Building an online community is a powerful way to connect with your audience, support your customers, grow your brand, and generate more recurring revenue in your business.

In fact, here at SPI, we’ve changed our entire business model to center around community, and it’s the best decision we’ve ever made. 

Starting a community from scratch, however, can feel overwhelming, especially if you don't know where to begin.

In this comprehensive guide, I'll walk you through the entire process of creating a successful online community, step by step. Along the way, I'll address common concerns and share practical tips and strategies to help you achieve your community-building goals. 

Let’s get to it!

Part 1: Understanding the Value of an Online Community

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of starting your online community, it's essential to understand the value that a well-run community can bring to your business or organization. An online community can:

1. Foster connection and engagement among your audience or customers
2. Establish your authority in your niche
3. Provide valuable insights and feedback to help you improve your products or services
4. Generate additional revenue through membership fees or other monetization methods (optional)

When you realize just how valuable a community can be for your business and brand, you’ll take the extra care necessary to make sure it’s awesome for your people and integrates well into your brand. 

Part 2: Laying the Foundation for an Online Community

Step 1: Determine Your “Why”

Your “why” is the driving force behind your community. It's essential to have a clear understanding of the purpose and value your community will provide, which will help guide your decisions as you build and grow your community.

Consider the following questions:

• What problem are you trying to solve for your audience?
• How will your community support your audience in achieving their goals?
• What unique perspective or expertise do you bring to the table?

Always remember: your earnings are a byproduct of how well you serve your audience. Start with your people in mind first and the revenue will become the reward.

If money is your primary driver, this isn’t going to work.

Step 2: Identify Your Target Audience

To create a thriving community, you need to know who your ideal members are. Think about the characteristics that define your target audience, such as demographics, interests, and needs.

Also think about the struggles and challenges they’re going through, and ultimately what their goals are.

It’s these common things that unite a community together. People on the outside might not really “get it” or understand, but when you’re on the inside, you feel like you’ve found your people.

This kind of critical thinking will help you tailor your community's content, structure, and engagement strategies to attract and retain the right members.

Step 3: Define Your Community's Core Values

Your online community's core values serve as guiding principles for how members interact with one another and what they can expect from your community. Examples of core values might include mutual respect, continuous learning, or collaboration.

Our community’s core values are shared during the onboarding process, as soon as a person joins one of our communities. If you’re curious, or are seeking support for your online business journey, click here to see what we have to offer!

It’s important to clearly communicate your core values to your members: they help set the tone for your online community and encourage positive behavior.

Part 3: Choosing the Right Platform and Technology

When it comes to hosting your online community, there are numerous platforms and technologies to choose from. Some popular options include forums, social media groups, and custom-built platforms.

Facebook Groups used to be the top choice, but Groups (and Facebook in general) has been losing users for a while now.

I highly recommend using Circle, a modern, user-friendly platform designed specifically for building and managing online communities — one that you own and can control (instead of playing in someone else’s sandbox).

Circle offers a wide range of features, including customizable branding, member management tools, and seamless integration with popular tools like Zapier, WordPress, and Slack. It’s the community platform we use for SPI Pro and our All-Access Pass, too.

If you’d like to learn more about Circle, click here.* 

*(Please note that this is an affiliate link and we do earn a small commission if you choose to eventually get on a paid plan — all this at no extra cost to you, we just want to be up front about that.)

Part 4: Designing Your Online Community's Structure and Engagement Strategy

1. Determine the Type of Community

There are three main types of online communities: communities of interest, communities of learning, and communities of support. Each type serves a different purpose and requires a unique approach to engagement and content creation.

Consider your “why” and your target audience when choosing the type of community that's right for you.

2. Start Simple

It's crucial to begin with a simple, sustainable community structure that offers the right amount of value for your goals.

Avoid committing to long-term programming or overly complex schedules before you've launched your community. This is extremely important, especially at the start. Trust us, we know this from our own experience.

Instead of getting too complicated, focus on creating a basic framework that you can build on and adapt based on member feedback and engagement. 

What are the most valuable components of your community? If you could only pick a few, what would they be? Start there.

3. Establish an Engagement Strategy

An effective engagement strategy is key to the success of your online community. Consider offering a mix of asynchronous (e.g. discussion posts, resources) and live (e.g. webinars, group calls) content to cater to different member preferences and schedules. Experiment with various types of programming to see what works best for your community.

