How to grow your community to the first 1000 members

Growing your community can have massive advantage in business. That can mean more clients for your business or even high revenue from your existing customers. Once you build an engaging community, it becomes possible to get out of the overwhelming world of social media and work closely with the people who genuinely care for the results.

If you don't nurture your community, your business could stall or even shrink. When customers have tens of options online, without a community it is very hard to build that close relationship that can go for ages. So how do you start, especially from zero? Don't worry. This guide will help you learn how to grow a thriving community.

Why Community Building is Important

Communities are key to business success today. They're where new ideas are born, customers chat, brands grow, and most importantly, where long-term relationships form.

A community that's actively engaged is like a brand champion, giving you helpful feedback and boosting your visibility in a busy market.

What happens if you ignore community building? It's simple: your business might fade into the background, losing its unique voice that attracts clients.

If community members feel like they're just another number, they'll look for better connections elsewhere. So, growing an online community is vital—it can make a big difference in your business success.

Getting Your Community Started

To create a successful community that helps you get more business, you need to create a unique culture, set rules for interaction, and promote friendly engagement.

You need clear behavior rules from the beginning to guide how members interact and behave. So before we dive into the growth strategy, let's quickly cover the basic ground rules:

Choose the Right Platform

Every community needs a home where members can connect, learn, and grow together. The choice of platform is a fundamental decision that affects the success of your community-building efforts.

Some good options are Facebook group, Telegram, Discord or Slack. However, the problem with most of these platforms is, they are not designed for business communities. In most of the cases they are simple chatrooms and not the engagement and conversion focused community platforms.

Skool is one of the platforms we discovered as a perfect mix. As we covered in our recent Skool review, you can engage people in a unique environment on Skool while without losing focus from the another important aspect: monetizing your community into your paying customers and clients.

Establish a Set of Rules

To foster a positive and productive environment, it's crucial to set clear guidelines for your community members. A well-structured set of rules will govern interactions, deter negative behavior, and establish a respectful space for discussion.

These guidelines should cover aspects like expected behavior, content sharing norms, privacy policies, and consequences for rule violations.

A simple set of guidelines can be like:

• No spam: No one is allowed to share random online links without context and permission
• Mission: Our mission is to help coaches grow their online community. Anything irrelevant will be banned.
• Introduction post

These rules ensure new people have a good experience when they join your community and it aligns for growth.

Develop a Monetization Strategy

While the primary goal of building a community is to foster engagement and loyalty, a carefully crafted monetization strategy is critical.

If you are a part of our Tribe, you will find we have covered monetization extensively. 

There can be many ways to monetize. This could be through membership fees, sponsored content, selling products or services, or hosting paid events.

Note that it is always a better idea to be transparent with your community about your monetization strategy to maintain trust. And surprisingly, it will only help you increase the conversions.

Top Tactics to Engage Your First 1000 Members

Now you have the foundation ready, it's time to get your first 1000 members.

we'll explore three effective tactics: using community funnels, running engaging giveaways, and leveraging existing communities for success.

Using A Community Funnel

Here is a proven system I want to share with you:

Community funnel is a strong tool that make community growth easier. It helps draw in, engage, and keep community members by offering valuable content, solving problems, and starting interesting chats.

And most importantly, it helps you monetize your passion by offering your courses, products or service right without getting overwhelmed.

Here you can watch the complete explanation of Community funnel. 

Use your current channels like email newsletters, blog posts, and social media to advertise your community, inviting your audience to join the chat.

Connect with your audience by finding out their needs and worries, and solving them through the community. This not only brings in new members but also strengthens the bond with current ones. Keep in mind, growing a community is a two-way street. The more you give, the more engaged your community becomes.

Running Engaging Giveaways

Giveaways are a tried-and-true way to speed up community growth. Offering valuable, related rewards draws in potential members and encourages participation. This could be free e-books, exclusive webinars, or even one-on-one consultation sessions.

The key is to make sure the giveaway matches your audience's interests and goals.

Advertise your giveaways widely across multiple channels to reach more people. Use word-of-mouth marketing's power by asking participants to share the giveaway with their connections. This broadens your reach and speeds up community growth.

Making a Mark in Existing Communities

Aim to not only grow your own community, but also to actively contribute to other related communities. This shows you as a thought leader and lets you connect with an audience that already enjoys interaction and engagement.

Share your knowledge, join in discussions, and when it fits, invite members to join your community.

This strategy needs time and patience, but the results are often worth it. It not only builds your credibility but also brings in a steady flow of community members who are truly interested in what you have to offer.

Choosing the right community growth tool

ConvertKit

ConvertKit is an email marketing and automation platform that allows you to build and nurture relationships with your community members. It provides features like email sequencing, personalized email campaigns, and automation workflows, helping you engage and communicate effectively with your audience.

Skool

Skool is a community platform designed to prioritize engagement and foster meaningful interactions. With its minimalist approach, Skool provides a distraction-free environment for your community members. It offers features like discussion threads, direct messaging, resource sharing, and event management, allowing you to create a vibrant and connected community.

I reviewed 5 community tools in this video recently.

ClickFunnels

ClickFunnels is a powerful sales funnel builder and checkout system that can help you monetize your community. It allows you to create optimized sales funnels, capture leads, and sell products or services seamlessly. With ClickFunnels, you can streamline your sales process and convert community members into paying customers.

Keeping Community Engagement Going

Getting your first 1000 members is a big milestone, but the work doesn't stop there. Making sure your community stays engaged is crucial to its long-term success.

Regularly create high-quality content, actively respond to feedback, and keep updating your engagement tactics. Remember, a small, active community is much more valuable than a large, inactive one.

Conclusion

Growing an online community is more than just a growth strategy; it's a game changer that can greatly improve your business's value.

It lets you build deep connections with your audience, earn trust, and create long-term loyalty. So, start setting up your community today, and discover the limitless benefits that a thriving community brings.