Community

Overheard on #Blogchat: Haters (@EGlue)

Do you participate in #blogchat? Every week, this weekly discussion on Twitter focuses on a specific topic and bloggers everywhere are invited to join in. Because I often have more to say than what will fit in 140 characters, every Sunday night (or Monday morning), I post about some of the most interesting #blogchat tweets. Join the conversation by commenting below.

(Still confused? Read more about #blogchat here.)

This week’s theme: Open mic night!

As many of you may already know, in addition to working here at the BlogWorld blog and running my freelance writing blog, I also serve as site manager for Binge Gamer, a video game blog I founded with my best friend a few years ago. The video game community is not…nice. And that’s an understatement. Even if you write a post that is straight news, containing no opinion at all, you’ll likely get called an idiot by someone in the comments, or two+ of the commenters will start attacking one another. That’s just the nature of this niche.

But that’s not every niche. In fact, that’s not most niches. Most communities are inherently positive, so it can feel jarring when you get a negative comment on your site. I actually feel kind of lucky that one of my first major blog projects taught me to have a thick skin.

One of the participants at this week’s #blogchat spoke a bit about this topic:

@EGlue: Whatever you do, you can’t make everyone happy. If you got a hater or two, you’re probably doing something right.

Easy enough to say, but I also definitely understand why some people get upset when a hater starts leaving comments. We put a lot of work into our blogs, to the point where they feel like our children. If someone doesn’t like our child, that’s anger-inducing…but when someone makes fun of our child? Well, I don’t know about you, but it makes me want to lash out right back.

It pays to remember what @EGlue mentioned – if someone is hating on you for some reason, it’s probably an indication that you’re doing a good job with your blog in general. People may not like a certain post you write or a certain decision you make for your blog, but they feel connected enough that they have to leave a comment. You want your community to feel so invested in your blog that they leave emotional comments when they don’t like someone. If you’re community’s reaction is, “Meh,” that’s probably an indication that you’re not doing a very good job connecting with them.

And remember too, there’s a difference between a hater and a troll. A hater might hate you, but they make valid points or actually have something to say, even though it might come out in a not-so-nice way. A troll, on the other hand, is just trying to piss you off (or piss off another commenter). They don’t actually care about your blog, your community, or even, in many cases, the topic. Haters warrant a response, though do so tactfully. Trolls rarely warrant a response and sometimes even warrant being deleted, depending on their comments and your blog’s policies.

The bottom line? Although negativity often hurts, try to find the constructive criticism in it and remember that just because someone has a different opinion doesn’t mean that you’re doing something wrong as a blogger. Work on building up that thick skin and keep moving forward.

Overheard on #Blogchat: Conscious Keyword Strategy (@grtaylor2)

Author: elkecarvosso6

(Still confused? Read more about #blogchat here.)

This week’s theme: Open mic night!

Whenever there’s an open mic night at #blogchat, you never know where the conversations will go. I didn’t get to participate myself tonight, but one of the tweets that stood out in the transcript was this one:

@grtaylor2: I go into every post w/ a conscious keyword strategy. Then, I write the content for the audience.

My first instinct is to want to argue. No! Do not write for search engines! You have to write for your readers! What are you doing?!? WRONG!

But in reflecting a bit, I think grtaylor2’s tweet is spot on the money because he used one word: conscious.

Keyword use in blog posts can be downright horrible. I’ve seen posts where not only were keywords stuffed into the text unnaturally, but the overall information in the post just didn’t make sense. If you’re writing for search engines, you’re never going to build a viable blog, unless you can also offer something of value. And because so many people make the mistake of using keywords in a crappy way, I think many bloggers have the natural reaction of wanting to argue anyone who says they write with keyword strategy in mind.

But this approach can make sense. In actuality, if you don’t consider keywords at all, you probably are doing a disservice to readers.

Why?

