I often tell people that nagging is a big part of community management. Yes, you could call it by some other nice names, “encouraging”, “managing”, “asking”, “requesting”, but the reality is that it can seem a lot like nagging. As community managers, we stay focused on what the community needs, and this often means that we need help from others to provide information, blog posts, technical details and more.

Yes, the term nagging seems a little harsh, and this is probably more like project management, but the end result is to get people to do something without making it seem like you are nagging, so here are a few tips:

• Provide context for what you need to help people understand why what you require is important.
• Manage your tasks like a project with a roadmap, and give people due dates and reminders.
• Offer to help if possible. Sometimes people are unfamiliar with community technology (blog software, wikis, mailing lists, etc.), and offering your help the first time to get them started can make them more comfortable and self-sufficient later.
• Have backup ideas and keep in mind that not everyone will deliver on time no matter how many times you ask / nag, so it can help to plan for a little extra knowing that not everything will be ready when you wanted it.

Additional Reading

• The Role of Listening as a Community Manager
• What Does it Take to Manage a Community?

Part of a series of community manager tips blog posts.

Photo by Flickr user Elliot Brown licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.