Topic starter
05/04/2021 4:14 pm
Can joining a writing community really benefit you??
The other day, a writer friend and I were engaged in a discussion on the topic. Should one join a community or no? A community could be both an offline one as well as an online one. It could be a community on Whatsapp, Facebook, Telegram, etc. There is nothing that unifies people the way that shared interest does. So let’s take a look at both sides of the coin before we join in.
- A Breath of Fresh Air
When one thinks of a writer, images of a lone focussed individual tapping away at the keyboard or scribbling away on a notepad -a rarity, these days–with only paper strewn all over and cups of coffee for company, come to mind.
Writing being such a lonely business, being part of a community of writers can bring some respite from the loneliness and help perk up the day. After all, only a writer can understand the pains and travails of another.
- Ideation and feedback
A vibrant community thriving with healthy discussion can turn out to be a fertile space for ideas. The discussion can throw up some different perspectives which can then be turned into an interesting piece.
Your community could also be a sounding board for any new ideas. Maybe you have thought of a few titles for your next work and would like some opinion on which title sounds better.
Also, access to instant genuine feedback from writer-friends can be truly invaluable in improving one’s writing skills. Writers thrive on approval, at least sometimes.
So no more waiting for a muse. Just connect with your community and feel inspired.
- Collaborations, Networking, and Opportunities
It would be so thrilling to be part of a community that abounds with writers from different walks of life and different backgrounds. Writers of similar interests bonding and starting a website, say on travel or personal development or entrepreneurship ….wouldn’t that be cool?
Writers interested in one particular genre could team up come up with a compilation. Remember the quote
‘If I have an idea and you have one too and we both share, now we have two!’
The possibilities and opportunities are truly endless.
- Motivation and Hunger –building
Everywhere, there are always some highly motivated individuals. Same with your writer-community. There are sure to be some highly motivated individuals, some helpful writer friends, some very creative writers, some with a heightened sense of clarity of purpose, and some who turn out amazing output. All of this is sure to rub off on you, hopefully, more rather than less.
Also, there are times when the writer in you goes through a block or feels demotivated. Having an accountability partner in the community can help you come back and stay on track.
- Horizon Widening
This alone makes it so worth it. If you are a writer who is a specialist in a certain subject or genre of writing, chances are that you might not have much exposure to other areas outside your domain.
But being in a community can enrich your knowledge in other subjects without too much effort on your end. You grow, you expand in vision and this sure will reflect in your writing.
- Your Ready-Made Reader Base
This is one cool advantage. Your community would be the first to read your work and share their honest opinion. Since they know you, they are more likely to share your work.
Also, you might get to know of freelance opportunities and openings. If you are a novice writer, this is probably where you will net your first assignments.
But a community is not without its pitfalls?? Here are a few.
- Time waster
Most writers work on a tight schedule. There is so much to do and so little time. Add in the demands
that a community puts on your time. Can you afford this time? Ask yourself this question and arrive
at your answer, based on what works for you.
- Hidden agenda
Check if the community is run for a hidden agenda, for promoting some particular service or product, or some cause that you don’t care about. In which case, your time is well-spent elsewhere.
- Not well moderated
A community without a reasonable moderator who has strong ethics and sense of purpose can soon descend into chaos with the aggressive members having their say and way. Definitely not a good place to stick around.
- Activity levels
If you are part of a writing community where there is very little engagement and very few people helping one another, then there is no point. Might as well stay out.
I joined a writer’s community – Digital Writopreneurs Hub in 2020. This was and continues to be one of the best things that I have done to build a career out of writing. It is warm and professional at the same time and ably managed by Mr.Rajinder Soni.
It benefitted my writing no end and did me a world of good as an individual. Suddenly I was in the midst of some very professional writers and my learning curve is proof of the good that it did me.
The encouragement and guidance I receive and continue to receive there is priceless.
So, if you are the type that views a community as a distraction to the serious business of writing, think twice. Take a leap of faith, join in and see your journey made both more enjoyable and faster.
Are you a part of any writing community? How have you benefitted? Please share your experiences here.
#digitalwritopreneur#digitalwritopreneurshub#sowspeaks#sowrabhamahesh#writingcontest
#communitypower#benefitsofjoiningawritingcommunity
Reshma Jacob liked
30/06/2021 6:25 pm
Role of Writers’ Community in Branding
Summary: Are you planning to become a successful writer? Are you looking for guidance to fulfill your writing ambitions? If your answer is yes, then you should join a writers’ community. This article demonstrates the perks of joining a writing community for newbie as well as experienced writers.
