use more of passive and boring words which made my readers always sleep while on my page. Though have realized my mistakes, i write with active voice and a little bit funny with sense of humour.

    Reply

  76. When I need a piece of advice, I will find your posts and read them. To me, they are very useful. I can make use of advice to resolve my problems. Sometimes, I read articles to learn new knowledge. I hope I will add more posts. Thank you so much.

    Reply

  78. thank you so much for this amazing post really i am very appreciated with your content really i love this article and also please keep posting like this i will share it with my friends really it is very helpful

    Reply

  79. Wow!, what a wonderful post on building an active blog, I do enjoy every bit of my time here because I grabbed lot’s of knowledge precisely.

    Thank You.

    Reply

  80. All great advise! I just started blogging this year and am now seeing a bit of traffic from it. It is exciting. Thank you for sharing these reminders with us all.

    Reply

  86. Exceptional write loveish up. . Even though I lack. Things within my (2,4 and 6) but that I will buildup and improve them as time goes by. . Never too late

    Reply

  88. Excellent Blog!! It’s a great article that helped me build a perfect community and give a pitch in a blog.

    Reply

  89. i started by blogging journey recently. i accept without community nothings grows. it was nice reading. thanks for sharing your views. keep sharing

    Reply

  90. Hi tamar, this very usefull and adaptable in my smaal blog team to make best conten in our community. I am so glad to visit your blog and read this post. thnks for share and happy blogging

    Reply

    1. I’m so happy that you enjoyed this post and that you’re going to use my tips!! hope that it’ll make your blog better and more active!

      Reply

  91. I could replicate these tips on my Facebook page. Especially ‘content is king’, I believe curated content for your audience goes far in maintaining their interest and highly reduces a drop in the fan base.

    I could also add ‘Be an expert but in a fun way’.

    Reply

    1. It takes time but it’s so important to work on it. It makes wonders for any blog or online business!

      Reply

  94. That was interesting
    I came to this blog by accident, it was great
    I’m happy about this accident

    Reply

  95. thanks for sharing this useful & informative article with us. these tips are very helpful.

    Reply

    1. I’m so happy you enjoyed this post, Kate! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to get more great content straight into your inbox xx

      Reply
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Hey, my name is Tamar Leibovitz Golan.
I’m a blogger, photographer, and content creator for brands worldwide. Thanks to the knowledge and experience I have gained over the years as an entrepreneur, blogger, and content creator,  I built up my business in a way that allows me to live the life I always wanted for myself.  Turning my personal passion and hobby into a full-time job is a dream come true for me, and now I’d like to help you on your journey to realizing your dream.

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