Chances are, you have worked really hard to get your blog or website to the point it is at now. There have been a lot of sweat and tears poured into this project! You find yourself churning out awesome content but, become fearful that there are crickets chirping in the background. You want to build a following. An online community that will read your content and react in some way. This can be by commenting or even sharing your posts where possible.

One of the best ways to get our online community to engage with you is to have a good team behind you. If you are not a solo show and have others working with you, make sure they are just as passionate about your product or brand as you are. You want them to be positive and excited. Your fans or readers can sense when there is excitement in the air and it will be contagious! Having a good team will also work to your benefit when you need to take some time away from the screen. If you are in the beginning stages, you may not see yourself as being able to pull away but, trust me when I tell you, the time will come when you are ready for a break. Having confidence that you have someone that can fill your shoes when necessary will be a huge relief!

Personalizing the experience for your community will make them keep coming back. As silly as it may sound, people like to feel special. Pick up on the little quirks of your followers when you can. It could be that there is a special nickname for your followers, or even set days of the week as theme days. Things like this will help keep our followers engaged and coming back day after day.

Encourage participation whenever possible. Just like people like to feel special, they thrive on feeling needed or wanted in an environment. Encourage your community to create content and so forth. Any type of participation will encourage them to come back day after day.

Keep them talking! Ask questions or being up topics that could be a friendly debate. If you throw out little things to get their wheels turning, the chatter will soon follow!

The bottom line is that your success depends on you first and foremost. The amount of effort you put into your online community will be reflected in your followers.

DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS? HOW DO YOU KEEP THEM TALKING?