Introduction
Joining a writing community connects you with like-minded people who write on different topics but have a mutual interest: a passion for writing. It does not matter if you are an amateur or experienced writer, you will always feel that you are not alone in your writing journey. Being a part of a writers’ community has the following benefits when it comes to creating a brand:
1. Perfect Platform to Express Yourself: When you join a writing community, you have a platform to express your ideas and perspective through your portfolio. Explore your community to know about the activities and follow the guidelines to your best advantage. Connect with your community members to build a strong bond by encouraging each other. They will become your biggest supporters to help you build your brand.
Share your articles/blogs and actively participate in the activities going on in your community. Ask your members for feedback and suggestions through comments and work on your weak areas to strengthen your writing skills. When your articles are read by most of your community members, it receives maximum exposure and engagement. You should also leave comments on their articles and write fan mails to encourage them.
Being a part of Digital Writopreneurs’ Hub, I have always received invaluable suggestions from my community members about creating attractive titles and generating new ideas for my upcoming articles. Experienced writers have always guided me whenever I needed it the most. There is no room for negativity. Newbie writers are full of positive energy who motivate me to keep going during tough times.
2. Improves your SEO: Search Engine Optimization when done the right way can rank your articles higher in search engine results. You must be thinking how is this possible? Here is the answer:
- You publish your articles in the community page using the relevant keywords. You can also drop the links of your articles (from your personal blog) with title and short description.
- When you consistently promote your articles, it keeps your audience engaged. With time, your articles start ranking higher in search engine results.
- As your articles attract traffic from the search engines, your community also comes into spotlight.
- More traffic means more clients visiting your community page or site.
3. Clients would Connect with you: When you start gaining authority through your content by consistently publishing and promoting them, clients will notice your hard work. When your portfolio drives traffic toward your community, chances are your future clients will observe the interaction and engagement. As a result, more clients will visit and your community members will also receive benefits by bagging projects from them.
4. Accountability Partner: Within the community, you will make many close friends. You can request one of them to become your accountability partner. In this way, you will:
Share your progress with each other regarding your writing journey.
Provide valuable feedback and suggestions by commenting on articles.
Create a foolproof content strategy and assist each other whenever necessary.
Encourage each other when achieving a remarkable feat in their writing journey.
5. Connect with your Target Audience: You can conduct polls and create questionnaires in your community to achieve clarity regarding your planning and research. When you consider the views and suggestions of your fellow members, you get a hint about the likes and dislikes of your target audience. Once you understand the demands of your audience, you start building authority through your authentic content.
6. Active Participation and Engagement: Strengthen your grammatical knowledge by organizing quiz competitions, storytelling contests and more activities to encourage maximum participation. This is the best way to unleash creativity and increase your knowledge as well. Motivation and guidance from your community members will inspire you to write high-quality articles.
In our community, our mentor organizes various competitions such as meme writing contests, copywriting contests and writing competitions to motivate us. New members who clear the writing “Bootcamp” receive certificates and cash prizes. We also receive awards by helping other members.
We also have brainstorming live webinar sessions on various topics. Every member gets a chance to express their views, thus encouraging active participation. It boosts our self-confidence to a great extent.
7. Expert Guidance from Mentor: Receiving expert guidance from a mentor helps you to achieve your writing goals. He is the leader of the community and ensures that every member of his community becomes a successful writer in their respective niche. He controls the activities and throws challenges in the form of writing contests and quizzes, thus encouraging the active participation of all the members.
The expertise and knowledge that he has gained through his experience will inspire you to follow in his footsteps. He will guide you when you get stuck in a difficult situation or feel like giving up and pat you on the back when you achieve feats in your writing journey. His in-depth knowledge of the writing industry helps his community members to get projects from clients without much struggle.
My mentor, Mr. Rajinder Soni has 14 years of writing experience and more than 1000 articles in his portfolio. He is on a mission to help 2 lakh Indian writers to achieve their goals. He strongly believes in having a mission, vision and purpose to become successful in life. He leaves no stones unturned to encourage all the community members in their writing journey
Conclusion
Thus, a writing community holds great importance in the life of a writer. You always receive continuous guidance and support from your community members and mentor. It also helps in building brand for each other by commenting on articles. You can also add backlinks of your fellow member’s article and invite them to write guest posts n your personal blogging site.
So, what is the name of your writing community? Do let me know about your views in the comments.
#community #writingcommunity #launchpad #brandbuilding #contentwriting #rishakhan #digitalwritopreneur
Author: Risha Khan, Digital Writopreneur
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