By: Eden Hensley; Photos by Brooke Dennis for Alt Summit
Almost everywhere you go you are bombarded with negativity. So a couple of weeks ago we got together on Twitter to talk about how we could create welcoming communities for our readers and fans and encourage one another.
Ten Ways to Build Welcoming, Supportive Communities
- “Practice acts of kindness, professionally and personally, daily.” – Cydney Irby of Dream on Youth, @MsCydneyrai
- “Make a decision to be positive and consider where others are coming from if you are in a disagreement.” – Robin Reetz of Second Floor Flat, @ReetzRobin
- “Spread extra positivity on social media. There is so much going on that we can forget there is still good in the world.” – Davon D. E. Hatchett, @TheBubbleista
- “Leave nice comments on blog posts, retweet, etc. I think everyone likes to see someone like or share their stuff.” – Mariah of Oh What Love Studios, @MariahDanielsen
- “Leave comments on blogs that are not generic responses. Make it fit into their post.” Clarissa Nicole of Five 12 Studio, @Five12Studio
- “Promote others through social media and spreading the word about others. Visit blogs and leave comments.” – Ellie of My Little Chickadee Creations, @MyLittleChick
- “Encourage others through things like @dreamonyouth’s #selfworthwednesday and build up your communities.” – Cydney Irby of Dream on Youth, @MsCydneyrai
- “Support and love other entrepreneurs. Help each other along on the journey is such a huge part of it all.” – Brittany Fabello of Light Rust Studio, @LightRustStudio
- “Approach others in the way you would like to be approached. Make sure to include some positives for encouragement.” – Jen Bellinski of Thirty is the New Prelude, @JenStiles
- “Only give feedback when asked. Keep it kind and provide it only with the intention to help them grow.” – Brittany Fabello of Light Rust Studio, @LightRustStudio
These actions are great for building your community as well as keeping your community alive. Also important is regularly showing you are truly interested in your community members. Appreciated readers and fans are the secret to thriving communities.
If you are just beginning to think about the type of community you want to create, be sure to follow these five tips from Elena Rosa of Randomly Happy about how to attract people to your community and watch Monica Lee’s interview with Jessika of Oh My Handmade about how she uses a Twitter chat to grow her community.
Enjoy chatting about community, entrepreneurship, and creativity? Join us on Twitter for #AltChat, hosted every Wednesday at 9AM PT / 12PM ET. We would love to get to know you!
