Today is an exciting day for my husband, Sean. He's been working with a team on a book fansite for the past year and a half, and they've had tremendous success with it. Their success was given a boost today when Random House named them the OFFICIAL fansite for The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott! God only knows where they will go from here, but with a movie in the works, this series has Harry Potter potential for blowing up.

I've had the pleasure of observing some of the inner workings behind this team, and it's taught me some things about making a blog or website successful.

1. Find a need and fill it - The concept for this fansite came about when there was no fansite for the series. They approached the author and asked his permission, and with his blessing, a forum was born.


2. Have a solid team - In this instance, a team was needed to build something to accommodate potential size and magnitude. The team started small, but as the site grew, so did their team and their skill set. When it came to forum moderators, they recruited from within with existing forum members who were active and reliable. And what is most important is the constant communication that happens between team members.


3. Create community - The original idea behind the site was a forum, a place where fans could discuss the book series. As the site grew, a podcast was born that included poll questions and emails from fans. The fans became a part of the show.


4. Run a tight ship - The series is geared towards Young Adults, so a no tolerance policy was created and enforced to keep the forums age appropriate. Moderators were always present and active on the boards. This was huge when they were reviewed by Random House. They were flame-free and a safe haven for young fans.

So congratulations to the entire Flamel's Immortal Portal team! Your hard work and diligence has paid off and I cannot wait to see where you guys go from here.