Because frankly, if certain keywords are popular, that means that people are interested in those topics. That doesn’t mean that you need to stuff your blog posts with keywords to pull in traffic, but if you’re ignoring your readers’ concerns, you’re missing out the opportunity to really help your community.

Check out your stats. What keywords are bringing people to your blog? These are topics where you can expand with more posts. Check out search engine reports. What keywords are popular in your topic area? These are topics you should cover if you haven’t already.

Yes, you should focus on awesome content, but the conscious addition of keywords can also help you reach out to people who don’t yet know about your blog. Good keyword strategy can help you build your community, not just drive up your traffic numbers. Don’t ignore this way of connecting with your readers.

Overheard on #Blogchat: “Nichify” (@CatsEyeWriter)

Author: elkecarvosso6

With all the BlogWorld Expo work I’ve been doing, I haven’t had time for Overheard on #Blogchat for a few weeks. Glad to be back this week!

Do you participate in #blogchat? Every week, this weekly discussion on Twitter focuses on a specific topic and bloggers everywhere are invited to join in. Because I often have more to say than what will fit in 140 characters, every Sunday night, I post about some of the most interesting #blogchat tweets. Join the conversation by commenting below.

(Still confused? Read more about #blogchat here.)

This week’s theme: Generating interest in your NEW blog

One of the most interesting #blogchat quotes I’ve read this week was from @CatsEye Writer about the topic of your blog, which plays a big part in building your online community.

CatsEyeWriter: New blog? Don’t be afraid to “nichify.” Your right people will find you.

I love this tweet in part because I make up words all the time and in part because it’s really solid advice that I feel like most bloggers get wrong.

A few months ago, I offered free freelance writing consulting on my blog, After Graduation. Of the people who signed up, 90% of them wanted to talk about their blog ideas, either for existing blogs or blogs they were thinking about creating. I found myself saying one thing more than anything else:

FOCUS!

Let’s say you start out with a personal blog where you just talk about whatever topic pops into your head. It’s about as far from “nichified” as possible. Unless you’re a celebrity or there’s some other force bringing your readers together to like you, how can you market that blog? You don’t have an average reader. You aren’t solving a problem. Chances are that you aren’t even being entertaining – at least not to every reader with every post. Reader A might like Post #1 but not Post #2. Reader B might like Post #2 but not Post #1. Because only the occasional post is relevant, no one subscribes or makes an effort to support your blog in any way.

So let’s say you “nichify” a bit by deciding that you’re going to write about parenting. That’s a huge niche. Again, you don’t really have an average reader. Because you’re so general, your posts are going to initially attract all kinds of parents. But Reader A is a young, new mother from the Midwest who is interested in your budget tips for parents, while Reader B is an experienced father from New York City who wants tips on helping his child choose a college and Reader C is a couple dealing with a child with autism. If you’re trying to write to all of them, your posts are going to be watered down and not convert. You can’t build a community if there’s nothing to bring them together.

Don’t be afraid to really find your niche. While there are more general parents than parents with children who have autism, if you write for Reader C specifically, your people will find you – and they’ll stick around.

So, as @CatsEyeWriter says, don’t be afraid to “nichify.” It’s better to have a small, dedicated readership than it is to have a million hits a day with no community. A dedicated readership that becomes a community is the key to building traffic and making sales, and that starts with defining your niche.

Audience versus Community: The Future of Web Television

Author: elkecarvosso6

The Friday closing keynote at BlogWorld Expo 2010 covered the topic of web television. Where is it going? How can we get there and how did we get where we are now? How does out thinking about television need to change to monetize it for Internet users? The panelists, (Jim Louerback, Dick Glover, and Dermot McCormack) talked about all these points and more.

But one thing that stuck out to me about the keynote was a comment Dermot McCormack made that audience is essentially the same things as community.

So I throw the question to all of you: Is audience the same thing as community?

For me, it’s not.

When I was in college, a friend of mine made a valid point in saying that friends talk to one another, but best friends talk with one another. To me, that’s the difference between audience and community.

