Rethinking Your AudienceTurning Readers Into A Thriving Community

Jodi Ettenberg & Annemarie Dooling

Hint: It’s not just engaged readers and it’s not just a platform.

What Is A Community?

How Do I Find And Relate To My Community?

Be sure of your unique niche and tone. Be mindful of authenticity from day one.Always aim to provide value.

Keeping Relationships Continuously Beneficial

There’s no stopping point for providing value and building out a community. Reward community members for their loyalty and interest. Pay attention to reader feedback and expertise: Take your cues from them. Remember that when reaching out to ask questions, open-ended questions to generate one-time engagement is not the aim – true listening/value is the aim.

860+ comments and suggestions from valued readers, incl. changing the kerning & modifying fonts.

Trolls And Grouchy People

Trust that an established and strong community will often speak for you to defend you to negative users or trolls.

To keep in mind when confronted with negativity: think about (1) when to step in, (2) when to let community step in, and (3) when to walk away.

What Does Success Look Like?

How does community make a brand stronger?

Ability to pivot into new field of expertise, taking your community with you.

Wider net of expertise to draw from and learn from.

More brand recognition and wider spread on social networks.

The Bloggess Prompted her community into action both for important and more whimsical projects. (In this case, drawing a lady making out with a unicorn and then tweeting it).

Rewarded and elevated participating readers by calling them out/drawing attention to them.

Wandering Earl@wanderingearl

Responded to comments while providing additional information.

Created an atmosphere of conversation.

John GreenVlogbrothers

Created a sense of camaraderie between community members .

The NerdFighters have become self governing.

Andrew Sullivan@sullydish

After creating a valuable product, measured that value by asking his readers what they wanted, thus moving a popular column to an independent site.

A month later he had earned over $625k from readers paying $19.99/year per membership.

Provide continuous value to your readership.

Be authentic and invite your readers to speak often.

Know when to stand up and when to walk away.

Be mutually beneficial to each other, always.

GRAND FINALE!

Questions? Concerns? Cats?

Annemarie can be found:@travelingannawww.frillseekerdiary.com

Jodi can be found:@legalnomadswww.legalnomads.com/about