A Rav group is an excellent way to gain an audience. And, like I've been harping on over the past few posts, an audience is so helpful when launching a book or pattern. Plus, leading a Rav group is just plain old fun!
So, let's do it!
I want to mention really quick that I talk about creating a group in the context of having a blog to link to. A blog isn't necessary at all! I personally have a blog (hello, you're reading it) and my Rav group is based around that blog. But these tips can totally be applied to a stand-alone group as well.
1. Group name & short description
When you go onto Ravelry and click on "start a group now," the very first two things it will ask you for are your group name and description.
Your group name is going to be super simple. Just type in the name of your blog and you're good to go. Haven't started a blog? Go to my post here to find out how I started my blog.If you're doing a stand-alone group, come up with an easy-to-spell, catchy, and unique title. If you put thought into this, you can easily start a blog at a later time with the same name.
Your short description can be a bit tougher. Here's what you need to do: The PERFECT description for both your blog and your Rav group is your "why." Right off the bat, this tells potential group members who your group is for specifically. This will give you an audience who is truly interested in you and what you're about. Don't try to make your short description "all-inclusive" just to get a ton of members. A smaller, devoted audience is so much better than a large group of people who don't really care. If you don't currently have your "why," I wrote a post here on 3 simple steps to finding your why. When you have your why, feel free to tweak it to get it in description form.
2. Design your button & banner
Rav will also ask for a button and a banner. There are SOOOO many great groups out there that aren't getting the attention they deserve simply because they don't have an eye-catching button. Grabbing people's attention with a poppin' button and banner is the first step.
In the post I wrote Tuesday, I taught you how to create a custom header for your blog using Pic Monkey. We're going to do the exact same thing here with your button and banner. Now, I want you to pay attention to a few little numbers.
Your "badge" or button will need to be 100 pixels x 60 pixels.
Your banner will need to be 468 pixels x 60 pixels.
If you don't pay attention to these measurements, your icons will be stretched and distorted and look kind off. So, when you go into Pic Monkey, hover over "design" and then click "custom". Then, simply type in those numbers.
I would suggest designing your icons to look pretty similar to your blog. This gives a "face" to your internet presence. Keep it simple and clean.
3. Long description
Now, there are a few things you want to cover in your long description:
-Restate your short description. Elaborate upon it and welcome your possible audience. Include what your posts are about, and who precisely would be interested.
-Make it inclusive. I know I said earlier to really niche down so you can have a devoted audience. This is still true! By "inclusive" I mean make all crafters feel welcome. My blog is titled "How to Write a Knitting Book" because that's what I'm doing. But I LOVE to crochet, I LOVE to weave, and I LOVE to tat! All the posts I write can easily be translated to a different craft, and I personally want people to know that.
-Link your blog. In addition to being a fantastic place to engage with audience members, a Rav group is basically free advertising. Just sayin'! Link over to your blog, telling people where to find all of your content and how often you post.
Here's my personal long description over on my Ravelry group for you to use for reference:
Do you have an idea for a knitting book?This is the place to be!This group is for anyone interested in joining in on (or simply following) my journey to writing, designing, editing, and self-publishing my very own knitting book. I’ve challenged myself to do it right and do it all myself. And you can too! Every post will be packed with the little things I learn along the way.Not a knitter? No worries. The tips, tricks, and trials I’ll discuss can be applied to any craft. Also, all the content I put out can be applied to writing single PDF patterns for Ravelry.
On my blog, I post content every Tuesday and Friday. Every time I post, I’ll include a little summary here on the boards for you guys to engage under. Find my blog at: How to Write a Knitting Book
4. Post a few threads.
Now that you've created your blog and it looks per-fect, it'll be put up on the "recently started groups" section of Rav. This is like a billboard that you get a chance to be on for a few days. A ton of people will see your group and click on it if they're interested. They'll get really excited but, if you don't have any threads posted, people will be kind of disappointed and most likely leave because it appears that there's no fun to be had there. So, right when you post your group, create a few threads.
These threads could maybe be an introduction thread, a thread for people to share their favorite blogs and resources, or a chatter thread. Another awesome thing you can do is create a thread for each post you put up on your blog and add a call-to-action question so people can discuss the post in the thread.
This will create a sense of community.
Ok! Boom! You just created your very own Ravelry group!
I hope this post was helpful for you!
Until next time,
Grace
