Jeff Bullas

You’re asking the ultimate question in community management.

Short Answer: Long-term participation is driven by a consistent feeling of value and belonging, which you create and reinforce through a strategic mix of different content formats.

Let’s break down how to use content formats to build the three pillars of a lasting community: Value, Identity, and Connection.

People join for the content, but they stay for the culture. Firstly, the foundation of your community is Value, which is delivered through reliable and high-quality informational content. This is best done with well-researched text-based posts and structured document formats like PDF guides. This content provides the logical, utilitarian reason for a member to remain subscribed. Secondly, you need to build a shared Identity, making the community feel like a unique club. This is primarily achieved through visual and textual branding. Use a consistent style in your images, create custom emoji or sticker packs that foster in-jokes, and maintain a consistent text-based tone of voice. This creates the cultural shorthand that makes people feel like insiders. Thirdly, and most critically for long-term participation, you must foster Connection. This is where personal and interactive formats are irreplaceable. Regular, unscripted audio chats allow members to hear your voice and each other’s. Spontaneous round video messages from you as the admin build a powerful, personal bond that text alone cannot create. These emotional connections are what transform a passive audience into a loyal, active community for years to come.

Cheers,

This is one of the toughest, but most important, parts of community management.

Short Answer: The best strategy is a “policy first, action second” approach. Use clear, written rules and a private, text-based warning system before resorting to public actions.

Let’s look at how you can use different content formats to build a framework for moderation.

An effective moderation system removes emotion and relies on a clear process. Firstly, your most important tool is your community guidelines, which should exist in two formats. You should have a concise summary of the rules created as a sharp, easy-to-read image that can be pinned to the top of your group. This visual should then link to a more detailed text document (like a Telegraph post) that explains each rule fully. This foundation of visual and text-based content is what you will refer to for all future moderation actions. Secondly, for a first-time or minor offence, your action should be a private text-based message. Never engage trolls publicly. Send a direct message to the user, quote their problematic comment, cite the specific rule they broke from your text document, and issue a firm, polite warning. This de-escalates the situation and takes the drama out of the public space. Thirdly, when you must remove a user, the action is the ban itself. Don’t announce it in a dramatic text post. Simply remove them according to the policy you established. Finally, you can use personal content formats to proactively shape the culture. An occasional audio chat or round video message where you, as the admin, talk about the community’s values is far more effective at building a positive environment than a hundred text-based warnings.

Cheers,

Jeff

This is a critically important topic that every channel admin needs to understand.

Short Answer: The default rule is you cannot use any content you didn’t create yourself without explicit permission or a license, regardless of the format. ‘Crediting the source’ is not a legal defence against infringement.

Let’s break down the specific copyright risks associated with each major content format.

While I’m not a lawyer and this isn’t legal advice, there are clear principles you must follow to operate safely. Firstly, for text-based content, you cannot simply copy and paste articles or large blocks of text from websites or other channels. The safest approach is to write a short, original summary in your own words and then provide a direct link to the full source. Secondly, image content is almost always protected by copyright. You cannot legally take an image from a web search or another person’s website and post it in your channel without a license. You must either create your own simple graphics or use stock photo sites that provide a clear, royalty-free license for their images. Thirdly, video and audio content have the strongest protections. Downloading a video from YouTube or ripping an audio podcast and re-uploading the file to your channel is a direct copyright violation and can result in takedown notices or legal action. The only correct way to share this type of media is to post a link to the original content on its official platform, never the file itself.

Cheers,

Jeff

An excellent use case, as Telegram can be a surprisingly robust platform for courses.

Short Answer: Yes, it’s highly effective for courses if you structure your curriculum around a mix of content formats, using a private channel for delivery and a linked group for discussion.

Let’s design a simple course structure using the core content formats available to you.

The key to a professional experience is to assign a specific content format to each part of your course. Firstly, your core lessons can be delivered as pre-recorded video files. Keep these videos concise and focused on a single topic, then post them in your private channel. You can supplement each video with a detailed text message or, even better, a downloadable PDF document that serves as the lesson’s notes or workbook. Secondly, to ensure students are engaged, use interactive text-based formats for daily assignments or knowledge checks. Telegram’s native ‘Quiz’ feature is perfect for creating a quick, automated test after each lesson. Thirdly, you must foster a sense of community, which is best done using a linked discussion group. Here, you can host a weekly live audio chat for a group Q&A session, which feels far more personal and interactive than just typing. Use standard text chat for daily discussions and peer-to-peer support. Finally, you can keep students motivated by providing bonus content in lightweight formats, such as a daily inspirational image with a quote or a short, motivational audio message each morning.

