"Change" ... "Yes we can". No you shouldn't, more like - at least when it comes to online communities. Change is the last thing your online community wants or needs. Concentrate on your members and your community - not your website.

To manage online communities successfully, you need knowledge. You don't need to be a genius or an expert in your field, but you do need to learn, remember and understand a great deal of information. Make sure you can answer these 20 questions.

Developing successful online communities is similar to planning a successful party. You need people to make it a success - offline, you send invitiations. Online, you can do the same - and employ a number of other techniques which I share in this article.

Competitions in online communities. Offer some prizes and you'll attract members, right? Well, maybe - but most of those members will just be mercenaries who will leave as soon as the prizes dry up. These are members you don't want or need.

Mission statements allow a business to have a clear focus and objectives. Members of online communities are its customers - therefore you, too, will find benefits in coming up with a mission statement for your online community.

One of the biggest challenges facing community managers is encouraging new members to post and create content. Should you force members to introduce themselves before they can access your community in full?

If you want to be a successful online community manager, you have to be able to take abuse. You can't hide from it and you can't avoid it. If you do, you will never be an effective manager or leader.

Encouraging friends and family to join the online communities you manage can have some great benefits. They may well be more eager to post and encourage interaction, but do you really want certain information to be shared?

Have members? Have posts? Have great content? Not making money? Ignore people that tell you online communities can't generate decent revenue. I'll cover ten ways you can make money with your online community in this article.

If you want your online community to be a success, you need to be involved in it. You should create content, interact with new members and encourage them to be active. Just don't come across as desperate, though.