An audience watches or listens or reads. They may be able to post input or feedback on your work, and you may even reply. But they aren’t a community.

A community holds a conversation with you.

A community shapes future videos/posts/etc. that you create.

A community has members that connect with one another.

An audience doesn’t do these things. Audiences don’t feel a stake in your work, or feel like part of a collective. Audiences enjoy what you do, but communities are part of what you do.

Think of it this way: Audience members cheer for you when they’re reading your posts. Community members cheer for you all the time.

Even with a traditional television show, this is true. Audience members tune in every week to watch Grey’s Anatomy. They may be extremely dedicated or even talk about the show with friends the next day.

But Grey’s Anatomy also has a community. These people are online, coming up with cliffhanger theories, writing fan fiction, tweeting about the show, live blogging, and joining Grey’s Anatomy related online discussion groups. They don’t just chat about the show at the water cooler the next day. They have real, meaningful conversations about the show. They identify themselves as part of a group – people who love Grey’s Anatomy.

You want your audience to become a community. Audience members may love what you do, but they’re passive. Encourage people to be an active part of your blog instead.

And that starts with being the first member of your community. Interact. Engage. Be a fan of what you write. Foster community by being community, not just another audience member on your blog.

Acting as Your Community’s Referee

Author: elkecarvosso6

No matter what your niche, you’re always going to have community members who don’t agree with one another. Sometimes, it can get personal and nasty. I see this most often in forums, but if you don’t have forums on your website, you may see disputes popping up in your comments section, or even on social networking sites. Too often, bloggers are asked to serve as a community referee.

The trick is that you want to make all readers feel welcome and able to express their opinions while still diffusing a volatile situation. When two members (or groups) of a community are hashing it out, other members, especially new people who are coming to your site for the first time, may feel like outsiders. They don’t comment because they don’t want to be attacked or take sides in any way. Being a community ref is essential to building readership. Otherwise, you’re fostering a really negative atmosphere on your blog.

At the same time, too much moderation can also be a problem. If you delete comments or forum posts from your more vocal members, you run the risk of killing your community fairly quickly. No one wants to be part of a website where they can’t speak their mind. That’s part of what blogging is all about – interaction and opinion.

Keeping all of that in mind, here are a few tips you can use to successfully ref your community:

Have a clear comment/forum policy. Readers should be aware if you’re going to delete or edit their comments because they’re inappropriate. Your policy could include things like “no name calling” and “no using the f-word.” Make sure your policy fits in the spirit of the site.
Talk to community members before a ban. Banning someone from commenting or posting in the forums might be for the best if they’re disrupting the entire community. Before you do so, however, reach out to that individual with your concerns. Make sure you explain what they’re doing that you don’t like (for example, calling another member an idiot), and ask them to clean up their act. Give them a chance to do so.
Close comments if the debate gets too heated. Sometimes, two sides just talk in circles, which just wastes everyone’s time. Consider closing comments if things start to get nasty, but make sure you update your post with a note about why you’ve done so. This should be a last resort!
Invite the two members to a debate. When the whole Thesis vs. WordPress crap was going on a few months ago, the leaders of both sides were invited to a one-on-one debate. It definitely diffused the situation a little and allowed both sides to give clear statements on their opinions without name-calling.
Avoid taking sides. It’s your blog, so you should make your opinion known, but avoid taking sides in an us-vs-them type of way. Make every effort so understand and acknowledge the other person’s point of view, even if you don’t agree. Don’t lose readers because you get caught up in the drama of having to be right.
Be consistent with your policies. If you’re going to delete/edit comments, posts, etc. or go as far as to ban people, make sure you’re doing it to everyone who breaks the rules. Be fair, not playing favorites because you agree with someone’s position or they are a long-time reader.

Luckily, most communities are pretty self-regulated. In the vast majority of niches, you don’t often have to act as a ref simply because communities won’t engage sometime who is antagonizing everyone else. If you need to, though, don’t back own. You’ll build a strong community by serving as a ref, not by ignoring the problem.