Again, while there are a thousand things you can do in your community to encourage engagement, start simple and lean. From there, you can build out complexities in a more controlled and tested manner.

4. Set Expectations and Boundaries

It's essential to set clear expectations for your community members and establish boundaries for your own time and availability. Communicate your community guidelines and moderation policies prominently to ensure a safe, welcoming environment for all members. This should be done as soon as a person joins — right in the onboarding process.

And of course, model the behavior you expect from your community to set the tone and encourage positive interactions.

Part 5: Pricing and Revenue for Online Communities

If you decide to monetize your online community (which we recommend because people value what they pay for) there are several pricing models and strategies to consider.

Some popular options include freemium-tiered memberships, one-time fees, and recurring subscriptions. When determining your pricing, take into account factors like your time investment, overhead costs, and the financial resources of your target audience.

Keep in mind that your pricing structure may evolve over time, and that's okay. Be prepared to make adjustments based on feedback, market trends, and the needs of your community.

Additionally, see what other communities offer and what their price points are. Finally, consider what the overall value of your community is to your members. When the community and your guidance help a person, what does that mean to them? How much time and/or money will they have saved? How much better off will they be because they belong to the group?

Part 6: Launching and Growing Your Online Community

1. Start with a Small, Engaged Group

When it comes to launching your community online, it's better to start with a small, engaged group of members who are genuinely interested in your community's purpose and value. This will help you create a strong foundation for growth and ensure that you can effectively manage member engagement as your community expands.

How many to be exact? Even starting with five motivated members can do wonders. It’ll already feel like those people belong together, and they can help influence what the membership and community becomes and likely grow it through their personal networks as well.

2. Seek Feedback and Iterate

As you launch and grow your community, it's essential to seek feedback from your members regularly. Use a variety of methods, such as one-on-one conversations, anonymous surveys, and open discussions to gather insights and ideas for improvement. Be prepared to iterate and adapt your community's structure, content, and engagement strategies based on the feedback you receive.

3. Embrace Organic Growth

While it's tempting to focus on rapid growth, it's crucial to remember that thriving communities can be small. We can’t stress this enough, especially when you’re likely to find communities with thousands of members when you are researching other spaces within your niche. 

You can be a small but powerful force!

Plus, a smaller community can often provide a more intimate, supportive environment that fosters deeper connections and engagement. Embrace organic growth and prioritize the quality of your community over the quantity of members.

4. Promote Your Online Community

To attract new members to your community, it's essential to promote it across various channels. 

Leverage your existing audience, clients, or network to generate interest, and consider offering incentives for early adopters, such as discounted membership fees or exclusive content. We advise against discounting so that you don’t “cheapen” your community just to get people in; rather, use exclusive bonuses, or language like “beta tester price” or “early bird pricing” to denote value in acting early.

Additionally, share testimonials, success stories, and other social proof to showcase the value of your online community and entice new members to join!

To Finish Off…

Starting an online community can be a rewarding endeavor that brings immense value to your business or organization. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you'll be well on your way to creating a thriving, engaged community that supports your audience's goals and drives growth for your brand.

Remember, building a successful online community takes time, effort, and adaptability. Don't be afraid to iterate, experiment, and learn from your members as you chart your community's path forward. With persistence and a clear vision, you can create a vibrant, thriving community that leaves a lasting impact and even changes lives.

If you want to learn more about the thriving entrepreneurial communities we’ve built at SPI, or if you’re looking for community support in your own entrepreneurial journey, click right here. We have several different memberships for entrepreneurs of all levels and business sizes, and we have an entire team dedicated to creating an exceptional experience. Hope to see you in there soon!

The post How to Start an Online Community That Thrives: A Comprehensive Guide appeared first on Smart Passive Income.

In this blog post, we’re going to compare two membership platforms: Mighty Networks and Circle. One has been around for years. The other launched more recently.

Both are amazing platforms, but as you’ll see, there are some key differences, and they have different strengths and benefits. Which one could be right for you?

Disclosure: This post contains our unbiased review and recommendations to help you decide between Mighty Networks and Circle.so for your membership community platform. However, Circle.so is the platform SPI uses for its membership community, SPI Pro, and this post contains affiliate links for Circle.so. Read our full affiliate disclaimer here.

Mighty Networks Review: An All-In-One Tool

I've interviewed the founders of both platforms on my podcast, but let's start with Mighty Networks first.

