Step one, watch this video
Cali Lewis, image from Flikr.com
If you have never heard of Cali Lewis or GeekBriefTV, I definitely recommend that you check it out. Besides giving frequent updates on new technology, Lewis also gives lectures about how to build a strong, loyal following for blogs and web sites, as she is a very good example of doing this.
She calls it building an online community. If you have got 30 minutes, I recommend you check out her lecture at Viddler. However, if you only have a few minutes and just want to read the highlights, here they are.
Core brand values
Not only do you have to provide advertisers with a reason to buy from you, you must give readers a reason to keep coming back for each update. She gives examples of targets for bloggers such as reporting breaking news and entertainment. She says the core brand value of GeekBriefTV is to make people smile.
Lewis says you should pick something you’re passionate about, of course, but you must figure out a way to make money off of it by building a strong community, which means consistently giving readers a reason to visit your blog.
Conversations
A great way to build an online community is to get people engaged in conversations. Giant social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook, reaffirm every day that people love to become engaged in online conversations, whether it’s with strangers or friends.
She says look for opportunities in your daily life to create compelling conversations. I am sure we’ve all had an experience when we posted some seemingly inane Facebook status update, like “accidentally found myself humming to George Michael at work,” and it started a long string of comments. For instance, any time I post anything grammar related to Twitter or Facebook, I have several friends and some friends of friends or people who I don’t know write back.
It’s not about you, it’s about them
Lewis emphasizes that you must cater to your readers and make sure your blog gives them worthwhile information in order to add value to your blog. Large, strong online communities add value to blogs and web sites, and the way to turn readers into fiercely loyal followers is to become an asset.
For instance, tech blogs that give information about new pieces of consumer equipment are huge assets to techies. Staying up on the newest technology is vital to techies, so tech blogs that provide information about the newest stuff are valuable to techies, and they’ll visit them consistently.
Make friends, not fans
Lewis says you must have a two-way relationship with your online community. You should both ask and answer questions and talk with your online community, not at them.
She says making friends instead of fans means that your community will become more forgiving and loyal, and they’ll tell others about you. Just as friends in real life become friends with others through their own friends, you can build a strong online friendship in the same way as long as you come across as a friend.
“It is very rarely a bad thing to be humble,” Lewis says. A big part of being humble is showing appreciation. She recommends you use Google alerts so you can see when people write about your blog or site, and use that to show appreciation when people write good things about you.
She’s got a few more tricks up her sleeve, so I recommend you check out Cali Lewis’ video on building online communities when you have the time.
