One of the best parts about working on my networks thus far has been receiving positive emails from members telling me how amazing it is to find a space like this. They are so excided to have discovered spaces they never knew could exist, but now can’t seem to live without. I believe there are several reasons why people love my networks. There are certain basic things that I think network creators should and should not do. They are:
• Create a space that best reflects who you are, what you like, or what you are really good at. Trying to capitalize on a network in a niche you are clueless about is not going to work. Many people are looking for real spaces, with real people, and real information. The only people you will attract in a space filled with too many ads and spam are more advertisers and spammers soley interested in using your space as a free place to self-promote rather than co-create. Having a genuine interest in the themes of my networks has helped me feel like interacting with members is more for pleasure than profit. I can easily comment on members’ stories and create discussions that turn into hot topics, because I know what my members are looking for. Using yourself as a point of reference can help you create content on your network that you think would engage the readers in your community.
• Create a space that taps into an un-targeted niche. Quiet as it’s kept; there aren’t many REAL spaces for black moms online or black women entrepreneurs, so by creating a space for them (and myself) I am able to take advantage of being an originator in an untapped market. Why be like everyone else trying to create the next big thing since MySpace? I personally think it’s better to create niche specific spaces as a way to attract genuine, loyal followers making my own success story rather than hiding in the shadows of someone else’s.
• One of my BBWO members once described my business network as a grownup MySpace. She loved the fact that a large percentage of the member population fit the theme of the site, which meant she didn’t have to search hard to find like-minded individuals worth working with. I believe that by promoting my networks to a specific target audience, and by approving every member I can maintain the type of vibe in the community that members are desperately looking for. Members on BBWO often tell me how happy they are to finally have access to businesses and people they could have never found by searching online. Moreover, many have mentioned that they have joined similar groups on ning or other sites, but as they’ve stated, find themselves coming back to BBWO because of the unique member base and content.
• I have found that monitoring member discussions and posts has also helped to maintain the quality of each network. Though I do not believe in censoring members, I have learned the hard way that if you let any and everybody say, or post what ever they want you will quickly find your network attracting the sort of viewers only interesting in posting spam, nude pictures, or anything that doesn’t necessarily reflect what your network is all about. At some point you might have to ‘Police Your Network’ and that’s okay. To ensure that the community always feels involved when I have to police a situation I always post a notice in the forum and open it up for discussion so members clearly understand the guidelines and don’t feel apprehensive about posting their thoughts.
• Creating networks full of information gives them added appeal. Incorporating content from my other websites, blogs, and eBooks has helped me create central spaces for viewers to find what they are looking for. It’s important to note that you shouldn’t create a network and expect your members to create all the content for you. On the contrary, most people join a network because they are looking for something, so if you have nothing there for them to read or do, they won’t do anything. I regularly:
- Write articles
- Start discussions
- Feature my active members as a way to encourage others to participate
- Send out weekly email broadcasts to the group
- Setup community activities providing incentives or prizes to participants.
- It’s not hard to get people to join your network, the hard part is regularly encouraging them to logon, contribute, and stay active.
• Creating a unique design and adding wonderful features to your network helps to create a positive buzz. Members are always telling me how much they love the latest feature while others ask how they could create something similar on their own networks. Utilizing some of the features I previously mentioned can help you create a network that stands out and gets noticed. To my pleasant surprise my business network was featured on the ning blog. Being noticed out of all the hundreds of networks on Ning is a huge achievement for me and I believe it is in large part due to the network practices I have detailed here.
This post is a part of my blog series / eBook ‘Create Your Own Ningalicious Network‘. You can read most of the Chapters of this eGuide on the SistaSense blog. To get the complete guide, with tips not featured on the blog, download your own copy here.