The platform has been around for a few years. Here's some background on how this platform came about.

How Did Mighty Networks Start?

Mighty Networks was founded by Gina Bianchini, who was cofounder of Ning.com, an online social media network platform for people and organizations to create custom social networks. Gina left Ning in 2010 and started Mighty Networks. 

She and her team wanted to build something that was mobile-fast and creator-led.

Pat interviewed Gina in session 405 of the SPI Podcast, where she talks about her vision with Mighty Networks: “… to create something that allowed you to bring your people together in one place, do more with them, run online courses, have virtual workshops or even organize in-person events because of some of the features we have related to people near me.”

“What's powerful about a Mighty Network,” says Gina, is that “you're not just bringing your community and courses together in the same place. You are in fact creating and taking advantage of the same underlying dynamics that have built some of the most successful companies in the history of companies [Facebook, Twitter, etc.] The difference is that you as a creator can take advantage of the same underlying dynamics that built those platforms by having your own network effect that is creator-sized, that is for your people that built your business.”

Gina Bianchini, founder, Mighty Networks

Gina wanted to create a place for “brands and businesses to come together via online courses, paid memberships, events, content, and community—all under your brand, instantly available natively on every platform.” Mighty Networks serves the growing world of “creators with a purpose” in a category they term the “passion economy.”

Mighty Networks is one of the oldest and most established platforms to host membership communities, and it’s filled with tons of features.

Recently, it has started marketing itself as a “website builder” rather than just a community platform. This is an interesting move, because it offers online businesses a way to build their entire infrastructure on one platform. 

What are the Features of Mighty Networks?

The platform has a ton of functionality you’d want as a creator, including:

• Website builder
• Online courses
• Memberships
• Subscriptions
• Community

Mighty Networks has the ability to produce articles, online courses, and organized events. The company wants each creator to be in control of their own Mighty Network and to be able to bring their content, courses, and community together in one place.

Mighty Networks discovered through customer feedback that their customers didn’t want to have to go to other platforms to create online courses, so they built a way for creators to create and sell online courses right on the Mighty Networks platform. Today, over 65 percent of their paying customers (premium plan), take advantage of the ability to host their online courses on Mighty Networks. 

How Much Does Mighty Networks Cost?

The platform offers two main plans to choose from, based on your needs.

Mighty Networks Community Plan ($33/month paid annually):

• Native Livestreaming & Video
• Chat & Messaging
• Events & Zoom Integration
• Paid Memberships

Mighty Networks Business Plan ($99/month paid annually):

• Online Course and Cohort Course Creation
• 2,000 + Zapier integrations
• Premium analytics
• Featured Pages & Events

You can see the full list of plans and features here. There’s also a Mighty Pro plan (price not provided on the website), which includes white label capabilities and your own iOS & Android apps. 

Why You Might Consider Using Mighty Networks

We've identified three key reasons why Mighty Networks might be your platform of choice for your membership community.

It allows you to build your entire online business infrastructure on one platform

As mentioned above, Mighty Networks was originally created as a community platform, but has since transitioned into positioning itself as a “website builder”—which allows people to start with their website and build everything out from there. This allows people to have their community, course sales, and content creation all in one place, rather than having to figure out different platforms for each.

It has been around for a while and has developed a ton of features 

Since Mighty Networks is several years old, it has more capabilities than other membership platforms. For now, the built-in events functionality seems a lot better than Circle and other platforms, and their member profiles are more robust. In addition, it has a tool for payments so you don’t have to integrate an outside platform when selling courses or your membership community. 

Having everything in one place helps to encourage audience engagement

If your fans have to log in to several different platforms to engage with you and your other fans, then engagement might suffer. If they’ve just finished a course and then have to go to Facebook to connect with others who took the course, it may be too much work. 

Gina believes that entrepreneurs want everything in one place: “They’re saying, ‘You know what? I'm sick of having a static website. The fact that I can have my website and my community and my courses and my payments and my marketing pages all in one place is what I want because I want to move from having something that's static to dynamic.’”

It’s also outside of the noise and distraction of Facebook—it’s a dedicated space so you have people coming to the community intentionally, not just when they’re scrolling through Facebook. So you won’t have to work as hard to keep your community members' attention. 

