“Tribes are united by passion.” – Sonia Simone

One of the track keynotes at BlogWorld LA 2011 was given by Chris Garrett and Sonia Simone. The two partnered to talk about tribes, and whiles you can check out the entire presentation by purchasing the virtual ticket, here are some key take-away points:

#1: Your tribe starts with you – your passion and how you frame that passion.

Chris and Sonia talked about the need to be a leader in your community. While it is important to listen to your crowd, the vision for the tribe has to be your own. What’s your unique spin on your topic? People want to get behind that idea, and they need your vision as a guide.

#2: You are the leader, so start acting like it. Set the rules that will support your tribe.

I think this point can be best summed up in two quotes:

• “If you’re not getting hate mail, you’re not trying hard enough.” – Chris
• “It’s not all unicorns and rainbows. It’s a lot of drama…If you’re going to have a tribe you have to accept that you are the law.” – Sonia

There will be people who hate what you do and aren’t afraid to tell you that. There will also be people within your tribe who are argumentative, mean-spirited, and annoying. The great thing with your tribe is that you get to make the rules – but you also have to enforce them.

#3: You can move from free to paid when you know what your tribe will pay for.

Lastly, think about what you know how to do really well and what your clients really need. That’s the intersection you want to find if you intend to build a paid membership community. People are willing to pay for lots of different stuff; it’s just a matter for finding your community and getting them involved with your product!

I definitely enjoyed this insider’s look at the membership community-building experiences Chris and Sonia had. Remember, the virtual ticket allows you to hear the entire presentation as well as ALL of the other sessions from this weekend.