community-buildinglisted

# Community Building ## Community Flywheel ``` New members join ↓ Onboarded → get value quickly ↓ Engage: ask questions, share wins ↓ Contribute: answer others, create content ↓ Advocate: invite peers, spread the word ↓ More new members join (loop) ``` Break the loop at any stage and retention collapses. Optimize the slowest stage first. --- ## Platform Selection Matrix | Platform | Best for | Size sweet spot | Cost | Discovery | |----------|----------|----------------|------|-----------| | Discord | Dev/gaming/creator communities | 500–50k | Free | Low (invite only) | | Slack | B2B SaaS, enterprise | 100–5k | Free/paid | Low | | Circle | Courses, memberships, cohorts | 100–10k | $89+/mo | Low | | Reddit | Open-ended, SEO-rich | 1k+ | Free | High | | Discourse | Technical, long-form Q&A | 500+ | Self-host free | Medium | | Facebook Groups | Consumer, 35+ audience | Any | Free | Medium | | LinkedIn Groups | B2B professional | 500+ | Free | Medium | **Decision heuristic:** - Dev tool → Discord or Discourse - B2B SaaS → Slack or Circle - Consumer app → Discord or Facebook - Need SEO → Reddit or Discourse --- ## Member Journey Stages ### Stage 1: Awareness - Discover community via product, referral, or search - Actions: click join link, view landing page **Activation**: Clear value proposition on join page. Answer "why join?" ### Stage 2: Onboarding (Days 1–3) - Welcome DM or email within 1 hour of joining - Prompt: introduce yourself in