It’s day twelve of the yeah write community following ProBlogger’s 31 days to build a better blog. We’re happily traipsing through each day of July including weekends, and the summer series is running alongside our weekly writing challenges.
Today’s topic and activity is to join a forum related to your blog’s topic(s).
Finding your tribe for a little give & take
In ProBlogger’s 31dbbb, joining a forum comes up as a method of finding a reliable readership. That’s completely valid, but it can be so much more. In various forums, I see bloggers cull ideas, ask for feedback, and throw out ideas — often with fantastic results. However, before any one member can expect genuine and useful information to take away, there must be a lot of giving that happens first. And I don’t mean saying: “I wrote a post about this subject a while ago — here’s the link!” In the case of forums, you’ve got to give the milk away for free for a while. Maybe even until the cows come home.
Even in a forum, follow basic etiquette rules
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- Avoid any raunchy, insulting, generally obnoxious language. Your family may totally get your sense of humor, but no one in a forum knows you that well.
- Pay attention to structure and style. You want people to *read* what you have *written* eventually, right? Many will not bother visiting your blog if you answer in fragments or poorly edited posts. Offer up ideas and answers in complete sentences.
- Do I even have to mention the ALL CAPS and misspelling issues? Okay, good.
- Avoid being the person who answers every single posting with “Me too!” or “Thanks!” or “LOL.” If you want to give acknowledgement or thanks without adding information, answer privately.
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Finding and choosing a forum
Search Yahoo! groups, local message boards, parenting boards on a variety of topics, blogging communities like Write on Edge and The SITS girls are handy, and try out some boards on reddit Even setting up a linked ID for various news sites can start to feel like a community* of soul-mates. The Huffington Post, Salon, Jezebel, or your favorite on-line magazines and even towns can be fantastic.
ASK! Ask bloggers in similar styles and subjects about forums they enjoy. Use Twitter for a variety of ideas.
Can’t find the EXACT forum you want? (I’ll bet you didn’t look hard enough…) Then why not get a critical mass together and start your own?
* Found the most-perfect-ever forum? Check out the archives before jumping in with both feet. Some forums have very strong personalities that may not be conducive to your goals. Don’t be afraid to hightail it out of there if it’s not for you.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Find a forum in your blog’s niche or a related topic and join it! If you’re already a member of a forum, ask a few questions or make sure to answer a few.
We’d all appreciate it if you’d leave an annotated link to YOUR favorite forums, including the topic(s) it covers.
I’ve been searching lately for groups of men who blog. I had found one that recently got shut down, so I’m not having too much luck.
I’m an active poster on the message board at Broadwayworld.com, as most of my posts are about Broadway and New York City. However I’m still on the hunt for more message boards!
Hi Jacob,
Have you checked out the different sections of The Good Men Project? http://goodmenproject.com/
It has a wide variety of blogging types. And if it’s not for you, you’ll still be exposed to many different men who blog.
I joined SheWrites and sadly enough did not put more time into the group. This is the inspiration I need to get back in there and participate. Thank you.
I apologize. I should have shared a link. I’m still learning everything on SheWrites. So, I hope my blog post on there, stay on there. They have a great group called ‘Bloggers at WordPress.’ It’s one of the first groups I joined.
http://www.shewrites.com/profiles/blogs/time-traveling
Sorry – unrelated to forums (fora?) — I just wanted to say that is it Flood G who is doing the images for all the summer series? Because they are fantastic. And then – crass capitalist that I am, I wonder if her work is ever for sale? Anyway – just wanted to put that out there – great images that create a great vibe for the written work. Thanks.
You’re very kind. They’re my shots but if you ever want one, let me know. No dollars needed.
Your photography is inspiring. I love looking at your photos!
Studio 30 is a good place that’s very supportive & hosts some good writers…i wrote 1 or 2 posts there and then…er…um…er…Hmm. Yeah. Groups. HEY! Isn’t yeahwrite a forum? Can’t this very comment that I’m writing count as “jumping in” (dare we say “lean in”)? I see She Writes but haven’t participated there. I feel, frankly, a bit overwhelmed when it comes to groups – sometimes it seems like more energy flows towards the group & then there’s correspondingly less energy to direct towards, you know, actual *writing.*
Forums are such a natural extension of the blogging community and engaged readership. I have signed on for a few and never allotted time to become active. I think I’ll pick one and jump in.
I’ve been a member of She Writes for a long time, but have not been actively participating. So this task forced me to say something, and I did. I introduced myself and my blog to the group: Bloggers, Let’s Make it Work! I also joined another group, “Six Word Memoir,” which is a fun group to join – so glad I found it. I wrote my first six word memoir: “Woman intermittently writing on life’s pages.”
The She Writes community prides itself as being a “virtual workplace, and emerging marketplace for women who write, with over 20,000 active members from all 50 states and more than 30 countries.”
http://www.shewrites.com/
Fantastic suggestion! Both are great spaces for blogging writers!
Would a Facebook group count as a forum?
Yes! I’m a member of a few Facebook groups that have been fantastic!
In that case I am a member of Bloppy Bloggers on Facebook. This group is small (less than 300 members) but its a great group because members trade ideas off each other, provide valuable feedback and even help each other with technical problems.
I am also a member of 20sb but I don’t participate much.
I’ve had great experiences with the forums for blog conferences I’ve attended. Blissdom even had a “newbies” forum, which was a great way to participate with other bloggers in the same boat as I was. Not everything is about the conference – lots of other general blog and writing topics come up.
I just joined “Social Media Moms” on Facebook. I’ll jump in and participate today!