The 5 Stages of Building a Culture of Community on a Blog [Case Study] (ProBlogger.net)

Building a following is one thing, but what about a community? While this can be simple to achieve on a platform built for communication among different members, this can be tricky on a blog. Fortunately, with the right mindset, it’s possible to get the ball rolling on creating a culture of intercommunication.

Encouraging Existing Members of Your Community to Participate Without Nagging Them to Death (ManagingCommunities.com)

Participation is the key to a vibrant community, but what happens when it seems to be in a sleepy state? While it’s possible to encourage members to go out and participate, doing it too much may lower their perception of your brand. Furthermore, it helps to take extra steps to ensure that the reminder feels more personal than cold and automated.

2 Exercises To Strengthen and Grow Your Social Networks (ChristopherSPenn.com)

Content can only do so much when it comes to building a social network. To further strengthen and grow what you already have, consider focusing on the people you’ve already connected with and get them connected with others. This in turn would add to your value as a connection.

Kickstarter: How Crowd Funding Is Changing Business (SocialMediaExaminer.com)

Crowd funding takes community and business to an entirely different level by taking ideas and encouraging people from all over the internet to fund it. Making the most of it involves not just having the right connections, but also rallying a community through great incentives and engaging updates.

Email and Newsletter Design Best Practices [Infographic] (SocialTimes.com)

Although the limelight constantly shines on Facebook, Twitter, and emerging stars in social media, email and newsletters shouldn’t be overlooked. With smart design, they can serve as essential tools to help manage your brand community and keep followers engaged.