Blogging can be a very lonely job. Often, it’ll just be you plugging away sitting in a cafe or a co-working space, while everyone else is doing their own thing. Regardless of whether you blog for fun or for profit, being part of a community can help you keep the creative juices flowing and prevent you from going crazy.
The good news is there are a ton of blogging communities you can find online. You need to be very picky, since a lot of them are thinly-disguised link sharing groups, where everyone’s just looking to plug their own blogs. Some of them, however, are goldmines filled with knowledgeable bloggers and a cornucopia of great advice.
In this article, we’ll break down the benefits of joining a blogging community and being an active member of it. Then I’ll introduce you to some of my favorite communities so you can check them out and see if any of them are a good fit for you. Let’s get to work!
The Upsides of Joining a Blogging Community
Writing can be a lonely line of work. A lot of writers and bloggers romanticize the idea of working alone all the time. The truth is, if you don’t have some kind of support system or community, it’ll take a toll on your mental health.
For me, I like to work outside of the home for at least three or four days out of the week. Being around other people motivates me to get stuff done and it prevents me from jumping over to Twitter or Reddit every five seconds so other people don’t notice how lazy I can get.
More importantly, having a community of bloggers or freelancers you can talk with and bounce ideas off of can be a huge boon. If you don’t have any local meetups or blogging groups you can attend, you can always turn to online communities. Let’s go over some of my favorites!
3 Blogging Communities You Need to Check Out
When it comes to blogging communities, you need to be picky. A lot of popular groups are just glorified boards where members share their links and there’s no real discussion to be had. With that in mind, this list is all about high-quality resources where you can get to have real conversations with blogging pros.
1. r/JustStart
Out of all the online blogging communities, the JustStart subreddit is my favorite. This subreddit is all about affiliate blogging. The idea is, you get to share your journey so other people can get the motivation they need to start blogging.
What I like the most about this community is there’s a tacit rule that most people don’t share links to their websites. Instead, posts are data-driven and people talk about how much traffic they get, how they monetize their websites, how much they’ve been writing, and more.
In my experience, a lot of people tend to oversell their experiences on blogging communities. However, once you strip away the self-promotion angle, it tends to make you more honest. For the most part, that makes JustStart a fantastic resource if you want to see how other bloggers are doing by the numbers.
2. Boss Girl Blogger
Full disclosure – I’m not a girl, which means, by definition, I’m not a boss girl blogger. However, this blogging community is still one of my favorites because a lot of the most popular voices in blogging tend to be male. The idea of a women-only blogging community where you get to network with other women and discuss your experiences is a fantastic one.
Just like my previous pick, Boss Girl Blogger is not about self-promotion. This Facebook group includes specific threads where its members can share content, but mostly the idea is that posts should focus around helping each other. There are also a lot of collaboration threads, which are perfect for bloggers looking for guest posting opportunities or people who want to work on new projects together.
The only downside of this community is that it’s mostly focused on lifestyle, beauty, and fashion blogs. There’s nothing wrong with those topics, but it does mean if you blog about a different niche, not all of the advice you find inside might be that helpful. Even so, being part of a 33,000-thousand strong community can be a powerful motivator to keep blogging, so give it a go!
3. Write Better, Blog Better
So far, the two blogging communities we’ve covered are somewhat specific. One is all about data-driven blogging, whereas the second was only for women. Write Better, Blog Better, on the other hand, is more of a one-size-fits-all group for freelance writers and bloggers.
Inside this group, you’ll find everything from Search Engine Optimization (SEO) advice to monetization tips, and grammar questions. If you have any type of question that’s even remotely related to blogging, chances are you will find someone to help you with it inside the group.
Right now, Write Better, Blog Better has over 7,000 users and the group itself is pretty active. That means if you ask any question or start a discussion, it’s not going to take long before other people hop in to talk about it. That level of activity makes it one of my favorite communities. The best part is, anyone can join (as long as you have a Facebook account, of course!).
Conclusion
If you plan on blogging for the long term, then you’re going to need a support system so you don’t go crazy. That means getting together to work with people, having other bloggers to talk to, and joining online communities where you can share ideas and tips.
As far as blogging communities go, there are a ton of great options you can find online. Some of my favorites include:
- r/JustStart: If you’re a data-driven sort of person, you’ll love this community full of blogging case studies.
- Boss Girl Blogger: Women in blogging don’t have a lot of communities built just for them, and this one stands out as perhaps the largest one.
- Write Better, Blog Better: If you’re looking for advice on anything from SEO to social media marketing for your blog, this is the place to go.
Are there any blogging communities you’d like to recommend to everyone else? Tell us about them in the comments section below!
Image credit: Pixabay.