I think the insights that meetup shares are very valuable. After all, Meetup's business model is to have their users creating successful communities. Some key messages that I haven't actively thought before, and that I think is where most communities fail:
## Think about journeys
When someone joins your community, there will be a progress, from newcomer to experienced. There will be grow, and the community should be able to recognize and nurture it.
## Rewards
This is something linked to the journey. See what StackOverflow does: badges. This is what Google tried to embed in maps (with the level system), and Discourse has built-in. YouTube sends physical rewards once you get N subscribers. Is your community rewarding the members?
## Value
When building a community, you should define its value. Putting people together is not enough. You have to embed ways in which the community creates more value than each member individually would. And increasing value is the only way to improve overall engagement.
I think the insights that meetup shares are very valuable. After all, Meetup's business model is to have their users creating successful communities. Some key messages that I haven't actively thought before, and that I think is where most communities fail:
## Think about journeys
When someone joins your community, there will be a progress, from newcomer to experienced. There will be grow, and the community should be able to recognize and nurture it.
## Rewards
This is something linked to the journey. See what StackOverflow does: badges. This is what Google tried to embed in maps (with the level system), and Discourse has built-in. YouTube sends physical rewards once you get N subscribers. Is your community rewarding the members?
## Value
When building a community, you should define its value. Putting people together is not enough. You have to embed ways in which the community creates more value than each member individually would. And increasing value is the only way to improve overall engagement.