5 things I’ve learned about building a community online

A group of people isn't something that you build. You build a place for people to gather and a reason why they should.

5 things I’ve learned about building a community online

Contents

  1. Curated not Built
  1. Many-to-Many
  1. Light Small Fires
  1. A flag to wave
  1. Months not days; Years not months

Curated not built

Communities aren't built.
They're curated.
They're tended to like a garden.
A group of people isn't something that you build.
You build a place for people to gather and a reason why they should.

Many-to-Many

Not many to one.
An audience listens to you.
A community talks to each other.
Before building a community, ask yourself if what you're really looking for is an audience.

Light small fires

Fires die without fuel.
Start friendly arguments.
If there's a good debate, elevate it, try and bring more people into the discussion.
Proactively tag folks who might have good input.
It's better to be a bit too warm than for the fire to go out.

A flag to wave

What does your group stand for?
What dream are you selling?
Who should care?
Give your members a flag to wave.
Give them a story they relate to and can rally behind.

Months not days; Years not months

Months not days. Years not months.
Communities die when there's no one left who cares.
Most people don't care bc they assume you won't stick around.
Gain trust by proving them wrong.
Find a pace you can sustain long term.
Most of the good stuff comes late.

Further Reading

If you’re building a community I’ve written a more in-depth free guide here:
 
This post was adopted from this thread on Twitter:
Anthony Castrio

Written by

Anthony Castrio

twitter.com/AnthonyCastrio


    Thanks for reading 👋🏻
    I’m also tweeting at @AnthonyCastrio and running a community for bootstrapped founders at Indie Worldwide where I make curated introductions between founders based on their revenue and goals.
    See you there,
    Anthony