One of the keys to building a loyal tribe is to make your tribe members feel special. Here’s how…
Create a special name for your members. For example, members of the popular site WeddingBee are referred to as “bees” on the site’s forum.
It seems like simple thing, but psychologically it’s very powerful. If you need proof of this, just look at sports teams. People tend to associate very powerfully with their favorite sports team, going so far as to wear the merchandise and refer to themselves by the team name (e.g., “I’m a Buckeye” or “I’m a Cowboy”). You can help create group cohesiveness and build bonds by giving your tribe members a relevant name too.
Next idea…
Give your tribe special perks. You want your tribe to get benefits that no one else gets. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Give members exclusive discounts. For example, you may offer a 25% discount to the general public on a product, but your tribe members (e.g., subscribers) get a 40% discount.
Another example is that the public doesn’t get any discounts at all, but your tribe members do.
- Provide exclusive rewards to members, such as free products or bonuses that the general public can’t access. For example, you might send your list members a valuable freemium from time to time. This item should be something that’s not available anywhere else, as the exclusivity will make it seem more valuable (and your tribe will feel more special).
- Offer members access to password-protected areas of your site. Let’s suppose you have a forum set up on your website. You may give the public access to the majority of the forum. However, your tribe will get special access to a private area of the forum, where you share your best information.
Another example is if you have special password-protected posts on your blog. The public will see most of your posts, but occasionally they’ll encounter posts where they can see the title and maybe a teaser, but only tribe members will have the password to access the post.
The key to this strategy is that the public should be able to see that the secret area exists. This will arouse their curiosity, which results in them being more likely to become tribe members too.
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- Create a private or secret Facebook group. Again, you’ll want to “advertise” this group on your website to help arouse curiosity and to get more people signing up to your list.
- Offer a service that’s only available with an invitation from you or another member of your tribe. For example, let’s suppose you create a web-based app (such as a meal planning tool), and give your tribe access. Additional access for others is only available by invitation, which makes current tribe members feel special and powerful, and it creates scarcity and desire in those who aren’t yet members.
- Consider sending “membership cards” in the postal mail. Getting something in the mail from an online business is somewhat rare, so tribe members will feel special. Even better is if you include a handwritten thank-you note.
- Make members feel like they’re a part of something bigger than themselves. For example, you might raise money for a relevant charity. What the group does together is more than any individual could have done by themselves, so it helps bond the group.
Now the third component of building a tribe…
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