Overheard on #Blogchat: The Squeaky Wheel (@BillBoorman)

Author: elkecarvosso6

Yep, I’m a day late with Overheard on #Blogchat this week. I was at an 80s-themed bachelorette party, so I had a good reason!

Do you participate in #blogchat? Every week, this weekly discussion on Twitter focuses on a specific topic and bloggers everywhere are invited to join in. Because I often have more to say than what will fit in 140 characters, every Sunday night, I post about some of the most interesting #blogchat tweets. Join the conversation by commenting below.

(Still confused? Read more about #blogchat here.)

This week’s theme: Open mic!

Mama Boyer has a saying: ” The squeaky wheel gets the grease!” She usually says this in regards to complaining about something. If you don’t speak up, no one will fix your problem. My mom is someone you can count on tell you if service is bad.

Reading over the #blogchat transcript, since I wasn’t able to attend last night, this stood out to me, making my think of my mom’s saying:

@BillBoorman: 95% of your audience will never interact. Dont be swayed by only the noisy ones

Not every reader on your blog is going to be a squeaky wheel. Usually, people are outspoken when they’re feeling an emotional extreme – like anger from disagreeing with what you have to say. Of course, emotions can be positive as well, but every time you write a blog post, only a small percentage of people will actually comment.

That doesn’t mean you should listen to them, necessarily. You want to help your readers as much as possible, but at the same time, it is important to keep in mind that the readers giving you feedback only make up a small percentage of all the readers visiting your blog. If you want to create the best blog with the most active community possible, you have to consider the needs of all of your readers.

That’s the tricky part. If someone isn’t a squeaky wheel, how can you give them the grease?

Consider polling your readers. Often, people aren’t enticed enough to leave a comment, but they will click on a poll choice to help make their voice heard.
Check out what pages are most visited. Don’t just look at entry pages, since the top pages on this list are likely optimized for search engines well or were linked by people to drive traffic. Instead, look at which other posts people are visiting an how long they’re spending on these specific posts.
Run some tests. See if your traffic numbers spike or dip with a new theme, for example. Even though readers aren’t talking, they’re voting with their visits.

The squeaky wheel may get the grease, but a blogger knows that all of the wheels on the cart deserve some attention. Don’t ignore the huge number of readers you have who are lurking in the shadows.

What is "Community"?

Author: elkecarvosso6

Earlier today, @NotAProBlog (Jordan Cooper from the blog of the same name) tweeted:

Getting sick of @photomatt using “community” in the context as if those who don’t bow down to WP are somehow not part of it. #thesiswp

This is in regards to the Thesis/WordPress debate, which seems to have all but taken over the blogging world. I’ve posted my own opinions on this debate already, so I don’t bring up this tweet as a way to start debating whether Matt and WordPress or Chris and Thesis are right. No, I thought this tweet was interesting, because it pointed out that we sometimes have a warped sense of what the term community really means.

A Common Characteristic

A community starts because a group of individuals all share a single characteristic. Offline, that characteristic is often living in the same neighborhood. You can be a community if you all enjoy a certain hobby, too; for example, in the video game world, we’ll often refer to the “such-and-such-game community,” like the Halo community or the Sims community, made up of people who all play a specific game. The common characteristic for readers on your blog? They read your blog.

While this common characteristic can bring members of a community together, it doesn’t mean that you’re similar in any other way. You might live next to an older, retired couple while you live with a spouse and two children. You might enjoy playing a a game online, while the next gamer enjoys playing locally with friends or by him/herself.

When it comes to a blog community, everyone reads the same posts, but they come from a variety of backgrounds, so opinions are going to vary. Greatly.

Community versus Demographic

A single common characteristic doesn’t a community make. That’s just a demographic. Lots of people have things in common, but I wouldn’t consider some random girl on the other side of the world who also happens to have blue eyes as being in a community of blue-eyes girls with me. It takes something more to be a community.

