Build a Community of Raving Fans with Blogging

Build a Community of Raving Fans with Blogging

Writing a good blog post and delivering a fantastic freebie is a wonderful start to your list building efforts. But there’s something else you can do to ensure they stick around. Turn your blog home into their home! I’ve said for years that your blog is “your home on the internet.” Now I’m expanding upon that concept to encourage you to use blogging to build a community of raving fans.

Start by engaging with the people who take time to comment on your blog posts. You can set your notifications up so that you get an email whenever someone leaves a comment. I use a plugin called CommentLuv for this purpose and you may start with a free version to see how well you like it.

People like to get a response, and when others land on your blog and see that you have a community going, it makes them feel more at ease to jump in and join it. Make sure you ban the obnoxious people (if you ever have any) so they don’t repel people from wanting to participate.

Another thing you can do is host challenges for your blog readers. If it’s a weight loss blog, challenge them to eliminate a bad nutrition habit over the course of 21 days. If it’s a stress relief blog, challenge them to try 7 new stress relief methods in a week. I was the originator of the “30 Day Blogging Challenge” back in 2009. The concept took off in a big way and over the years I’ve experienced great joy in watching newer online marketers and entrepreneurs host and participate in their own blog challenges. Several years ago I switched to hosting an annual Productivity Challenge and those suit my business model extremely well.

Post about your Challenge, on your blog, on social media, and to your list and then have everyone participate and share their actions and results. Be sure to support them in their efforts, celebrate their success and support them if they fail.

Showing this kind of care and concern is something that really endears people to you because you may be all they have to turn to. Maybe they don’t have anyone in their offline world who they can confide in or share things with related to this niche topic.

You might even want to periodically highlight your readers’ stories in a blog post dedicated to their success. Interview them and show others who land on your blog that because of your help and insight, people are finding solutions to their most pressing problems. The first few years of my 30 Day Blogging Challenges I shared the name and website of each person who completed the Challenge as soon as it was completed.

It’s a form of social proof you can’t buy anywhere. You can also give your blog readers who subscribe special perks the general public doesn’t get. For example, you might create a special series that you put on your blog, which you then password protect.

Only give the password to your subscribers. This makes them feel special and it also piques the curiosity of the newcomers who land on the site and will email you asking how to get access. Blogging to build a community of raving fans makes sense, no matter what your niche and where you are in your online business right now.

I’m author, publisher, and entrepreneur Connie Ragen Green and I would love to connect further with you. If  you have an interest in hosting video live streams, even if you’re an introvert, to help you skyrocket your way to success, please check out my comprehensive training for beginners at Video Live Streaming for Introverts so you may get started right away.