10 Secrets to Building A Strong Community Online and Off

Since day one in our business we knew how important it was to build our community (in marketing language it’s called building your list). And to be totally transparent, in the beginning we were not very good at it, in fact you could say that we pretty much stunk. :-) But we learned, some through trial and error, some through modeling other people’s methods and a lot through investing in various workshops, courses and mentors.

We also learned over time (and again with trial and error) the importance of not only building an online community, but the critical importance of building a local community and network.

The success of our business truly is tied to building both an online and offline community and presence. So, we wanted to share with you 10 secrets that really helped us to create that strong community that is so important.

1) Create a fabulous and compelling free gift for your website. Just asking someone to join your newsletter or mailing list is not enough. People are busy and quite frankly getting lots of email and newsletters, so the thought of another is more likely going to drive your potential client away. But what if you had a compelling free gift (video, audio, ebook) that addressed a real and pressing problem for them. We call it your “Fabulous Freebie”. Ask yourself what answers are your ideal client searching the internet for at 3 AM (We call it the “3 AM Google question). Have your free gift be the answer. For an example of what we do go to: http://www.authenticmarketingmadeeasy.com/gifts.html

2) Make sure to have an easy to understand opt in-box on every single page on your website (again offering your Fabulous Freebie, not your newsletter). This is for several reasons, the main being – you always want to give someone the opportunity to join your community. The second big reason is that because of the way search engines work (i.e. Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc) you never know what page someone will land on. For an example of how we handle this go to: http://www.authenticmarketingmadeeasy.com/home.html

3) A “Splash Page” (or sometimes called a landing or squeeze page). This is a special page at the “top” of your website that offers visitors to your website a chance to receive your compelling free gift and join your community. The truth of the matter is that on average you have 7-10 seconds to keep someone on your website, so by having your Fabulous Freebie front and center you dramatically increase the opportunity for this new visitor to sign up. Paige and I really resisted this, but it has made a really big difference for us, and we recommend it to all our clients. To see our slash page go to: http://www.authenticmarketingmadeeasy.com

4) Free teleclasses, webinars and physical classes. These are an incredible way to get your message out there, build your community and educate about your services.

5) Hand outs and Fliers promoting your compelling Fabulous Freebie, teleclasses, webinars and classes. As you go out and about in your local (and not so local) community, leave fliers about your gift. Make sure it has your web address – that goes to your splash page.

6) Speak directly to your ideal client, both online and off. This means don’t speak or write in generalities trying to reach everyone. Speak directly to your ideal client – their needs, struggles, desires – this is how they will know you are talking to them and they will want to join your community.

7) Don’t make it about you, make it about them. This is so important. So, don’t lead with your modality, don’t speak in jargon or specialized language that they may not understand. Again, speak to their needs, struggles and desires. Remember, if they get that you care about their needs, struggles and desires it will go a long way to build know, like and trust between the two of you.

8) Talk in tangibles. This little gem is often overlooked and can make the difference in not only growing your community, but in getting paying clients too. When you talk about how you help people and what your offering is make it tangible, in other words you want to be able to point to their need, struggle or desire and how it’s physically showing up in their lives.

9) Get out of your house or office and meet people. One of the best ways to build you offline community is to go out into your community. Check out your local Chamber of Commerce for networking events. Check out MeetUp.com for events in your area. We resisted this like nobody’s business, but just doing this has grown our offline and online community considerably and has translated into lots of clients.

10) Network, Network, Network. This is the most effective way to grow your local community. Again check out your local Chamber and search for networking in your area on the internet. With networking, as with the rest of your communications, it’s about them, not you. Find out what their needs are, who are their ideal clients. Is there someone you can refer them to?

Call to Action

Take a look at your business, both online and off, and make a plan to begin putting these secrets into play. Some may take longer than others to implement, but there are several you could start using today to build a stronger community, attracting more clients and making more money.