How to Build a Community with your blog

Steven Zussino,

Founder, Grocery Alerts Canada

http://www.groceryalerts.ca/

@groceryalerts

Introduction Grocery Alerts Canada

founded in 2009. Collaborate together

as a couple – Frugal Recipes, Coupon Matchups, Money saving tips.

Currently have 21,000 + subscribers,10,500 + Facebook fans, and 6,500 Twitter followers.

We all started our blogs small.

Goal is to attract a crowd!

Ask yourself these questions?

Do you share or spread your own content? Do you have a regular posting schedule? Can a reader comment and expect a response? Do you reach out using social media tools? Do you offer any solutions for your readers? Do you communicate what your blog offers to

potential readers? Do you share with other bloggers?

Creating and Building a Community

Crowdsource Credibility Be remarkable Show your personality Essential plugins/tools

Crowdsource – 10 ways to build content for your readers

1) Contest or giveaway (they need to participate).2) Ask your readers to submit content. (i.e. Share a reader story)3) Get your community’s opinion on a new logo and have them vote on their

favorites or for a charity event.4) Invite members to taste test new ideas and vote on which ones will

launch.5) Ask your community what new products and services they’d most like to

see.6) Find out issues facing your community regarding your specific topic or

niche.7) Ask for productivity tips, synonyms or other types of advice.8) Ask what your community most wants to learn from your content.9) Ask what sort of discussion topics they enjoy least and what topic you’ve

done to death.10) Use your community to help choose new designs for product packaging

and new websites.

Build credibility

Show your media mentions with a simple graphic.

Builds trust with your readers and potential community members.

Stand out and be remarkable

We released our free stuff on your birthday eBook first to our members to reward them for signing up for our newsletter.

This spread virally with over 1,200 Facebook Likes and 30,000 + downloads.

Provide value

Provide a little entertainment

Even if it is a little out there!

Controversy always works!

Comments are Important

Make sure your readers know that you care and read their comments.

Provide an easy form to comment in.

Use Canned Responses in Gmail to save time.

Recommended Plugins

Comment Redirect by Yoast AWeber Web Forms Simple Facebook Connect Top Commenters Formidable Threaded Comments Disqus Share This

Simple Facebook Connect

Integrate comments made on Facebook back into your own site

Top Contributors

Display your top commenters or authors in a widget.

Comment Reply Notification

You can choose to alert everyone on the thread whenever anyone replies or limit it to personal replies.

You could also allow users to choose for themselves with a simple checkbox as they reply.

This will allow the users to follow up the comment and expand the conversation if desired.

Threaded Comments

Threaded comments on a blog are comments where a reply to a particular comment tucks nicely under the comment it is a reply to.

AWeber Web Forms

Allows you to install an AWeber web form on your WordPress blog and lets visitors subscribe to your list when commenting or registering on your blog.

Formidable Pro

Quickly and easily build forms with a simple drag-and-drop interface and in-place editing.

Disqus

Disqus, pronounced "discuss", is a service and tool for web comments and discussions.

Disqus makes commenting easier and more interactive, while connecting websites and commenters across a thriving discussion community.

Comment Redirect

Redirect commenters who just made their first comment to a page of your choice. Allows you to ask them to subscribe, like you on Facebook, etc.

What Social Networks are you on?

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Google + LinkedIn

Improve your e-mail list

Add a newsletter to your blog using AWeber. Consider a light-box pop-up to sign up more registrants Add an email opt-in checkbox to your contest entry form, free

downloads, registrations for webinars, accounts. Get permission at check-out (if you run a store). Include Forward-to-a-Friend links in your newsletter. Add your sign-up form on Facebook as a tab. Partner with non-competing businesses and run ads on each

other’s sites and in each others newsletters.

Questions?