You might not need so many features

Some established creators don’t need this many features. If you already have your courses housed somewhere else, you don’t need the “courses” feature. If you’re a more established entrepreneur and creator, you may not want to move your payments, courses, and website all over to Mighty Networks. 

It’s not very intuitive

While it’s very feature rich, Mighty Networks isn't as intuitive as other platforms, like Circle. Some users have found it hard to navigate. Sometimes you have to click through one or two levels before you find the conversation. Also, the platform isn’t “white label” unless you pay for the Pro membership, which isn’t priced on its website. 

Bottom Line: This platform could be perfect for you if you need an all-in-one platform to build your business infrastructure, but it seems less intuitive and harder to navigate than Circle.

Circle.so Review: A Tool That Turns a Passive Audience into Passionate Superfans  

Circle is a much newer platform than Mighty Networks, but it's powerfully intuitive, and that's why here at SPI we chose it for our membership platform. We host both SPI Pro, and our SPI All Access Pass on Circle.

How Did Circle Start?

Circle was started by three colleagues who left Teachable around the same time. Sid Yadav was Teachable’s first designer and worked there for five years. He teamed up with Andrew Guttormsen, the former VP of growth at Teachable, and Rudy Santino, the former head of design.

According to the Circle.so website, Circle promotes itself as the “modern community platform for creators” that “brings together your discussions, memberships, and content” and enables you to “integrate a thriving community wherever your audience is, all under your own brand.”

The biggest difference between Circle and Mighty Networks is that Circle isn’t trying to do everything. Its main focus is on membership communities, and then providing seamless integration with other platforms you may be using.

As Circle cofounder Sid Yadav says, “We’re not trying to do all of it. Our approach is a little more modular: we’re trying to nail the community piece, and specifically the engagement piece. Our approach is to integrate with everyone else, so we have a partnership with Teachable, with Memberstack, with Memberspace, Memberfull.” 

Circle also doesn’t currently have its own payment option, but it does integrate well with payment platforms like Stripe.
The other big difference between Circle and Mighty Networks is that Circle offers a white-label community experience, where you can choose your own brand colors, add a custom domain, etc.

As we wrote in this blog post about the launch of SPI Pro, we've been all-in on Circle since it launched last winter. 

Matt, our co-CEO, had a vision for SPI Pro, and then went looking for a platform that could do everything we wanted. Circle seemed like the perfect fit. Matt and Pat have since become advisors for the company.

What Features Does Circle Have?

Circle includes a 14-day free trial here, but here is a list of the features included on the platform.

• Online courses
• Live video streaming
• Custom domain
• Private spaces (similar to Slack channels)
• Bulk import/export
• Zapier Integration
• Embed Widgets
• In-app notifications
• Member profiles and directory
• Basic moderation
• Direct messaging 
• Group messaging
• Weekly digest email
• iOS app
• Updated price structure

Complete white labeling (for the Professional and Enterprise plans)

To see a full list of Circle's features, go here.

How Much Does Circle Cost?

Circle offers three main plans.

Circle.so Basic Plan ($39/month paid annually):

• Engaging discussions
• Rich member profiles
• Unlimited events
• Group chats
• Private messaging
• Moderation
• iOS & Android
• Easily accept payments
• Custom domain

Circle.so Professional Plan ($89/month paid annually):

Everything in Basic, plus:

• Courses
• Live stream video experiences
• Fully White Labeled
• Advanced analytics
• Custom CSS

Circle.so Enterprise Plan ($360/month paid annually):

Everything in Professional, plus:

• Dedicated CSM (Annual Plan Only)
• API Access
• Customizable profile fields
• Priority Email Support
• Custom Single Sign-on
• Concierge onboarding (Annual Plan Only)

Why You Might Want to Consider Circle.so

There are three key reasons to consider Circle for your membership community.

Seamless integration with your existing tech stack

If you already have a website or online courses, and if you’re already using multiple tech platforms, Circle integrates very nicely with your existing tech stack. 

It’s very customizable, so you can build your community space from the ground up

When you create spaces, you can customize who has access to each of those, change whether they’re displayed in “post,” “list,” or “card” view, control whether members can create new topics, change the way the topics are ordered, and pin topics to the top or sidebar. 

You can also have a blend of a free community on Circle that has private spaces that someone would need to pay to have access to, or a completely free platform on Circle. Every part of the platform is modular so that you can do with it whatever you want.

