In my SITS Day post, I alluded to an online class that I will be teaching in December through Skillshare.
In all the excitement, I realized that I have yet to give you all the details. At least not via a blog post. Duh.
Skillshare is a “global marketplace for classes.” It’s a great platform that offers unique, creative and collaborative classes. You can find classes in your local area or online.
My class is called “How to Write Blog Posts That Build a Community.” It’s a two-week online class that runs from Dec 7 – Dec 16, 2012.
Here’s the basic description of the class via Skillshare:
A blog is a powerful tool for business or for personal use. A blog helps you establish expertise in an area. A blog drives traffic to your website, giving you better search engine optimization (SEO), and helps build your brand. It gives you a platform to tell your story. It may even make you money. The list of benefits go on and on.
The most successful blogs out there create a community for their readers. Whether your blog is for business or personal use, with a small or large following, creating a community gives your readers a reason (and the desire) to subscribe to, comment on and share your blog.
This class is for those who have started a blog but need help growing it.
This class will explore:
- The anatomy of a good blog post
- Writing effective blog posts that encourage reader interaction
- Amplifying your blog posts once they are published
By the end, students should feel comfortable writing blog posts that engage readers and encourage community interaction. Because students will be critiquing and commenting on each other’s blogs, it is expected that they will also gain new blog readers directly from the class.
Students should expect to spend approximately 2-3 hours / week for writing, discussions and commenting on blog posts. I’ll host live online lectures for each stage of your process (see the Syllabus for details) and will be popping in and out of the Discussions to comment on great examples and those that could use some improvement – I hope you’ll all learn from those comments!
Anyone in the world can join the class. The only requirement is that you have a blog.
You can visit Skillshare for more on how the class is structured. Basically, you’ll participate in class discussions, have “projects” to complete, and I’ll hold scheduled “office hours” that you can view live online or via YouTube at your convenience.
We’ll focus on building a community through your blog.
What I love is that everyone gets to participate in discussions, share their work, and give and get feedback on their ideas and blogs. I’m hoping participants wil not only learn how to build a community through their blog but also create their own communities with each other during the class.
It’s going to be fun.
Oh, and it’s only $10.
Even if you don’t take advantage of everything the class offers, it’s still only $10!
Hop on over to Skillshare, read more about the class and register.
Who’s joining me?
I’m so excited for your class! Even though I’ve been blogging for a while, I love learning about how to make my blog (and site) better and more engaging. And I know I have lots to learn! Thanks for offering this – looking forward to it!
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I’m excited that you are taking it! I think it will be fun. A big part of it is interacting with fellow classmates via online discussions. I’m hoping people will get good feedback from their peers along with some good tips, etc.
This sounds perfect for me! That is definitely one aspect of blogging that I would love to develop more. I have a good following of loyal readers. Now to make it a community! I think I’ll sign up 🙂
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Great idea Jennifer, we can all use some guidance when it comes to growing our blogs-making them more appealing.
I went over to the link you provided and poked around a bit. It looks like you have a nice big group for you class. If I wasn’t such a commitment phobe about my time around the holiday’s I’d be signing up myself. Maybe another time and another class, yes?
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I think it will be a pretty big group, which will be fun. Lots of interaction! If all goes well, I’d love to offer it again after the holidays. Many people have the class on their “watchlist” so they’ll be notified if I hold it again. So, stay tuned!
anotherjennifer recently posted..Upcoming Online Class: How to Write Blog Posts That Build a Community
I was just getting ready to say, “man, I wish you were offering this class in the spring!” and then I read the above comment.
I like the idea of this and will definitely be keeping an eye. I already learned something new as I had never heard of Skillshare before. Thanks Jennifer, and thank you for commenting on my post today. If you would like to share some of that wine I can provide a mailing address! Have a fantastic weekend!
Awesome, Shanna. I’d love to offer this class on a semi-regular basis. Thanks for the feedback!
And I’m all for sharing and everything, but…. 🙂
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Interesting! I make look into this.. I just launched my blog.. very new, so I can’t complain about how much I’ve progressed… but I would love any useful info as much as I can have them.
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Good luck with your blog! The class might be a fun way to get some feedback and find more readers. Lots of interaction through discussions!
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