Step 1. How to get people on the bus.

The first step in creating a killer blog bus tour is getting people on the bus. The more people you can get on the bus the better. You might automatically think I’m talking about getting traffic, I’m not.

Traffic = people hitting your site with little information or expectation.
Traffic = come and go, on and off visitors.

That’s NOT what I’m talking about. I’m talking about you building a community.

Community = people know who you are and what you’re about before they even hit your site.
Community = people who keep coming back because they love what you’re doing.

Over the last couple months I’ve gone over a ton of different ways you can get traffic to your site. While there are probably a million different ways to drive traffic to your site, there are not quite as many ways to build a community.

In fact, there are probably only a few. What gets even better is you only have to figure out one. In fact, you need to CHOOSE one method of community building and really give it all your time and effort. The more ways you try to spread yourself out the less effective you’ll be at any given tactic.

1. Article marketing

2. Twitter/social media

3. Video

4. Podcasting

I’m not sure I can really include article marketing in this list, but since it’s been around forever and I’ve seen people make it work I have.

Which one of these options speaks to you? If it scares the crap out of you… that’s ok too. There will be some crazy mind games you will play with yourself when you get started, but you’ll need to get over it. You’ll need to believe you can do it and let go of whatever other crazy talk you’re telling yourself. You’re going to have to jump in with both feet and start actively doing in one of these areas.

1. Article marketing.

If you choose to build your community with articles you’ll need to start writing and publishing articles (NOT blog posts ~ this is outside of your blog posts) regularly and frequently.

You can of course publish these articles on EZA ~ but finding a high profile site that is related to your topic that accepts article submissions would leverage your writing even more.

High profile content syndication

This isn’t something you’re going to once. This is something you’re going to do over and over and over again, building your name in your industry through your articles. Your articles will of course lead people back to your blog ~ where they can get on your bus.

2. Twitter/Social Media

If you’re going to use twitter to build your community you will need to be diligent. You will need to be consistent and you will need to be involved. This is not automatic adding, this is building a community.

You will need to go out and find people to follow ~ daily.
You will need to tweet ~ daily
You will need retweet other people’s stuff ~ daily
You will need to reply and engage in conversation ~ daily

If you are using twitter ~ you seriously focus on twitter.

With that being said it doesn’t have to take up your entire day! Here’s a couple post to get you started community building with twitter:

Twitter Action Plan

How to get 8379 New Twitter Followers by Christmas

You’ll of course have your blog address on your profile, and you can publish your blog posts to your twitter stream, but remember… this is not about you. It’s about what you can do for them, it’s about creating a relationship with the people who follow you. Provide great content for your followers and they’ll love you for it.

3. Video

To use video to build your community you will need to start creating videos, and keep creating videos. I’m not talking about screencast videos, or powerpoint slides with you talking. I’m talking about YOU on video. You connecting with the people you want to get on your bus. You connecting and being yourself in front of your audience.

You don’t need a fancy camera, or expensive editing software to make this strategy work. You do have to get out of your head, silence the inner critic and get on camera.

Gideon Shalwick is someone who does this wonderfully and teaches how to do it as well.  Here’s a great interview with Gideon where I learned a LOT about how to use video to build community.

Here’s another great article about building community with video.

4. Podcasting

If video is not quite your thing, but you don’t like to write, podcasting might be your perfect fit. All you need is a microphone and something to say.

Podcasting allows people to connect with not only your message, but your voice, making you more of a real person. Podcasting is still relatively new, but with the ability to list your podcast in itunes ~ and everyone now using mobile listening devices it’s a very viable way to grow your community.

There’s not a lot out there that teaches about podcasting, but this week Lynn Terry is starting the process, and she’ll be doing posts all week answering questions about podcasting.

Now it’s time.

It’s time to stop wandering around in circles wondering what the heck you should be doing, and pick.

Pick one of these 4 options and start.

Don’t just start… dive in. Head first and immerse yourself. Create, create, create!

No where in this post did I say  make perfect anything… be yourself, quirks, hiccups and all… but be yourself

OUT LOUD.

You being you will get people on your bus. Because YOU are the only thing that separates your business,  your website from the other 637 gajillion other people out there.

Now go be you.

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