Circle also lets you choose your colors, add your logo, and use your own custom subdomain so that the experience on the platform feels native to your brand and your products.

It’s intuitive, and combines the best of platforms like Slack and Facebook

Circle feels a bit like Slack with “spaces” you can customize similar to Slack Channels. As an admin, you can choose who is in what space, and it’s easy to make spaces public or private. 

It’s not just one long newsfeed, so conversations are easier to join and respond to, without having to be on the platform constantly or having to click through several layers to find the conversation.

Circle has a clean, simple interface that will be very familiar for people who have been a part of a Facebook or Slack group. It’s also more user-friendly than Mighty Networks.

Why Circle.so Might Not Be Right for You

While Circle is a great option, there are a couple of reasons why it may not be the best fit for you.

It doesn’t have as many features as Mighty Networks

One important thing to consider is that Circle does not include a tool to collect payments for your membership community, so you will need to integrate another platform like Stripe in order to process user payments on your own. 

It also doesn’t have group messaging (although the Circle team working on including that in the future), or a mobile app (also coming soon). 

Circle is new on the scene, and it will take time to develop these features. And some features may ultimately not be a part of Circle’s vision. Instead of adding features like a payment tool, the platform may focus more on community and integration instead.

You’ll need other platforms to build out your business infrastructure

If you’re a new entrepreneur and don’t already have a website, courses, or a payment platform, you’ll need to set those up separately from Circle. Depending on where you want to go with your business, that may not be a bad thing. But just keep in mind that Circle is laser focused on building a membership community platform that will be more user friendly, and keep your fans engaged. 

Bottom Line: Circle might be perfect for you if you need a community platform that is flexible and customizable, and you don’t need an all-in-one tool. It’s still new and developing its tools, but the team at Circle is incorporating feedback from its users.

Why We Chose Circle.so for SPI Pro

So far, Circle has been an amazing home for SPI Pro. We didn’t need an all-in-one tool like Mighty Networks, and we liked the fact that we could build our community space exactly how we wanted it, and didn’t have to try to shoe-horn it into an existing template. 

We have found that our community members are highly engaged—a recent monthly challenge event generated over 500 comments! That said, we are noticing that some of the spaces aren't being used very much, and so it’s easy to delete them when necessary, or add new spaces based on the needs and interests of our community. 

Seeing the spaces (similar to Slack channels) on the left side of the page keeps topics and conversations easy to access which leads to more engagement. 

The Circle team has been amazing in responding to our feedback and requests, and we’re excited to see how this new tool can evolve within the next year.

If you’re starting your own membership community, be sure to do your research and find the best fit for your business. If you think Circle might be the right solution for your business, you can get a free 14-day trial to put it through its paces [affiliate link].

The post Review: Mighty Networks vs. Circle (in 2023) appeared first on Smart Passive Income.

SPI Pro is a paid membership community for entrepreneurs looking for a safe place to grow their businesses through the support of a network of like-minded people. We launched SPI Pro in July 2020 and have since had thousands of people apply to join, so we naturally get a lot of questions. Keep reading to learn more about SPI Pro and whether it might be a fit for you!

Here are the top five questions we get about SPI Pro:

1. Why do I need to apply?
2. Am I a good fit for SPI Pro?
3. Can I join SPI Pro anytime?
4. Is Pat active in Pro?
5. What is the most valuable part of SPI Pro?

Why do I need to apply?

A lot of people ask us why we have an application process, and why they can’t just sign up and join the community, like they might join a Facebook group. Here’s why.

SPI Pro is for individuals who have an established business and are interested in establishing relationships with other business owners on similar paths. This results in a safe and dynamic environment where everyone feels free to have real conversations. There is no selling or soliciting to each other, and there are no spam posts.

Our application process helps us identify potential members who are ready for the level of participation offered in Pro. You don’t need to have a million followers or a six-figure business to be invited to Pro, but you should have a side hustle or full-time business that offers services or goods to an existing audience. 

Because this is a paid membership, we want to make sure the financial investment to join is in your best interest. If we don’t think you are a good fit, we don’t want to take your money. We’d rather you invest it where you will get the best return.

Am I a good fit for SPI Pro?

As mentioned above, you need to have an established business before applying to join SPI Pro. 

Beyond that, you are a good fit for Pro if you are excited to put yourself out there and to show up. We have live events, mastermind groups, challenges, forum-based conversations, and so much more, but you have to dedicate time to interacting with our team and our members to truly feel a part of it.

