Building a Community Around Your Content

As you become a content creator, establishing a community of supporters is a vital part of building your influence and increasing reach. Creators with a loyal supporter base can eventually tap into their following to generate income via work commissions, sponsored content or ads, or by selling memberships. 

Read on for tips on how to find and grow a network of loyal advocates.

Finding your audience

Even at the start of your content creation journey, you have a bigger community around you than you might realize. Your network already includes friends, family, and your current followers, as well as customers and clients from your past and present.

These existing supporters offer great insight into the type of people who would find you and your work appealing. They can become your first champions and sounding boards. 

When you want to expand your audience and attract new customers or supporters, these key strategies can lead to success:

• Do your research. The niche research you did to start your content career will come in handy here. However, you may want to do additional competitive analyses of content creators in or adjacent to your niche. For example, maybe there is a social media group where these creators post, or a professional organization that you could join to expand your reach.

• Follow others in your field. Social media makes it easy to find other influencers and thought leaders. Read and interact with others in your niche and see who their followers are. This will help give you clues to your own audience.

• Sit back and observe. Watching and listening to others in your field can be inspirational and help drive your creativity. 

As with creating a content calendar, finding your audience involves experimenting with the content you post, measuring the response and engagement, and then making adjustments where needed. Getting to know what your audience likes might also motivate you to tweak your content strategy or adjust your niche. 

For example, maybe you'll find that your followers aren't interested in blog posts, but love your videos. Or maybe you'll get the most engagement when you post about a certain topic. It’s important to create content that you’re passionate about, but it’s even more important to hone in on the particular subsets of your content that your audience responds to most positively. 

Growing your following

Learning how to build community is one of the most valuable skills you can cultivate. It takes time and doesn't happen overnight, but can help you build a foundation for future success.

Here are some strategies to help grow your following:

• Maintain an online presence. Start by creating a website that describes who you are and what you create. Make sure to include contact info, so anyone interested in your work or looking to share opportunities can reach out. 

As your content creation business grows, you can add on tools such as Newsletter blocks, which makes it easy for website visitors to subscribe to your email newsletter. 

• Start social media accounts. Create professional accounts on social media platforms and start posting there on a regular basis. Your online and social media presence work together to communicate your brand. 

Squarespace makes it easy for creators to integrate their social media platforms with their websites. For creators looking for more of an online business card, Bio Sites give you a one-page site to feature links to all of your content, including your website, social channels, content community, and any posts you want to highlight.

• Create high-quality content. People encounter an abundance of options online, but they'll keep coming back to high-quality content that's well-written, well-produced, informative, and/or entertaining. 

• Find your advocates. Early on, you'll be responsible for driving the marketing and promotion of your content. However, as your platform grows, other people will start to share what you've produced. Engage with your active supporters to build a connection between them and your content.

• Communicate with your followers. Email newsletters are a great way to share not just new content, but also personal writing and your personality. Social media communication is most effective when it isn't a one-way street. In other words, banter with your audience when you post, or ask the occasional question to encourage engagement.

• Be authentic. People can detect insincerity and disingenuous content quickly. Instead, make sure the content and overall brand you're putting out in the world reflects your true self and your vision.

Don't forget that both brand and community-building include an emotional side. Although some of your followers choose your content for the information being provided, other followers likely enjoy the personal touches you bring. Be yourself, allow your personality to shine through—and you’ll be more likely to find your people.

See how social media creator Jon Kung makes community-minded content

Keeping your community engaged

A community of followers is vital to every successful content creator. Content creation is often a solitary endeavor, and having a supportive community behind your content can provide a much-needed boost on tougher days. 

Ensuring that your community is full of engaged followers is equally important. These engaged followers are the people who actively read your writing, watch your videos, and share your work with their networks. Some might even be interested in paid subscriber content.

Here are some ways you can nurture these loyal advocates: 

• Create unique perks or bonuses. Reward your most engaged followers for being so supportive by giving them unique perks (e.g., a discount on purchasing courses or a certain percentage off a Member Sites subscription).

• Film personalized videos. Video is one of the most direct ways to connect with your community. You can share news about your brand, film bonus video content relevant to your niche, or even host a livestream. The Unfold app from Squarespace makes it easy to put your own spin on videos using your brand colors and trendy templates. You can then upload those videos to your social media or as dedicated video collections on your website. 

• Solicit their opinions and feedback. Soliciting feedback from followers can help direct your content creation strategy and provide insights on what's going right and what you could improve on. Squarespace's product reviews makes opinion-gathering easy and helps your followers feel heard.

Exploring gated content

Another option to reach your most engaged followers is to offer exclusive content, which often takes the form of gated content. As its name implies, this is premium content (e.g., newsletters, blogs, and classes) unavailable to the general public. To access that exclusive content, members must sign up and pay a fee for entry. 

Although gated content might look like something you'd want to stay away from when you're in a growth phase, adding an exclusive tier into your content mix can actually help your case. Giving followers something special and members-only makes them feel valued and builds anticipation around your content.

With Squarespace Member Sites, creators have the option to publish password-protected blog posts or webpages, and seamlessly integrate payment options, making it easy to start sharing exclusive content. For example, you might occasionally film a bonus video class or AMA that's accessible only to subscribers, or publish sneak peeks at your written content for supporters to read before anyone else. Additionally, you could reward your paying newsletter subscribers with a unique sale or offer bonus material to subscribers. 

Learn about the importance of networking with other creators