Are you a blogger or influencer? Do you feel like you are all alone sitting behind your computer? I’ve written this post as a guide to those looking to create a blog tribe. No matter where you are in your blog business, you need a tribe.
This isn’t your typical home or DIY project tutorial post. This is a post for those in the online blogging biz, those who want to be, or those of you who are just curious how this all works.
I’ve been blogging since January 2013. From the moment I bought the URL for my site, I knew I needed to find other bloggers to talk to. I attended my first Haven Conference that same year. Haven is a home and DIY conference. I was so scared but excited at the same time.
Fast forward to now and I am honored to be a Haven Mentor. So much has come my way as a blogger because of the Haven conference. One thing that I cherish most are the relationships with others who do what I do. Being a blogger or online influencer is a relatively new phenomenon. It is stressful, hard work, and frustrating lots of days but I truly love it.
However, it can be very lonely. You need a tribe of people who are on a similar journey. Whether you call it a tribe, group, or mastermind, it’s basically the same. Over the last 6 years I have been in several tribes. There will certainly be a few bloggers you met and become instant friends. Like you would be best friends in real life too.
BUT what I want to teach you today is how to create a blog tribe in order to grow your blog as a business. This tribe may include that bestie, it may not. The tribe needs to have a purpose. When you create the tribe, you get to decide it’s purpose.
How to create a blog tribe:
- Make the first move.
- Don’t be easily offended.
- Keep the tribe small.
- Be a team player.
- Be honest.
- Create tribe expectations.
Make the first move. Especially as a new blogger, you will feel like others are more advanced or ahead of you in the journey. This can cause you to think you aren’t qualified to create a tribe. While the tribe will be a team effort there needs to be someone willing to lead from the start to get it all set up. Be prepared to know what you want out of your tribe and make that offer to the other bloggers. They need to know what your goals are with the group in order to decide if your tribe is for them.
Don’t be easily offended. When you reach out to invite someone to join your group or tribe don’t be offended if they say no. I’ve said no before. Your goal is to create a tribe where everyone is willing to participate equally.
Keep the tribe or mastermind group small. I recommend you create a small group. My current tribe is 10. I would say 5-15. I invited 3 bloggers and then asked each of them if they had someone in mind to invite. Then we all agreed on who to invite.
Be a team player. Whether you create a tribe or get invited into one, be a team player. Don’t just take and never give. If you never answer questions, share info, or offer suggestions you need to leave the tribe. This seems obvious but it needs to be clear.
Be Honest. Tell your struggles and your successes. You can only learn and teach others by being honest.
Create tribe expectations. While this is not a strict business group I have found that if you create some expectations up front it encourages everyone to share. Do you want your tribe to talk about sponsors, affiliates, online shop, authoring a book? It can be all of this but these expectations will allow you to gather together a group who has a desire to do the same.
My most successful tribe has been the most detailed one. This includes sharing details about money, rates, page views, contacts, etc. Be willing to go first and introduce yourself and throw it all out there. Everyone else will follow. This is where being honest is important. It should also be written that this info is private and for the group only.
Your tribe can change over the years or in different blog seasons. People within the tribe can move at different paces or decide to take a different approach to blogging. For instance, if you decide to write a book, you may need a different tribe for that season of blogging.
Let’s recap how to create a successful blog tribe:
- Make the first move.
- Don’t be easily offended.
- Keep the tribe small.
- Be a team player.
- Be honest.
- Create tribe expectations.
The success of a blog tribe or mastermind is the willingness of its members to be active and honest. These people are your friends and colleagues, not your competition. There is plenty of room for all of us to be successful.
In my blog niche of home decor and DIY, the Haven Conference is a great place to meet other bloggers. I highly recommend attending a conference. However, you never have to meet other bloggers in real life to be part of a tribe. The online world is amazing.
MORE POST ON BLOGGING:
- Blogging, decorating and MONEY
- How to choose blog topics
- My second trip to Haven
- Better Homes & Garden StyleMaker Event in NYC