[00:00:00] Today, let's dive into this fascinating world of community building. I'm sure many of you, just like me, have been part of various communities and groups throughout your life. Feedback for a moment. What did you gain from these experiences? What did you contribute? How did these groups evolve and grow? It's quite a journey isn't it.
[00:00:22] Now, when we talk about. Communities. For authors. Our minds might often jump to like private Facebook groups or maybe even the world of influencers with their massive followings. But the truth is there are so many different forms of groups and communities out there for you to participate in. And to build.
[00:00:44] I'm Zach Kristensen, and this is Beyond the book presented by Juxta book.
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[00:00:58] At juxta book, we [00:01:00] highly recommend that you consider participating and building a community. Participating in a community, build your author brand.
[00:01:08] Building a community helps gather all of your target audience into one spot that you can communicate, add value and increase the influence of your content with them and those within their network.
[00:01:22] So as an author, one crucial decision you'll need to make. Is choosing the type of community that resonates with you and the community you wish to build for your target audience.
[00:01:33] So these groups could be anything really. Email newsletter groups, forums, Facebook pages, LinkedIn groups, and the list goes on. But the idea is to find those spaces where like-minded individuals gathered to discuss specific topics and those that are most relevant to you and your expertise.
[00:01:54] Now you may not always be in the driver's seat of these groups but you can still be a [00:02:00] major player and a top contributor in the groups that you have joined. And how you position yourself within the group will determine what you get out of it. What you're doing is ultimately building your author brand and expertise in this group and building a credible voice through the expertise that you offer and contribute to those within the group.
[00:02:23] It's all by identifying how you want to be perceived and how you're going to provide that value. While balancing the time that you can give. In these groups, people often seek advice or share their problems and this is your opportunity to offer valuable insights through comments and solutions showing empathy through those comments and adding depth to the discussion that's already taking place. And the most important part is consistency. By checking the group daily and providing regular value in these groups, your brand will start to take shape. But it's [00:03:00] just not about posting.
[00:03:01] It's also about engaging and building that following.
[00:03:05] But what about creating your own community or group? This is where understanding your audience and where they spend their time comes in. You can create spaces for your audience to gather, and these communities can take many forms. Sure. Our social media is a common starting point. And the one that you might most naturally gravitate to but you may want to explore all the other options out there.
[00:03:27] Don't forget that other avenues include things like email newsletters, sub stack a slack channel or WhatsApp channel. These channels may not have as much frequency but they might have more quality.
[00:03:42] For example, as a newsletter, this is a great way to capture your audience has email address and have a different way to communicate with them. And to bring that community together of those who, who are subscribed to your newsletter, you can do monthly events for virtual or in person [00:04:00] where people can get together and you can go deeper and create deeper connections. Each method has its pros and cons
[00:04:08] whether you're doing an email newsletter or doing something more on a social media platform and community building tool. But the idea is to start participating in those communities or to start building your own.
[00:04:24] In future episodes, we'll go a little bit deeper into how to build and manage a community. As well as what factors you need to consider before starting one.
[00:04:33] For today, your action item is to explore what communities you can participate in and if you want to start a community, what that might look like.
[00:04:44] Thanks for listening.
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[00:04:51] To discuss about how best to participate in a community or how to build your own author community.
[00:04:58] Visit juxta [00:05:00] book.com to set up your author coaching session today.
[00:05:04] If you have any questions about a recent episode, I'd love to hear from you. Visit juxtabook.com/beyondthebook and click the appropriate button to leave your question and we will include it in our weekly Q&A episode.
[00:05:20] Your book is just one chapter in your author journey. Think beyond the book as you craft your path. Thank you for your questions and thank you for listening.
