How to Build Community Within Your Audience – PT Money

Philip Taylor (@ptmoney, ptmoney.com, FinConExpo.com) is a founding-father of blogging communities.

He is the driving force behind one of the most successful digital media/blogging/finance conferences, as well as a long-time personal finance blogger.

In this sit-down, we talk:

1. FinCon origins and PT’s favorite moments,
2. Harnessing the power of a blogging “tribe,” and creating loyal, passionate communities,
3. Being your own blogger,
4. Which bloggers he’d pick for his basketball team,
5. and more.

Philip is an inspiration to millions, and we all owe him some love for creating FinCon!

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Links mentioned:

• FinCon – You should totally go!
• PTMoney.com
• Mr. Money Mustache – my personal favorite personal finance blog on the internet

3 key takeaways from today’s episode:

1 – Create a common enemy for your tribe

Whatever your niche…you and your audience have a common enemy you can rally behind.

For example:

• me and DYEB followers are fighting against blog mediocrity
• Personal Finance bloggers and their followers are fighting against debt and paycheck-to-paycheck living
• Travel bloggers and their followers are fighting against the cost and lack of freedom to travel
• Mom bloggers and their followers are fighting against the struggles of raising awesome kids

Etc.

If you can identify your tribe’s common enemy, you can use this in your branding, message, and content! This will help foster a community that drives engagement (and therefore followers, traffic, and eventually revenues!)

Here are a few key questions to help you find the enemy:

1. What do ALL my readers struggle with?
2. What do ALL my readers have in common?
3. What problem am I trying to teach people how to solve?

2 – Give yourself permission to be the blogger you want to be.

When I asked PT Money if he ever had the desire to quit, he said simply, “nope.”

Back when he first started, he gave himself permission to:

1. write what he wanted to write about
2. say what he wanted to say
3. shape his blog the way HE wanted it to be

This easy and intuitive right? We’re all special unique snowflakes and individuals, yes?

Not always.

We (myself included) are constantly shaping what we produce to conform to what other people have already done.

We do this often. We look up to the spectacular content of Tim Ferriss, Pat Flynn, Rosemarie Groner…and we try to emulate and replicate their success.

While this can be a smart strategy for learning, we must ultimately learn to set our own blogging rules.

See that silly, sarcastic image above?

That’s my style, and I hold no apologies for posting it.

Giving yourself permission to blog how you see fit can be an amazing way to build loyalty, create a brand, and ultimately persist through challenges!

Be your own brand.

3 – Do not work in a silo.

Put another way, don’t be a “blogging loner.”

In the foreword to Tim Ferriss’ book Tools of Titans, Arnold Schwarzenegger says of himself: “I am not a self-made man.”

And neither are you.

If you desire blogging success (and I know you do), you must take advantage of valuable relationships and communities! This includes readers and influencers alike.

Get out there and interact w/ other humans. (FinCon anyone?) Other bloggers are not your competition.

There are vast opportunities for bloggers willing to take the time needed to build real relationships and friendships with other bloggers.

Here are some concrete ways to start doing that today:

1. Make a mental switch: other bloggers are not your competitors. They are your comrades.
2. Email and connect with influencers for the sole purpose of building friendships. Ask for nothing in return.
3. Thank your readers and audience at every opportunity. (speaking of which…..thank YOU.)

As it is in business, as it is in blogging. Relationships are everything.

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To wrap up, please allow me to do this:

THANK YOU.

• Thank you for being a loyal DYEB follower. I mean it.
• Thank you for blogging. It’s a noble challenge.
• Thank you for reading this far down the page.
• Thank you for sharing this podcast with your own following (if you so choose).
• Thank you for leaving honest reviews on the iTunes store!
• Thank you.

Drop me a note in the comments if you’d like to say hey!