Building a Loyal Blog Community: A Two Way Process

One of the key features of using blogs is the community surrounding them, and how both grow with the power of loyalty.

Rewarding subscribers and readers

Every blogger has to provide a reader, subscriber or commenter with respect and appreciation, which may be done in several ways. Opportunities for advocacy must also be offered to ensure loyal followers, entailing blog growth through referral.

One way of achieving loyalty is to offer exclusivity of blog content or newsletter subscribers as well as a free ebook or white paper.

Indeed, this particular approach would imply that the exclusive content would be available solely to the readers, which would subscribe to newsletters or email subscriptions. This may entail the negation of the rest of the community but which nevertheless demonstrate a degree of loyalty by signing in regularly. 

Thus, the question is: how shall you reward both subscribers and regular readers?

Showing Love to Your Blog Community

The truth is, a blog without a community is only a broadcast platform. The community ensures your blog growth; it ensures the sharing of the platform by practicing influencer marketing; it defends your platform; it ensures your growth as a blogger through comments and opinions. 

Your blog may be personal or business-oriented; community is the one to determine its success. As for business blog, the followers ensure sale. Don’t you think they deserve a reward?

The Freemium Model

Exclusive content may entail the negation of the rest of the community who chose not to subscribe. Hence, how to make sure to reward everybody on the same grounds?

• Episodic content. This is a two ways process. You can offer a set of educational posts, which would be useful to your community and offer the first chapters of ebooks to exclusive content subscribers, which may encourage regular readers to adopt the subscription option.
• Actionable content. This implies offering action points to any regular reader. This will ensure the presence of a thought leader, serious bloggers on your platform and positive influencer marketing. 
• Highlight your community.  This implies providing your readers with love.  Their presence is ensuring awareness around your blog and this technique allows you to reciprocate. You may provide them with the opportunity to guest post on your blog or you may even post about someone when you feel like showing gratitude. 

Protecting Your Community

Your community nurtures and helps you and the best way to thank them is to do the same towards your readers, by protecting them.

Readers take time from their schedule to roam around your blog and to comment hence you should provide them with enough comfort to do so. 

• Do not tolerate any abuse. One of the main features of a blog is the comment section. It ensures the sharing of interesting new thoughts and the creation of ideas. Make it sage by protecting your commenters and this particular space. 
• Create a comment policy. This would serve a guideline for any new visitor but shall also ensure transparency whenever you need to delete any comment. New visitors also feel safe from trolls and bullies.

Many other ways can be use to reward your community but the main thing is to ensure that you are doing at least one thing in this way. 

More on: http://dannybrown.me/2015/04/21/how-to-build-a-loyal-blog-community-with-the-power-of-give/