Jan
25

How To Get Started As An Online Community Manager

By | career, Online Community Management

11 Comments

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I am increasing being asked for tips on how to get started in Community Management, so I thought I'd put my fingers to the keyboard and post some of my thoughts on how aspiring Community Managers could can gain some valuable experience, and get on the first wrung of the CM ladder. Start from the Bottom If you don't have any experience in this role then you will need to start at the bottom. In my opinion there is no better way to learn the ropes than as a moderator. You'll be down in the trenches interacting with … [Read more...]

Dec
22

Merry Christmas Community Managers

By | Uncategorized

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santabuddy

Merry Christmas to all the Community Managers out there. I hope you all get to experience some downtime over this holiday period. We are all engaged 24/7 it seems but generally many communities are fairly quiet at this time of year, so take the opportunity to recharge your batteries and get ready for the new year. I have really enjoyed getting to know so many of you, and look forward to many more conversations in 2012! Merry Christmas Community Managers Everywhere!!! … [Read more...]

Nov
28

A Couple of Minutes – Tales From My Community Manager Letterbox

By | community, members

1 Comment

Contact Us

Do you have a "contact us" link/section in your community? Do you get those emails? If not then you should. As the Community Manager you are on the front line of your community and it's important that you have  your finger on the community pulse. Many people will use the contact us link to ask site usability questions, express concerns, complain, or from time to time (but don't hold your breathe) say thanks. How you deal with those emails is extremely important. Don't just resort to generic responses. Let the … [Read more...]

Nov
25

The Personal Touch

By | community, members

1 Comment

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Back in May I explained how I email new members of my community each month. With over 1000 members joining monthly it's impossible for me to contact each and everyone of them, but I still believe it's important to try and connect with as many community members as possible. I still use the same email template, as the one I posted in May, but with slight variations, and as I mentioned in my original post the key to this email is that it comes from my personal site email address as opposed to a "contact@email.com or … [Read more...]

Nov
09

Lets Talk Chat About ….

By | Uncategorized

3 Comments

3574742620_6c65635459_m

Whether you run a branded community, a tech community, or a community about recipes it's always a great idea to have an off-topic area for your members to chat and get to know each other. In this section they can have a little fun, chit-chat about everyday stuff or topical events, and slowly start to connect and build relationships with each other. Here are some ideas of conversation starters that you could seed the off-topic area with to get them going, or even discussions you could periodically start yourself to … [Read more...]

Oct
27

The Power of Online Community

By | Uncategorized

4 Comments

3505955900_b521c7329e_m

I thought I would share this story on my blog. It truly is a great example of what often goes behind the scenes in an online community and one of the reasons why I love communities so much. It's a prime example of how we aren't pixels on the end of a screen, we are living, breathing human beings who reach out to each other, no matter where in the world we are, or our personal circumstances. We get to touch lives we wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to connect with if it wasn't for this virtual connection that … [Read more...]

Oct
22

Positive Comments Only – Tales From My Community Manager Letterbox

By | Uncategorized

2 Comments

5416761368_c17c7102b2_m

After a little break (having been busy doing stuff elsewhere. I know, I actually do some stuff away from online communities … shock horror … please don't tell anyone). Here is another letter from my inbox. As always I've removed personally identifiable information, and other stuff (don't you love my technical jargon) that pertains to the community I manage … so please bear that in mind when reading. I am sharing some of my correspondence so that you can view firsthand how I deal with different situations. … [Read more...]

Oct
22

In Case You Missed It …..

By | Uncategorized

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or ..... Online Community Manager jobs I tweeted links to this week. Online Community Manager for focus.com Community Manager Analyst - Charlotte, NC. Digital Community Manager - Cape Town Online Community Moderator - North American Team - Playstation PR and Community Manager - Honest Tea - Bethesda, Maryland The Harlem Globetrotters are looking for a community manager - Phoenix, AZ Digital Community manager - HTC - Taipei (Taiwan) Online Community Manager in Vancouver, BC - BC … [Read more...]

Aug
11

Sticks and Stones …

By | issues, members

10 Comments

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We are all going to come across situations where people aren't going to like us. I can guarantee you that even if you manage a community for teens/kids, through to people in theirs 80's, you are going to get times when comments are going to be directed at you that are going to cut like a knife. Online it's easy for people to lash out emotionally in ways they would not otherwise do so, and as the Community Manager you are going to be the prime target for those comments. So get a thick skin and get one quick, because … [Read more...]

Aug
10

So Customers Are Just a Number After All

By | Uncategorized

2 Comments

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I don't normally do this (have a rant about a company on my blog) but today I am spurned to do so by the actions of SiriusXM. Our household has 3 subscriptions for SiriusXM, two for cars, and one for online listening (which I stream to my internet radio). One subscription is for my son's car, but the other two are for me alone. You may think "Wow she listens to lots of different channels" but in fact I don't. I only listen to one channel, BBC Radio 1. For those not familiar with Radio 1, it's a radio station … [Read more...]