About a year ago I decided I needed to surround myself with like-minded bloggers. I needed to have others to encourage, inspire, and motivate me. I wanted to return the favor. Give and take.
I wanted to know I wasn’t alone while trying to find my place.
When your readership is low and your comments are somewhere in the basement – you don’t know if you are where you should be. If everyone gave up at this point, well, we wouldn’t be reading blogs and exploring social media.
There would be no blogosphere.
We all start out at zero. How we get to hundreds, thousands, and even millions is because of you. And you. And you.
How do I find you? How do I strive to go for one more day? How do I get promoted? Encouraged? How do I know my ideas aren’t ridiculous? Who do I ask if I think, maybe, my next series is going to be sorely received by my current niche? Who do I show my next eBook cover to – so they can advise me on my color palette?
Who do I bounce ideas off of? My mastermind group. My community.
Once I realized I needed a mastermind group, I figured I could should wait for someone to invite me to theirs.
Then I realized: that is not my style. And I highly recommend you stop waiting around, too.
Take the reigns. Build your group. Own your community. Here are six ways to do just that.
- Start at the ground and build a strong foundation – one member at a time. Make sure you have enough in common that you accurately encourage one another. Your niche doesn’t have to be exactly the same, but it should be complimentary. I would recommend starting with no more than 7-8 people. You want to develop strong relationships, and a system for operating, before growing.
- Do not be afraid to ask bigger, more experienced bloggers. Chances are, they are looking for community, too. Worst thing that can happen? They say no. Just go with it and move on to the next.
- Let your community start with two and with each new addition, decide together. You avoid other members not liking who you have picked. You keep from ruling the group (you want to be equals!) and you avoid hurt feelings because a person’s suggestion wasn’t even considered. Any of these could keep your group from working as well as it could have. This shared invitation process also slows down the search. You don’t want to build this group overnight. You want to put
thoughtprayer into it. You will be with this group for a while. You are selecting a group that you will potentially be judged by. Who are you keeping company with? You want to make sure you know. - Find a forum, aside from email, where you can get your ideas, plans, community projects and encouragement all in one area. I recommend a Facebook group (set it to “secret”!) or Skype (for face-to-face time). Avoid email. People get left off (accidentally) and feelings will get hurt. Keep it all out in the open.
- Grow with your group (or let your group grow). It is not static. If you grow out of your group and wander down a different path, you won’t benefit, and it will just suck the life out of your social efforts. You need to maximize your social media and sharing time – not squander it. Feel free to leave (even if you are the one who started it!). Or if someone else leaves, invite a new blogger to step in.
- Set up a sharing plan. You want to have a common goal. It may be as obvious as: “grow your blog.” It may be to expand reach on Facebook. Perhaps it is to write books together. Regardless, you will be pushing each other’s products (give more than you receive). If you always push the same 5 people, people may start to zone out when they see “Check out this awesome post from “oneofmyfavoriteblogs.com.” Instead, come up with ways to promote that keep things fresh! Here are a few ideas:
- Have a rotating ad exchange program. (Swap 125×125 buttons) Speaking of, grab ours to share! It is on the sidebar!
- Plug a specific person in your group on a set day each week.
- Guest post on each others blog. Is one of your friend’s blogs similar to yours, but their audience is geared more to something you love but don’t get to write about often? Write it! When you hand pick your group, you can keep in mind their writing styles and decide if you would be a good fit for guest posts on their blog, and vice versa.
- Share on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest anytime an article really moves you. If it really inspires you, it will likely inspire your readers.
Get connected. Get rooted. Don’t get lost in the crowd. And don’t wait for your group to come knocking on your door!
If you haven’t started a Mastermind group yet, what has been your biggest deterrent?
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Great post! I’m part of a few groups like this, but don’t have my own. I’ve considered creating my own for better focus but don’t want to lost the community I have in the other groups… Decisions, decisions…
Jenni Mullinix recently posted..Good Days Begin with Prayer
Jenni, Don’t think too hard on it…Leigh Ann and I are going to contact you about something soon
Nikki recently posted..6 Steps to Building Your Own Community {Mastermind Group}
Great thoughts! I first heard about this idea in June – and promptly asked a friend to start a group with me. We’ve now got 9 amazing women, and it’s made a huge difference, not just in blog traffic but also in confidence and idea-generating. They even helped me put together my very first ebook, which releases on Friday!! Love my mastermind group!
Elizabeth @ DogFurandDandelions recently posted..It’s okay to grieve.
Music to my ears! So happy you have found a genuine community!