Do you enjoy helping other people who have questions about podcast equipment or email marketing segments (or any other topic related to running a business that you have figured out)? Are you eager to collaborate with other entrepreneurs and help each other out? Do you want to talk shop and feel less alone in the digital entrepreneur space? This is what the SPI Pro community is all about!

If you are hoping that joining will result in being handed a guidebook on success, you will be disappointed. Just like your business, you get what you put into your membership.

Another important distinction to note is where you are with your business. If you are eager to join and interact, but your business is not fully launched or you want SPI Pro members to teach you how to launch, then consider investing in a course or boot camp instead. Our paid courses and boot camps all give you access to our course community, SPI Academy, which is a better fit for someone just getting started. This is absolutely a better ROI for people with a very early-stage business or concept.

And when you are ready for it, SPI Pro will be there!

Can I join SPI Pro anytime?

We have four enrollment periods a year, which allows us to create dedicated programming and onboarding for each of our four cohorts. We’ve found this really helps new members to feel a part of the larger community more quickly. However, we know that some people are eager to join before the next enrollment begins and are okay with having less guided support when they join, so we offer a “skip the line” opportunity for accepted applicants who are ready to fully commit with an annual membership.

Is Pat active in Pro?

I'll be blunt: If your motivation to join SPI Pro is because you want more access to Pat, you are missing the point of the community. SPI Pro is about fostering relationships with other entrepreneurs on a similar journey.

That said, the SPI Pro community is wholly aligned with the practices Pat is known for, like being of service and providing great value.

So who's in charge? SPI Pro is run by our Community Experience (CX) team, and that's who you will see most frequently hosting events and sparking discussions. Pat is not in the community on a regular basis, but he does host a monthly Ask Me Anything and our Challenge of the Month and he will occasionally pop in to contribute his thoughts in an active discussion.

What is the most valuable part of SPI Pro?

The members! SPI Pro is a collective of experts on a variety of topics. You can skip the days of googling to figure out why your automations aren’t working, because someone in Pro likely knows the solution. You can ask for feedback on your sales copy from people who understand digital sales rather than rely on well-meaning friends and family who don’t understand SEO. And you can join a mastermind group to take your growth further with regular meetings and accountability check-ins. 

Entrepreneurship can be lonely, but with the right community it doesn’t have to be. If you are considering launching your own community, or just want to know more about why and how we launched Pro, you can check out our free Making of a Membership Community workshop. All our paid courses and boot camps offer lifetime access to our SPI Academy community.

And if you want to learn more about SPI Pro, then go here. We can't wait to meet you!

The post The Top 5 Questions We Get about SPI Pro appeared first on Smart Passive Income.

Nurturing an online community takes patience and dedication. But if you spend too much time focused on launching new programs for your members rather than engaging with your members, you may find your community is less than thriving.

Relationship development is one of the best ways to spend your time in your community. The thing is, individual members engage in online communities in a variety of ways, and may therefore prefer a certain type of relationship. It helps to know each of the member types you'll find in your online community, so you can best serve all of your members and ensure a thriving community.

In this post, I’ll talk about how to identify and work with these five online community member types:

1. The Lurker
2. The Social Butterfly
3. The Critic
4. The Troublemaker
5. The Tech Challenged

Note: These types are not mutually exclusive, and each member is likely to fall into several categories. The point is not to wedge each of your members into one group, but to get an idea of common behaviors and how best to interact with those behaviors. Really interesting communities have a variety of personalities and viewpoints. It's your job to celebrate these differences and provide several ways for your members to engage with each other.

#1: The Lurker

You may mistake a lurker for an inactive member, because on the surface they don’t seem to be participating. Some people prefer to observe the public interactions and participate through one-on-one interactions like direct messages, or in smaller private groups. This is different from inactive members who do not visit your community regularly. 

There is often only one way to differentiate between a lurker and an inactive member, and that’s to reach out directly. Lurkers will likely respond if you ask them questions, so check in and see if they need anything. Inactive members are unlikely to respond, but your message may inspire them to come back or communicate why they aren’t around.

TL;DR: Some people are perfectly happy observing conversations, but the only way to know for sure is to ask them. Check in with your lurkers on occasion, and make sure they know how to reach out to you should they ever need to.

