Connie Bensen has an excellent post up today about cultivating an active community.
I might underline that in the end you can only encourage users to participate, you can’t strong-arm them into it. As a general rule of thumb, people throw their hat into the ring when they are
a) angry
b) enthusiastic
Obviously, you’d prefer option b. Think about what makes you enthusiastic about your community, and what draws you into conversations about your topic.
Try to encourage that in others. Here are a few of the specifics that Connie shares:
# Be present - as a site owner it’s important that you’re there & active. Get to know your people & they will notice & respond. Make your customers feel special.
# Engage the people that are active at your forum because they probably love your product. They’re your power users & can help you greatly.
# Empower your power users - give them a private area in the forum & let them brainstorm. You’ll be amazed at what a group will come up with! Encourage them to keep it simple so no one gets worn out. Have them help moderate.
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