In my opinion, that something more is interaction. You’re part of a community because you interact with other people who share a common characteristic with you, in the context of that characteristic. Friendships might form outside of that characteristic, but it is that one thing that first brings you together.

Interaction isn’t always in a positive manner, though. If people don’t like your blog post, they are still be a part of your community if they choose to interact by leaving a comment. A community isn’t a bunch of people who gather to say, “Heck yes! We’re awesome!” Members of a community might even hate one another. One of the best things about community is the variety of opinions.

The Death of a Community

I would actually go as far as saying that a community with no controversy is a dead community walking. You don’t have to have issues as dividing as WordPress versus Thesis, but if everyone just agrees all the time, it’s actually a bad thing for your blog community.

Think about it – when a blog post doesn’t have any comments except “I agree!” things get boring pretty quickly. Of course, you want to please your audience, but covering topics that lend to debate isn’t a bad thing. This isn’t about a bunch of people patting one another on the back for doing a good job. If that’s what’s your blog is all about, your community sucks.

I guess, my point is that I agree with Jordan’s tweet. A dissenting opinion doesn’t mean that you aren’t part of a community. In fact, you are an important part of the community. Keep that in mind with your own readers. Just because someone isn’t your BFF doesn’t mean that they aren’t part of why your blog is successful.

Allison Boyer is a writer for BWE’s blog and the owner/manager of After Graduation. Heck yes! She’s awesome!

Image: sxc.hu

When Bloggers Turn Nasty: The Dark Side of Internet

Author: elkecarvosso6

Perhaps calling nasty bloggers “the dark side of the Internet” is a little melodramatic. I’m a melodramatic type of gal, I suppose. Recently, I’ve seen communities being torn apart over issues where they just simply don’t agree, and I have to wonder – is it worth it? Is getting our opinion out there worth losing friends or losing the respect of readers?

The answer to that question certainly isn’t easy.

This is my angry face. Internet comments, roar!

On one hand, I do fully believe that it is important to stand up for what you think is right. Right now, the whole WordPress versus Thesis debate is raging in this community, and a lot of bloggers are coming out of the woodwork to weigh in on the topic, myself included.

Unfortunately, it’s getting nasty. Strike that…it is nasty. We’re lucky enough here at the BlogWorld Expo blog to have awesome readers who know how to disagree respectfully (and even productively, since I’ve been getting ideas about possible solutions to the WP/Thesis problem). Not every blog has that kind of upstanding reader. Certainly, on Twitter, we’ve seen the lowest common denominator of the Internet flinging mud on both sides. And really, “mud” is a polite term for some of the tweets I’ve seen.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – the anonymous nature of the Internet does not make it OK for you to be a jerk. Disagreeing respectfully is a must. We’re all adults here, after all. And, as writers, most of us can agree that freedom of speech is a good thing, even though it means extending that freedom to people who have differing opinions. It’s important to remember that this freedom comes with a responsibility to act like a mature adult, not a high school drama queen or, worse, screaming five-year-old.

The WP/Thesis debate is not the only one I’ve seen get ugly recently. I also just saw bloggers get totally out of hand in a relationship-based blogging community where people were debating about consent, dressing in a sexy manner, accountability when drinking, leading men on, etc. It turned into a giant mess, and there seemed to be no voice of reason standing out saying, “Wait a minute. We’re all adults. Let’s stop calling anyone with a dissenting opinion stupid.”

These are just two examples of the types of nasty blogging I see every single day. Even people that I respect get carried away sometimes, taking rude comments about disliking someone/something/some idea a step too far. It’s a fine line between voicing a dislike and bashing someone in an immature way.

As bloggers, I personally believe that we have a responsibility to behave with a little more class than we sometimes do. I’m guilty of this just like the rest of you. We get riled up about something that makes us passionate, and we explode, either by writing a strongly-worded blog post that goes too far or name-calling in a disrespectful comment on someone else’s website.

