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How to Create Communities That Last

Michi Beck is professional author and editor based in Stuttgart, Germany.

Communities that last - they are something that every blogger or Web business owner desires, whether the site is for business or only for pleasure. When people blog or put other content on their Web pages, they do so for a reason, and they want people to read what they write. More importantly, however, they want to connect with the reader, so that he or she keeps coming back. In order to make sure that happens, there are three main issues that a blogger or a Web site owner needs to consider.

First, many business sites today are creating blogs. These allow the business owner to have a voice that is often more personal than the actual Web site content. In addition, it allows the people who visit the Web site to do something very important - leave comments. This creates interaction between the site owner and the visitors, which can give the site owner new ideas about how to improve the site and give the site readers the feeling that their opinions and thoughts matter.

Second, reaching out to readers and customers is also very important. An online community will not last without interaction, and allowing visitors to leave comments in only one form of that interaction. It always requires the visitors to come to the site. However, if a site owner reaches out to site visitors through email, the visitors feel as though they are more important to the owner of the site. This is a necessary step toward securing trust and building site traffic, as this kind of behavior will not only bring people to the site, but continue to bring them to the site.

Third, a community will not last unless it continues to interact. Site content - both through the blog and through the rest of the site - must remain fresh. If nothing changes for a month, people are going to stop coming back to 'see what is new.' They will start to assume that nothing is new, and they may forget about the site entirely. New content does not have to appear every day - and really should not appear more than once a day. Too much new content too quickly, especially on a blog, may cause people to miss some important or interesting posts because they disappear onto the second or even third page too rapidly. New content should appear often and consistently, however, in order to keep readers interested.

In short, creating a community online and making sure it will last require basically the same things that are used to establish a relationship with individuals in person. Interaction is the key. If a visitor to a site does not feel anything, there is no point in returning. The creation and the continuation of an online community must come from a relationship that is built between the Web site owner and the readers or customers who frequent the site.

Getting people to visit a site is thought to be difficult, but it is actually much less than half of the battle. The real work begins after someone has been to a Web site, because he or she must come back consistently. Trial and error is part of the game when providing what readers and customers want and need to keep them coming back to a site, and making sure that there is as much interaction is possible can help to expedite that process, benefiting the Web site owner as well as current and future visitors.