Building a Community Around Your Blog

This is the wave of the future. We have technology at our fingers that we couldn't have even dreamed about two short decades ago. So why is it that the most powerful marketing tool at our disposal is still the community watering hole?

Granted, that community watering hole has changed a bit over the years. It's morphed from an actual watering hole to local restaurants and stores and, as time and tech marches on, blog spots and chat rooms out on the World Wide Web. We've touched briefly on the benefits of viral marketing and word of mouth endorsement, but there's no way to over emphasize the potential that comes from developing and building a community around your blog.

The first step to laying out a plan for building your blogging community is to decide what type of blog you want to have. Are you a microblogger? Or do you have too much to say to cram it into a single sentence?

Since microblogging is a topic for another day, let's focus on building a community around your blog. The real benefit of blogs is that they give you the ability to share what's on your mind with your friends, family, business associates and the competition you want to show how far they're going wrong! Blogs are a chance to briefly and succinctly make a point, share information or present an opinion. The bigger the community is around your blog, the more effective it's going to be as a business tool.

There are three primary techniques for building a community around your blog:

1) Market your blog to your niche market. You want to make sure the people who matter know your blog's out there. If they're interested they're more likely to become a part of your community-and to bring their friends on board as well.
2) Encourage debate! Sharing an opinion is a great way to encourage others to actively participate in your blog, making it a real community rather than a place to go and read-something.
3) Respond to comments. When your readers take the plunge and comment on your blogs they want to know that you're going to listen-and that you're willing and able to actively converse with them about it!

Building a community around your blog is a vital step in your marketing process. Learn how at www.1uptoyou.com.