Nikki recently posted..Fellowship Fridays are getting fancier!
Now that was encouraging. I started one on 9/10/12 and I felt that from the very beginning the focus was not there, so I said I would table it until the holiday. This post gave me fresh perspective on what needs to be done.
Thanks
Good thoughts and good timing. I was at a blogging conference this weekend where having a blogging tribe was discussed as important – but no path was given to finding/creating one. This has good concrete steps. Thank you.
susan recently posted..Thinking about labels
Concrete steps are crucial to follow through!
Nikki recently posted..One Rule of Blogging: Keep Strict Office Hours
This is so helpful! Thank you! I am part of a few Facebook groups, which helps. I’ve often thought about starting my own, I just worry that I won’t have the time to devote to it like I would want to. I lead a ministry style Facebook group for wives of the unemployed to coincide with my website and book, UnEMPLOYED Faith. That tends to be very time consuming and I feel called to put that as a priority because they’re women in emotional need of encouragement and prayers. But, I also know the importance of growing my online presence if I’m to reach a larger audience and glorify God all that much more. I definitely need to spend time praying about this. Thanks for an informative and inspiring post.
Rosann recently posted..How to Prepare and Energize Your Heart, Soul, and Mind for Whatever the Day Will Bring
Rosann…prayer prayer prayer. The Lord will bring women into your life when it is time! And don’t worry about “time”…you can give as little or as much as you need. Especially if you start the group, you can set the pace!
Nikki recently posted..{Tech Tips} How to Create a Custom Facebook Cover
Great post, especially in light of having recently formed my own mastermind group. I’m going to pin this to my growing ministry and business board for future reference!
Lisa recently posted..Is Jesus Your Everything?
Thanks for pinning! I love your site! It is beautiful! Did you do your own design or did you hire someone? I love what you are doing over there! Thanks for taking some time to comment
Thanks for the compliment on the site. Yes, I am a graphic designer, so I did all the design. Glad you liked it!
Lisa recently posted..Is Jesus Your Everything?
Love this! I already have a couple of bloggers in mind that I would LOVE to do this with!
Mindy @ New Equus – A New Creation recently posted..Chalking it up!
Do it! Don’t wait! You will be soooo blessed!
Nikki recently posted..One Rule of Blogging: Keep Strict Office Hours
I had a friend suggest this to me just the other day. Thanks so much for your tips and encouragement, Nikki. Isn’t it amazing how God uses each of us to whisper into our hearts? Love the look of your blog too!
I hope it works out well for you! Thanks for your sweet words
Appreciate your sharing.
Denise recently posted..On Your Heart Tuesday
Hello, I am a Christian housewife who loves to cook and bake. It took me a long time to start blogging because I have been a housewife for more than 20 years and being not computer savvy and away from writing for a long time, it wasn’t easy for me. I was googling for Christians food bloggers to connect, and also to share and encourage. I came across your post and want to thank you for sharing your tips .
Thanks for laying out the steps for getting this going. I’ve been seeing it everywhere lately! Thanks for linking up with WIP!
Mary Beth recently posted..Relax and the WIP Wednesday Link-Up
Okay, so I see I need a mastermind group…. and I wouldn’t mind starting one (I don’t think- this is ALL SO NEW) – yet I wouldn’t know where to begin. I read a lot of great blogs, but I through reading them, it seems like so many of them are already “connected”…. is there a resource out there for connecting bloggers?
amanda kelly recently posted..In me first
Great Post! Since starting my own mastermind group in 2011, I’ve become passionate about encouraging others to create and enjoy the awesomeness. I just put together a resource page on my blog for people interested in mastermind groups and I linked to you. Thanks for the great tips! I especially liked the advice on how to grow the group–one at a time, and making the decision together. Question: Do you have group guidelines? Would love to see them!
This is really neat. Really don’t know how to go about this. I wish I could find a group of like minded people to work together with. I am having trouble with that. Many are already involved with their group and since I live in Germany its hard to be a part of giveaways and such.
Iris recently posted..Christmas Collection
I would love to find a mastermind group!
I guess the biggest ‘roadblock’ is making the time to connect.
Are most masterminds women out there on the web, or do you mean mostly in person?
Rachael DeBruin recently posted..Boy Meets Girl
I am specifically referring to online groups. It takes time, but it adds value to your life! If not, it isn’t the right group for you.
I would love to find some like-minded bloggers for a mastermind group! If anyone else is interested, please check out my site and contact me if you think we would be a good fit.
Sarah recently posted..How to Plan a Menu When You Don’t Feel Like It