The real problem here lies with bloggers who forget to come back from that angry, nasty place, bloggers who perpetuate the negativity, and bloggers who don’t even have logical arguments anymore, just hating to hate.

I’m not suggesting that we sit around a campfire singing Kumbaya or have regular group hugs or something. Part of what makes a blogger a good blogger is his or her ability to voice an opinion. I am saying that it sometimes pays to take a step back from an angry, hurtful situation. I like to use the three-hour rule: when something makes me really upset, I wait three hours before writing a blog post about it or commenting on someone else’s blog post. Often, I’ve found that I’m not nearly as passionately mad about something three hours later; it was just an initial gut reaction. After some time to cool off, I can write a rational response.

In closing, here are my pleas to you, dear bloggers:

Try to see the other person’s point of view.
Attack an idea or opinion, not the whole person.
Read blog posts carefully and completely before commenting.
Avoid name-calling.
Be productive, offering solutions instead of just complaining.
Speak in a direct manner, not passive aggressively.
Be considerate of others’ feelings.

In short…be a grown up. Don’t be afraid to apologize if you’ve let something get out of hand, and above all, learn to let things go. Yes, even when you feel passionate about a topic. Letting something go doesn’t mean that it doesn’t matter, nor does it mean that you’re conceding to the other side. It just means that you’ve exhausted the debate. You can talk in circles forever, getting continually nastier, or you can move on to other topics.

The WP/Thesis debate isn’t going anywhere – and that’s ok. The same is true of other debates that are being hashed out between bloggers or readers. Just know when to hang your hat…or more accurately, when to hang your hate. As bloggers, we can make the Internet a more hostile place, or we can make it a more valuable, productive place. The choice is yours.

Allison Boyer is a writer for BWE’s blog and the owner/manager of After Graduation. She’s beginning to think that regular group hugs wouldn’t be a bad thing…and a blogger camping trip? Now that just sounds like fun.

Image (c) Allison Boyer.

Reacting to Your Comment Community

Author: elkecarvosso6

As soon as you get your first comment, you have a comment community on your blog. That’s one of the main differences between websites and blogs – your readers become a part of your content by interacting through comments. I know that I’ve often sent a link to someone and noted, “The comments are the best part!”

Some bloggers respond to every single comment. Other bloggers respond selectively. In my opinion, your responsiveness isn’t as important as how you respond. The way you react to your comment community could make or break your blog. There’s a reason why some people get 1000 comments on every blog post, while others hear the virtual crickets when it comes to their comments section.

Now, if you’re a new blog, it takes time to build up a comment community. It depends on your niche – some blog topics simply lend themselves to more controversial topics than others, and controversy always leads to more comments. But no matter what your niche, you can build a decent comment community within a year. It’s all about reacting in the right ways.

Is anybody listening?

Tap, tap, tap. Is this thing on?

Sometimes, people don’t leave comments because they have something super insightful to say. Some members of your blog’s comment community simply want to be acknowledged. They look up to you or like you, as much as a reader can grow to like a blogger that he/she doesn’t personally know. They want you to like them too.

I’ve certainly felt this way about bloggers. I want to make friends, and one of the best ways I feel like I can show my support is to leave a comment.

If you’re what I like to call a selective reactor (i.e., you don’t reply to every single comment), take notice to which readers are making an extra effort to respond to your posts regularly. Acknowledge these readers, if not by reacting to their comments, but following them on Twitter or sending them an email. A few days ago, I left a comment on one of the blogs I read regularly, and the author just sent me a brief DM thanking me for the comment. My opinion of that blogger jumped a good 1000 levels.

It only takes a few seconds of your time. If you have a huge blog community, take ten minutes a day and engage 5-10 of the people who’ve left comments on your blog. No one’s expecting miracles – just do your best to connect with your readers.

Who are you?

I’ve talked about building your blogger brand in the past, and it makes sense to keep this advice in mind when replying to comments. If your blog posts are edgy, be that same edgy personality in your comments section. If you’re blog posts are sweet, don’t suddenly become a no-nonsense witch in your comments. This is an opportunity to shine through, giving readers an addition look into who you are.