Cheers,

Jeff

It’s a great goal to want to communicate directly with your international fans.

Short Answer: Spotify displays your primary bio from the text you enter in Spotify for Artists, but for other languages, it automatically pulls that text content from the artist’s corresponding Wikipedia page. The best practice is to get a Wikipedia page translated into your target languages.

Let’s clarify how these two separate sources of text-based content work on your profile.

First, the bio text you write in your Spotify for Artists dashboard is your default content, shown to all users where a local language version is not available. Second, for translated bios, Spotify’s system relies exclusively on pulling text directly from an artist’s Wikipedia page. For example, if a fan in Germany is using Spotify in German, the system will look for a German-language Wikipedia page for your artist and display that content as your bio. Therefore, the only official way to have your bio appear cleanly in multiple languages is to establish a Wikipedia presence in those languages; placing multiple translations in the single bio field is not recommended as it creates a cluttered text format for all users.

Cheers,

Jeff

This is a serious issue, and it’s critical you follow the correct procedure.

Short Answer: You must report the fraudulent audio by submitting a formal infringement claim directly to Spotify using their dedicated web form. Do not contact your distributor or the other artist; the claim must come from you as the rights holder.

Let’s go over the text-based information you’ll need to provide to get the infringing audio content removed.

First, you must locate Spotify’s official copyright infringement form on their website; this is the only channel you should use. Second, you will need to provide specific text-based data to prove your claim, which includes your legal contact information, the name of your original audio work, and the exact Spotify URLs of the fraudulent tracks. Third, you will have to make a sworn statement that you are the rights holder and that the use is unauthorised. Once submitted, Spotify’s legal team will process the claim and take down the infringing audio content if your claim is valid. It is vital that you follow this formal process and avoid contacting the fraudulent user directly, as this can complicate the legal procedure.

Cheers,

Jeff

Getting your metadata right is fundamental to getting paid correctly.

Short Answer: An ISRC is a unique code for a specific audio recording, essential for tracking master royalties. An ISWC is a unique code for the underlying musical composition, which is critical for tracking publishing royalties.

Think of these codes as the unique digital fingerprints for the different layers of content within your single track.

First, the ISRC is the fingerprint for the audio file itself—the master recording. Your distributor will typically assign this code, and it’s used to track every single stream of that specific recording to ensure master royalties are paid to the correct rights holder. Second, the ISWC is the fingerprint for the composition—the text-based lyrics and musical score. This code is assigned by your PRO after you register the work, and it allows collecting societies to track the use of your song across all its different recorded versions to pay out publishing royalties. Having both of these data points correctly embedded in your track’s metadata is non-negotiable for ensuring Spotify’s system can accurately report and pay for the use of both your audio content and your intellectual property.

Cheers,

Jeff

Learning to read the data is what separates guessing from growing.

Short Answer: Interpret the stats by focusing on three areas: follower trends to gauge overall health, notification settings to measure audience loyalty, and post views to optimise your content timing and formats.

Let’s connect these data points directly to decisions about your content formats.

The key is to treat each statistic as a question your audience is answering about your content. Firstly, the ‘Followers’ graph gives you the big picture of your content’s appeal. Watch this closely after you experiment with a new content format. If you see a dip after posting a long, unedited video, it might be a sign that format isn’t a good fit. Conversely, if you see a growth spike after sharing a valuable PDF guide, that’s a clear signal to invest more in that type of document-based content. Secondly, the ‘Views by Hour’ chart tells you when your audience is most receptive. Use this to schedule your most important, high-effort content. If your peak time is in the evening, that’s when you should post your major text announcement or premiere a new video. Your off-peak hours can then be used for lower-stakes, experimental formats like a quick audio message. Thirdly, the ‘Notifications Enabled’ percentage is a powerful measure of loyalty. A high number suggests your audience finds your content valuable enough to be interrupted for. If this number is low, you could test more urgent or interactive formats, like a flash-sale image or a time-sensitive text-based poll, to see if you can provide a compelling reason for them to switch notifications on.

Cheers,

Jeff