How to Grow Your CommunityTips from 28 Solo Business Owners

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

We asked members of One Woman Shop (a resource hub + community for female solopreneurs + freelancers) to tell us their #1 secret for growing their community. Here’s what they said.

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

Having an email list and sending out quality content to that email list is the number one way I've built the Blacksburg Belle community. I can then make announcements through email about webinars, courses and speaking engagements that give me opportunities to connect with my community in a more engaging way. Because most people check their email regularly (many daily--or multiple times a day), it's the best way to reach my audience.

-April Bowles-Olin, Blacksburg Belle

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

Promote content created by people you know, like, and trust - particularly those who are just starting out or are about the same 'size' as you. It's good karma and a great, non-sleazy way to network. Assemble link roundup posts or just tweet links to their stuff with comments about what, in particular, you like. Be sure to @mention them so they know you're talking about them!

-Sarah Von Bargen, Yes and Yes

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

Treat each member as a VIP :)

-Laura Yamin

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

Be honest and open about what happens behind-the-scenes. I think that the best way people learn is through experience and experiments, which is also why it's something that followers absolutely eat up. If you can make your follower's life and journey easier by sharing personal experiences that have happened in your biz, they're bound to stick around for a long time.

-Amanda Genther

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

The number one way I build (actively, not passively) my community of loyal fans and followers is by participating in the community as a member first, and a contributor second.

Ask not what the community can do for you, but what you can do for the community! This is a mentality I encourage my clients to try on for themselves, because our work as creative solopreneurs is always done in the service of others.

-Heather Allen, Heather Allen Online

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

My #1 secret for growing community is speaking (and delivering useful, accessible and entertaining content).

-Rebecca Prien, Counsel to Creativity

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

Cultivate relationships: Start conversations, talk back, reply, respond, share, and show appreciation. When you take time to cultivate relationships, you cultivate loyalty - and the kind of connections that'll take you further than you ever imagined possible.

-Nikki Groom, The F Factor

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

Share what you find and promote others at the same time, turn admiration into shout-outs and compliments, and just plain be nice without expecting anything in return. It works online and in real life!

-Kate Baird, Katelyn Brooke Designs

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

My #1 favorite way of building my community is by being super helpful and active in Facebook groups! There's something super personal about being on Facebook that helps to build relationships faster with new people.

-Courtney Johnston, The Rule Breakers Club

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

I have no idea how I’ve built my community! In some ways, it feels like a fluke. Looking back, I think most of my engagement with other entrepreneurs has started on their blogs, and I took things to the next level by sharing their best work on Twitter.

Sometimes your comment on someone’s blog can get lost in the shuffle of so many other people responding. But if you take the time to share their ideas and posts on Twitter (making sure to @ mention them!), they’ll usually take notice. Even if you don’t have a huge following, people appreciate you sharing their work more than you can possibly know. If they recognize your name popping up again and again, most people will genuinely want to get to know you since you’re such an evangelist for them and their brand.

-Ashley Brooks, Brooks Editorial

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

One way I build my community is by participating on message board/forums in my niche. Over time, you can make great connections and most message boards allow you to put a link to your site in your signature or profile.

-Erika Bullard, VA Creatively

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

Join Facebook groups full of awesome entrepreneurs. Just by naturally helping others out and asking for help in return, you are spreading the word about what you do, growing trust and expanding your network. That's my kind of marketing.

-Rebecca Merrifield, The Marketing Movement

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

Share what you know. There's always someone out there who knows less than you, and if they know they can come to you or your blog ( or social media ) and find answers to their questions, they're going to come to you when they're in need.

-Kory Woodard

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

Reach out and tweet, instagram or meet somebody! When I look at the online community I have built, at least 60% of the members are people I met online! But we didn't just let our interactions stay online. If we were in the same city, we met up face to face. If we weren't, we connected via phone and Skype. Taking that extra step to get to know someone is critical in establishing trust and the ability to LEARN how you can serve your community...because at the end of the day, that's what it's all about. Creating a two way relationship where you provide a service and benefit from being compensated and your community members turned clients get your expertise to help them solve a problem and move forward.

-Jaclyn Mullen, Jaclyn Mullen Media

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

The biggest growth in Your Super Awesome Life's community happened when I launched my first free monthly email series, 30 Days of Magic. Every morning for a month, I sent out a little nugget of inspiration to each person who signed up. It was such a fun way grow my community while also spreading joy and positivity.

-Ashley Wilhite, Your Super Awesome Life

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

I think my number one secret to growing my community is "taking chances." Fear has for too long prevented me from moving forward in life, and sometimes it still creeps up on me. But without a little courage and taking chances I don' t think I would be where I am now.

-Andi Ploehs, AP Loves Design

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

I think one thing that I've been doing lately to grow my community is to participate in Twitter chats! It's an instant friend-maker and gives you the means to discover and be discovered.

-Emma Bauso

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

Always give little bits of advice and help in your arena. Even if you're an artist or other not-service-based business, if you're helpful, people will pay attention and if you're not obnoxious and don't adopt a know-it-all attitude, people will fall for you. And that's the very start of a community - a bunch of people falling for you or your mission.

-Laura C George

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

My #1 secret to growing my community is to be genuinely kind and helpful! It's really simple, but it makes a big impact. People will remember your kindness, which goes a long way when it comes to forming connections.

-Allyssa Barnes

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

Reach out to other solopreneurs directly! Tweet them, shoot them an email, or even send them a nice card! Reach out and start genuine friendships of love and support.

-Bethany Grow, Love Grows Design

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

Making a top 10 list. It’s a list of brands, personalities or businesses that you want to model yourself after. They can be a competitor or in your niche. You can love the look and feel of their brand, the way they express themselves or just because you share an target customer with them.

After creating this list you will be amazed at what a point of reference it will serve as. Refer back to it whenever you need inspiration, have to make a decision or want to see how others have done it.

-Ruthie Abraham

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

My #1 secret for growing a community is to let your readers help shape the direction of your business/brand. Listen carefully to what they say in comments, emails and on social media. Get your community to tell you what they want…and then deliver it to them in a better way than they ever thought possible.

I recently wrote a post about how the #GetGutsy community actually named my blog. I think that's a pretty good example of allowing your community to help shape and tell your story.

-Jessica Lawlor, Get Gutsy

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

Build relationships so that numbers will naturally follow. Always choose quality over quantity in all aspects of your business.

-Jennifer Lopez, Live Simply, Live Thrifty, Live Savvy

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

Value your vulnerabilities. Yes, you can be an "expert" and still have weaknesses. By expressing your vulnerabilities, your followers will identify with you on a personal level, and in many cases, your soft spots will resonate with them. In sharing what you're doing to either embrace or overcome your vulnerabilities, you'll build a loyal following of people who will make that journey with you.

-Sara Frandina of Sara Frandina Strategies

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

Start building your email list. Now. You can interact with these people on a more intimate level, share extra slices of your business with them, and get to know them one on one. Since I started building my list, it's been my top source of business and project inquiries. I just wish I started sooner!

-Amy Chick

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

Collaborating with fellow bloggers!

-Conni Jespersen, Art in the Find

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

Find a way to help people by creating valuable content. Is this earth-shattering? Hardly. Everyone says this. But that's because it's true.

-Jess Lively, Jess Lively Creative

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

My # 1 secret to growing my community is to be helpful, genuine and understanding of what others are going through. I used to be in the exact same spot so I know what it's like when somebody believes in you and gives you the break you've been working so hard for!

-Meredith Underell

onewomanshop.com | @onewomanshop

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