I posted a question inside the pro blogger forums this morning asking for help on how to make our community more active. How does a community that gets over 9000 unique visits per month and over 90,000 page views not have more activity. See when you get little or no reply from your blog readers you start asking yourself what you could be doing wrong. Perhaps if I write regarding different topics or come up with unique ideas it would generate more interest in the website.
This is the question I asked within the forums.
Hi everyone,
I own a community of bloggers and right now I’m looking for ideas and strategies to get the members more active and involved.
Does anyone have suggestions on how to get the members more active? I would be interested in community events, activities and other ideas to make our community more active.
I have a large community almost 500 – 1000 active bloggers and over 8000 members. But for some reason all I’m seeing is 600 hits a day…. I’m getting maybe 9000 unique hits a months and 90,000 page views. I think I should be able to triple this with the right suggestions.
How do I get the members excited, active and visiting the site more often?
Do you have any ideas for me?
Can I be doing things differently to attract more visitors and more community participation?
Perhaps I should be focusing more on the events in which I run here on the site and start putting more of them together. Either way I’m most interested in your idea’s and suggestions.
Be sure to check out our forum topic as well. (separate registration required)
Be sure to add me as a friend, bbrian017
Twitter, bbrian017
Thanks,
Brian
Holly Jahangiri (59)
bbrian017 (33)
Abhi Balani (28)
Kris Edison (21)
kirapermunian (18)
dragonblogger (16)
Hajra (15)
Andreea Fanita (6)
Lennart Heleander (6)
Mariam Cisse (6)
Twitter: AlisonMSmith
Brian, I went to the forum to ask a question yesterday. My problem was that I couldn’t find what I was looking for. I went to ask a question specifically about BlogEngage (the badge issue) and didn’t find a place.
It seems you are thinking about the community more in terms of general blogging interaction? Maybe you could create things on the front page to pull people back?
Another idea is to integrate the databases. I was baffled that I couldn’t log in to the forum. I just assumed the logins from the front page would be valid, but I had to sign in again. It took me a while of sending for lost passwords and searching my password files to figure out that I had to register a second time.
.-= Alison Moore Smith´s last blog ..There’s a Backhoe on My Lot! =-.
Twitter: bbrian017
Alison thanks so much for your feedback. I’m looking into make our community have one username and password. I’m hoping to have this completed within the next few weeks. It’s feedback like this that will make our community a better place to be for bloggers.
.-= bbrian017´s last blog ..Can you use a new wordpress theme with a unique header logo =-.
Twitter: israelimom
I think there’s a bit of a catch 22 here.
I see a great blog post – where do I leave my comment –
On the BE page dedicated to the post?
Or on the blog itself?
For myself, I know I’d prefer the comments to be directly on my blog, so I try and do the same with other bloggers. It also generates a more inclusive debate, whereas comments can come from non BE members. I have commented on BE pages – at least once – and that was because the blog in question used disqus which I don’t like.
As for the forums – I have to agree. You need something along the lines they have at hub pages – a forum that’s built into the CMS used for the system here. At the very least, you need unified log-ins.
Thanks for asking btw – I’ve been managing a large community/forums for almost a decade now and I know what a pain us members can be
.-= Anne @ b6s.net´s last blog ..Lists on Your Blog – Five Things to Consider =-.
Twitter: bbrian017
Hi Anne thanks so much for posting your feedback. Again another mention regarding the separate databases. This is going to be one of my main goals is to integrate our database for one username and password.
I appreciate your feedback it helps so much.
.-= bbrian017´s last blog ..Can you use a new wordpress theme with a unique header logo =-.
Hi Brian,
The girls make very valid points about the forum ( logging in is a bit cumbersome) – and commenting where I’m sure the vast majority go directly to the websites ( it makes sense for everyone – but doesn’t unfortunately help you to get more engagement here).
So how to get people to come together and engage more regularly? Well, it may sound a bit off-the-wall …. but I think you need a game of some sort , something where members regularly compete with each other in a fun way ….and where the (maybe) “Weekly Winner” gets some advantage/kudos/highlighting.
Something like this could work well for you because (a) lots of us in your community are ( I’m sure) very grateful for what you’ve set up here & (b) people generally seem to really like your style / personality/ knowledge. So if there was some online get together, once a week maybe for an hour or so, with live interaction, a bit of serious blogging stuff, a bit of fun & games, and possibly some benefit to a “Winner- well, you never know. I imagine the take-up (attendance) could be pretty good – and the effect on the community a positive one. It would also be a great opportunity for other new ideas/brainstorming.
Well, it’s just a quick idea – and maybe worth thinking about more?
( but now it’s time for bed and other dreams !)
All the best
Will
.-= Will´s last blog ..FamousBloggers.net =-.
Update the blog often, add good information, and make sure that you do some advertising. when possible.