How Does SixApart Create a Movement?

You have to admit, WordPress created a movement around itself via the use of open-source. Posterous is now doing the same thing with its short-form blogging platform. One company that should do so is SixApart. But, it hasn't, *not in a long while at least.  

I believe that it can via Typepad, which is becoming much more social in its orientation. Here's how:

User group conference - Many software products have annual user group meetings. SixApart has never done so. It's time for such. Bring in leading Typepad users like John T. Unger, Denise Wakeman, Rich Brooks, and even celebrities like Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin to speak. Have Metric, Ryan Star and Zachary Quinto provide the entertainment. For good measure, host it at the Palace Hotel in San Fran. Make it a big deal, because it is.

Local/regional meetups - Whether an extension of the user group meeting or something else altogether, SixApart should sponsor local or regional meetups where its users can get together to network, learn from each other barcamp style, and be wined and dined by Typepad staffers (free box lunch from Jason's Deli anyway...a free T-shirt would be nice too). 

Free intro to blogging workshops - Believe it or not, there are a whole host of people who are new to blogging. Typepad has the chance to bring these folks into the fold by offering free training workshops. 

Reward devoted users - There are a host of people very devoted to the platform. 6A should make it a point to reach out to these folks, recognize them for their loyalty and incite greater degrees of word-of-mouth evangelism. Give them a cool name like Typepadistas (That's cool, right?) and even send some of them out to attend regional meetups and lead blogging workshops. (Think of what Fiskars did with their brand ambassador program and you've got the picture.)

Create an online user community - I'm talking a true face-to-face (virtually speaking), peer-to-peer environment focused on the users, not unlike what email marketing platform provider Vertical Response has done with their VR Lounge (Okay, that's a Ning community, but you get my point.) Perhaps Motion, now in its early, developmental stage, will serve that purpose.

A Dummies book - There are a number of books devoted to WordPress but not one devoted to Typepad, at least not until now -- I'm happy to report Typepad For Dummies is set for publication early next year. It may sound strange to suggest a book would help create a movement. To that I respond, ever heard of the Bible? If nothing else, it will help support other efforts.

Peer-to-peer - The above items talk about what SixApart can do for us. Here's what 6A CEO Chris Alden says we can do for each other: "TypePad bloggers get their readers to join TypePad, create a profile, follow people and perhaps start a TypePad Micro blog." 

I think most of us who use Typepad see it merely as a publishing platform. That's been its forte historically, but with the advent of applications like Connect and Profiles, its taken on more community-building characteristics.

Typepad continues to advance in this direction by experimenting with its own social network called Motion, referenced above. While still in a very nascent state (one that requires the use of a developer), it holds much promise. 

WordPress is seen as a movement. SixApart has been seen as a company. Some of the largest blogs on the planet using its sophisticated Moveable Type platform -- the Huffington Post for example.

I would venture to say Typepad is its more grassroots product and one that deserves to have the user community form around it in a celebratory fashion tasked with the responsibility of extending Typepad's presence via word-of-mouth. With a little effort on 6A's part and ours, it could happen. 

*I credit SixApart with starting the shift in blogging from personal to business thanks to Movable Type. It, along with Typepad, became an standard bearer for business use. That certainly qualifies as a "movement."

Comments

[Jay Ehret]

It would be a little late now to start a movement, don't you think, Paul? It would seem artificial to me. Movements don't start by someone saying, "Hey, let's start a movement."

[Paul Chaney]

I see your point Jay. Movements "happen." I guess I could have asked, "How does SixApart gain market share?," but I like the ring of "movement" better.

[Mark Simmons]

Thanks, Paul, for the great post. We'll be putting these ideas in action!

[Mark Simmons]

Jay:
I totally agree there is no way to say "let's start a movement." But there is a way to say "how do we help our customers be successful" and "how do we help our best customers spread the word."

At Six Apart, we re-ignited that effort over a year ago by investing time, energy and people(!) into our customer support, community support and product teams to make sure we had the best product and the best team to support our customers. Movements don't start with a campaign, they start with real connections between people.

I'd love to talk about this some more with you. And Paul's blog is a great place to do it since he's a great example of this in action.

Best,
Mark
TypePad team

[Paul Chaney]

Thanks for putting things into perspective Mark. I tend to be a little philosophical about this stuff, so the term "movement" came naturally. Maybe a useful term would be "build community." Essentially, that's what we're attempting to do.

And, yes, you and Jay discuss it here. I need all the comments I can get! :-)

[Paul Chaney]

Happy to submit my two cents Mark.

[Jay Ehret]

Thanks, Mark. I think you can build a strong brand based on a passion. Customer support is a great way to build a community and a following, for example, Zappos. And it's something that's missing from other blogging platforms.

[Paul Chaney]

That's certainly an area where 6A gets high marks. Ginevra and others do a great job. However, there are things 6A should be doing to incite their loyal customers to foster greater WOM - the user group conference and meetups being just two. I'm happy to hear that they plan to implement such things in the coming year.

[Chris Ewald]

Thanks, Paul, for the post and mentioning the VerticalResponse Marketing Lounge. We find our community is a great way to communicate with our customers and those interested in discussing small business marketing.