This panel is comprised of Janice Croze – (@5minutesformom), Holly Hamann (@hollyk), Debba Haupert (@girlfriendology), Rachael Herscher (@todaysmama), Jennifer James (@mombloggersclub), Erin Kane (@emkprgal).
Description: Focusing on one topic in a defined niche is an art and an exciting blogging model. We’ve gathered leaders from various niches to share their successful experiences to help you define your focus, monetize or increase readership for a niche topic, or have a niche section within your personal blog.
The 5 sites that are represented on this panel are:
Question: How did you decide to turn your site into a community?
Jennifer: MBC started out as a community and it’s really the members who make it a thriving community.
Erin: Things took off with the podcasts so fast that they couldn’t keep up with the correspondence and they realized that people didn’t want to just talk to them, but they wanted to talk to each other. So they founded the community to satisfy that need. They wanted to take the communication off her team’s plate and let users meet each other.
Rachael: Had the same situation as Manic Mommies and really wanted a platform to connect with their users and readers. They integrated a number of functional components for users of all skill levels so no one is alienated and can access the content.
Janice: We are constantly looking for ways to empower our community and it has always been about helping mom bloggers find each other and their sites and stores. The community is happening on all the sites that they connect to.
Question: I want my readers to have a community with each other. What is the one thing that a blogger can do or consider if they want to take the site to a community level?
Debba: Get to know who your community is and ask them what they need. Really listen to the answers. The answers drove the direction of Girlfriendology and what content needed to be generated on the site.
Erin: Collect data on your users and then focus on the data. Who is visiting your site? What level of social media savviness do they have? Use that information to drive your content and direction of your community. Get an email list started even if you are not planning on sending out newsletters for a while. Use survey tools like Survey Monkey to collect information.
Janice: Do you ever feel like you’re not getting everything done that you want to do? Take this advice and do it. But don’t do everything unless you can’t do it well. Use guest bloggers and guest writers to generate even more buzz around your site.
Jennifer: Use your blog to drive traffic to a community. Use platforms like Ning, free plug ins from WordPress and analytics to promote both features (content and community). Communities can build themselves by commenting on each other’s sites and interacting with each other.
Erin: Think about what your goals are for the community and decide whether or not it makes sense to build a community.
Question: If you are in the process of building your community, are there tactics for how to drive awareness to a community (as opposed to a blog)?
Rachael: Your marketing messages and PR efforts go hand in hand. All your messaging should reinforce each other. When it comes to promoting and spreading awareness, don’t negate the local opportunities. Local publications, sites and media present options to gain ground locally.
Janice: There are a lot of similar methods like Twitter and Facebook that we use for blogs.
Question: How do you manage your communities?
Jennifer: There are Ambassadors who are volunteers who go through and help moderate the community. MBC is a typically a drama-free zone. Things happen. Members bring things to the moderators’ attention that need to be addressed.
Debba: When you’re making decisions, think it all the way through. “What do we do when….” and set up policies. Watch others to see how they handle situations.
Erin: Private communities like this thrive because users feel safe to share certain things that they can’t do on other sites. So the community largely polices itself because they are very protective of this privilege.
Question: How do you monetize your communities?
Janice: Manages their own advertising network and ad campaigns. It is a lot of extra work. Before they were large enough to go after large sponsorships, advertising happened at low budgets because it made sense. The revenue will grow, but you have to have it make sense.
Rachael: Started with an actual product so the monetization process was already built in. Local advertising is another large opportunity for you. There is strength in numbers. It might not make the most sense to go it alone; are there others out there that you can join with to really make an impact?
Erin: Check your data to ensure that it makes sense and you can really present a solid case to monetize your community. Work with sponsorships, but know it’s not easy and it’s something you have to cultivate the relationship. Without data, a marketing plan and the full package, it’s going to be hard to justify the monetization. Be wary of ad networks. It can be like giving away real estate.
Jennifer: If you are going to make an impact, it’s going to take time. There’s going to be ebbs and flows. If you love it and you really want to make money with it, keep with it. It will come. You have to keep the wheels turning and stay creative. Get ready for sleepless nights.
Debba: Try things for the sake of trying them. Jump in and do it. Maybe it will fail, but it will help you learn what other people are doing and what does and doesn’t work for you and for your site.
