Secrets of Successful Online Communities

This past weekend I was moderating a CommunityNext, a smart event focused on everything about online communities coordinated by - Over and over from founders of online communities was the desire to do away with the word "niche." It seems to stem mostly from the assumption that niches are small things, whereas each of these online communities is spent bringing together anyone with the same passion - not just people from "niche" groups. The lesson here seems to be - don't think small.

2. Listen to your users - If there was one thread heard over and over throughout the day, it was the power of listening to your users. Each of the featured sites had amassed significant numbers of passionate individuals who provide their time and energy to the site and the community. They are highly likely to share their opinions, and most likely to appreciate and publicize it if you actually listen to their opinions.

3. Use accidental marketing - An interesting panel question Slide shared that they didn't do any marketing because "the service already was viral." Well, I would argue that viral has to do with word of mouth, which some would consider marketing - but the interesting thing was that most founders didn't seem to feel there was a way to plan marketing, it just happens. Not sure I agree with this view, as I think smart marketing has a lot less to do with ad buys and a lot more to do with doing things that are noteworthy ... but it was interesting to hear their experiences nonetheless.

4. Get smart on recruiting - Everyone is recruiting, and many of them are seeking the same types of people ... but the theme of the event seemed to be positioning your community as a great team to join. It was an interesting angle on "sales" - as usually these events are focused on sites recruiting either members or advertisers. Here, I think any of the online communities would have been happy to find the right person to join their team out of the event.

5. Foresake VC funding - I felt a little bad for Guy in the last panel as he heard from company after company that each had avoided taking venture capital funding. Of course, there is still a big place for VC and leveraged correctly, it can really mean the difference between success and failure. But there was a vibe running through the event that most folks starting online communities would do anything they could to avoid taking VC funding. It seems to have become a last resort.

6. Have a passion - This was one of the points made very early on by Brand Utopia - and repeated throughout the event. Passion in what you are doing may come from different places as founders of online communities shared. For some, it's a personal passion. For others it comes from seeing the way that users embrace a service and feeling connected/responsible to those users. Either way, passion is a prerequisite.

7. Master the emotional return - One of the best points made by Premal Shah as he talked about microloans to entrepreneurs in developing countries. Of course, everyone needs to make some money. But a successful online community is one that can consistently provide that emotional return to users. That's the most important ingredient - and if you don't have that, then the financial aspect will not last that long.

8. Don't lose the fun - James Hong of
9. Keep it real - From using error messages with personality, to not being afraid to have a voice as part of the community - keeping it real is a big deal. Part of the appeal of many communities is the personal story behind it and the founders. That's what gets people engaged to start with, and that's what keeps them engaged throughout. Communities are made up of real people. To succeed you have to start real, and stay that way.

10. Be better than you - I kept this point last because I thought it spoke well to the future of online communities and how they must always be evolving. The guys from
And a Few Sites/Ideas That Stood Out ...

•   AnimalAttractions.com - Surprised to find another attendee from DC, I shared a drink with Dan and talked about the great concept behind his site ... helping pet owners to meet one another through their shared passion. A brilliant idea that is themed after interactions that already happen in real life - if you're single and have a pet, you need to visit this site.
  •   Loopt - Taking the concept I just wrote about in my post on "
  •   MyChurch.org - Joe Suh had this great idea to connect some of the 300,000 Christian churches nationwide into an online community and created a comprehensive set of faith-based tools to help churches connect with one another and share knowledge and community events. As he starts to recruit more parishes and get more members - this will be a force to watch. Digg | Reddit | Furl

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    About the Author
    

    Rohit Bhargava is the Vice President for Interactive Marketing with

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