#2: The Social Butterfly

Social butterflies need no introduction—they love being a part of things. They respond to the majority of posts, they are comfortable reaching out to everyone, and they are seemingly always around. These are great members to have, as they can help keep your online community lively. It can be tempting to rely on them to keep your community going, but don’t lean on them too much. If they start to feel like an unpaid intern or like they’re being pressured to post a lot, you run the risk of losing them as an active member altogether. 

TL;DR: Prioritize a relationship with your most active members. Appreciate the time they dedicate to your community, ask them for feedback on your ideas, and engage in the content they create to show them that you see them.

#3: The Critic

Every typo, every change will be dissected and evaluated by the critic. They will notice even the slightest inconsistencies in the information you communicate. It is easy to generalize the critic into a know-it-all or annoyance, but most online community members who do this are friends, not foes. Taking the time to communicate errors and missteps means they are invested in your community. 

Other community members will either love or hate a critic’s behavior, and will watch how you interact with their public feedback. A good rule of thumb is to show gratitude when the critic points out a mistake: “Oh, nice catch. Fixed! Thank you!” and move on. Feedback from a critic about policies or administrative decisions should be heard, acknowledged, and even considered. But it should not necessarily dictate what you do.

Dealing with the Critic: A Common Scenario

Here is a common example I’ve experienced in several online communities: merging topics. On many occasions, community members or an administrative team may want to create a new topic space. Before you know, it there are several topic spaces with much less engagement than anticipated.

As a result, the admin team opts to consolidate spaces. This is likely met with a range of reactions, and it is likely that regardless of the critic’s personal opinion they will point out the original decision to create the spaces and challenge the admin team's decision-making abilities. Probably publicly.

These situations can feel … frustrating. Annoying, even. After all, you’ve likely already invested some time in problem solving to get to the decision. But the critic is only saying what others are likely feeling, and their feedback warrants a conversation beyond an announcement post. Why? Because your community members should be a part of the steering committee. They are the ones invested enough to care what happens. Have an open conversation about the proposed change, with the caveat that you can stick to your decisions if that still makes the most sense.

TL;DR: Give the critic the space to be heard, and be transparent about your decision making, but don’t let their opinions dictate every choice you make. 

#4: The Troublemaker

Loki has entered the chat

Every community will experience disagreements now and then, but true troublemakers take chaos to an entirely different level. These members repeatedly test boundaries to see what they can get away with. Whether they have ulterior motives (like soliciting and spamming), are true trolls, or just lack basic online etiquette and awareness, you initially deal with them all in a similar manner. 

You should have community guidelines and a moderation policy in place to help you redirect their behavior. Be clear and consistent with your moderation, and give them the opportunity to participate within your community's parameters. If they continue to stir the pot or dance the line, then continue with your moderation policy until they’ve earned removal entirely. 

TL;DR: Make your guidelines and moderation policy clear, and be consistent with their enforcement. This will let your troublemakers know that you will not tolerate those behaviors, and make the rest of the community feel safe.

#5: The Tech Challenged

Most of us interested in digital communities are pretty tech savvy. We know how to get around and problem solve, especially on a community platform we use every day in our business. But this is not the case for all our members. Some do not find learning a new platform as intuitive as the rest of us do.

As a result, the tech-challenged member may look like a lurker, when in reality they are just unsure how to use the platform. Without intervention, they may give up entirely and miss out on the community you’ve built. When reaching out to potential lurkers, you may find they just don't know where to start or how to engage. 

TL;DR: Pay attention to the questions and issues your members have, and let them guide the creation of tutorials and help documents. Revisit your existing support documentation regularly to ensure relevance. And check in with tech-challenged members after big changes to ensure they feel comfortable with how to proceed.

Effective Community Management Requires Versatility

Running a community takes constant work, and it helps to have an idea of what type of members you have so you can best serve them. Most of your members will behave like more than one of these mentioned types, so don’t be too quick to categorize them. Instead, continually ask for feedback and give your community a few ways to communicate with you. A lurker may not respond to a public post asking for feedback, but if that post mentions the option to email you privately they may take you up on that. Be kind with your responses, both public and private, to ensure they feel comfortable reaching out to you in the future.  

One of the best ways to serve your greater community is to model kind interactions, even during tense situations. This will undoubtedly help to protect the sense of safety and community you’ve spent so much time creating for all your member types.

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