This is especially important when responding to negative comments. Some people are jerks just to be jerks. They’ll never visit your blog again, and sometimes haven’t even read the post initially. They’re just trolls – commenters who take pleasure leaving useless, rude comments to get under your skin.

Some negative comments, though, have merit. The person doesn’t agree with you, and whether or not they actually have a point, it can be difficult to not get defensive. Now, I know a few bloggers with personal brands where it makes sense to call out the other person or even get angry, but for most bloggers, snarky replies just don’t fit your overall personal brand. Give yourself some time to cool off after you read a negative comment, so that you can come up with a classy reply that fits your style.

Where’s the conversation?

When reacting to your comment community, do your best to create a conversation. I find that the best comment sections are one where people are not only replying to you, but to other commenters as well. Ask questions. Point others to read a specific comment. Just like you should formulate blog posts to entice readers to comment, you should also formulate your comment replies to encourage others to react.

Remember, a conversation isn’t about repeating what you’ve already said in the blog post. One of the most basic tips for leaving comments on someone’s blog is to say something original and add to the conversation. You should keep this in mind when you comment on your on blog as a reply to your readers.

Allison Boyer is a writer for BWE’s blog and the owner/manager of After Graduation. She likes making new bloggy friends, so leave a comment (or follow her @allison_boyer).

Image credit: sxc.hu

Is Twitter Stealing Community from Blogs?

Author: Ghost89

So after my post about the Social Media Police yesterday, an interesting discussion ensued. In fact, it was probably one of the better blog post discussions of my career. Except it didn’t take place here, it took place on Twitter. That in itself isn’t a terrible thing, but as a blogger, it’s sort of my duty to build community here at the BlogWorld blog.

I see it happening all the time, discussions take place at Facebook or Twitter, and not in the comments section of the post that started it all.

Is Twitter stealing community away from blogs?

I’ve discussed this before. When I was a community manager it was my job to build communities beyond that of our website. I had a couple of Facebook groups going, some Ning action, a forum and I engaged on Twitter every day. However, people were married to their favorite groups and social networks. They didn’t really feel like visiting the website each day. Instead of building a community, I built cliques. Nowadays no one needs to visit a blog, not when we can read the same posts on a newsletter or access them via feeds or on a Facebook page. The content has to be extremely compelling for folks to come by to comment.

Don’t get me wrong. I love being able to chat with you all on Twitter. I live for these discussions, but if I can’t bring you back here, what’s the point of my blogging? (Note to Rick: Don’t think about that one too hard, ‘kay?) So I’ve been thinking about ways engage the community but bring them back here for a bit of conversation. Short of an open bar, some of my options include:

Reminding the folks on Twitter to chat here – but that’s kind of spammy and I don’t want to move or break up a good discussion.
Try not to encourage a Twitter discussion – but that defeats the purpose. I mean, if no one is going to talk to me here, I’ll take it any way I can get it.
Post about it and see if you all have some pointers – This works for me. What would you do?
Give you a reason to come here – I hope the content speaks for itself. If you think so, give us a bookmark and come by from time to time (or every day) to say hello.

So talk to me…to us. Tell us what you do to build up your community on the social networks and keep them coming back to your blogs for the discussion?

Is there a polite way to take a conversation from Twitter or Facebook and direct it back to the source?

My mission is apparent. I’ll keep you posted.

Deb Ng is a professional blogger and founder of the Freelance Writing Jobs network. Feel free to follow her on Twitter @debng.

Overheard on #Blogchat: Haters (@EGlue)

Overheard on #Blogchat: Conscious Keyword Strategy (@grtaylor2)

Overheard on #Blogchat: “Nichify” (@CatsEyeWriter)

FOCUS!

Audience versus Community: The Future of Web Television

Acting as Your Community’s Referee

Overheard on #Blogchat: The Squeaky Wheel (@BillBoorman)