When is the right time to start building a community?
Hi Indie Hackers
I've just launched my personal branding business and I want to start building a community.
But I'm wondering if I should focus on sales first?
What are your thoughts?
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Short answer: Now!
Long answer: As soon as possible :)
Thanks Daniel!
So, in that case, how should I build the community to start off with? By growing my email list? Or a Facebook group?...
I would say that you should be active in communities where your target audience is. There should be some FB groups about this for sure, Linkedin could be another great way to reach them. There's also subreddits like r/personalbranding.
Twitter is a powerful site to start growing your community. I would say that you should start giving value there with tweets or threads about the content you already have in your course.
Thanks Daniel! Very helpful info. I've always tweeted random thoughts so I'll change that strategy and also join Reddit!
Let me know how I can help you too :)
Like Karen Lamb said:
Thanks Brayden! Karen's totally right.
Building a community for lead generation purposes is a wrong attitude. Building a community around your brand and product(s) and working with your community, letting your community to be a part of your brand and a part of the product building process is what will bring you lead generation and sales. You should not separate those processes. Building your community, lead generation, sales - those are parts of one live organism - your brand.
Yep, agreed Natasha! Thank you for sharing your thoughts :)
Hi, Zviko :)
Agree with everyone here that it's never too soon to start.
IMO, the first step to building a community is giving to that community. Join a manageable number of high quality communities that already exist and are populated by people in the ecosystem you need to be a part of. Start answering questions, making introductions, sharing advice and knowledge. Make things that people can use (checklists, resource lists, etc.) and share generously. Amplify members of your community on your other channels (Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.).
This does three things: (1) accelerates your assimilation into the community, (2) immediately positions you as trustworthy and somewhat of a subject matter expert, (3) builds a ton of good will. Maybe most importantly, it makes your community real and not just a marketing activity.
Along with the other great ideas here, I recommend looking for Slack, Discourse, and Discord communities to join. A good Slack community will immediately yield benefits and present you with opportunities to help people.
Of course, Indie Hackers is a community, so you're already started here :D
Thanks Kirsten! Those are some great ideas! Very helpful! Let me know how I can return the favour :)
I really like the business you're building. I think it has huge potential. I'm cheering for you :-D
Thank you! I'm really glad we connected. You've been so helpful :)
Best time was 10 years ago.
Next best time is now.
I'd really recommend putting to side the idea of 'lead generation'. The last thing people want to feel is that they are a part of your community for 'lead generation' purposes.
Focus more on what do you want to be known for. Then make anything you create be focused around that thing.
Thanks for the advice Rosie! Very helpful! You're right about not being to sales with my approach. I'll focus on adding value.
Let me know how I can help you too :)
Start building community now! :) Great that you have launched your personal branding business @Zviko. You are already in a great place here on Indie Hackers. Continue to provide value and share your experience here as you grow.
I have made the mistake before of launching projects and not having any route to market. I didn't have customers or community! By starting to build community as early as possible, you will get your earliest brand advocates and the people that will give you honest feedback on the problem you are trying to solve. You can then continue to iterate and refine your offering as you gather feedback. I hope this helps.
Do you have a link to your business?
Thanks Gordon! Yes, here's the link to my business >> https://ambitioustribe.com
So, in that case, how should I build the community to start off with? By growing my email list? Or a Facebook group?
Awesome @Zviko. I managed to find it on your Twitter account in the mean time haha. @rosiesherry made a good point about not wanting your community to feel like leads.
I think as long as you are creating value around something you are passionate about, and you share that in places like Indie Hackers, people will naturally resonate with your content and your message. I am sure you know all about this based on some of your personal branding experience.
On a more practical level, I think email is a sure fire way for you to keep in touch with your community on a regular basis. You could leverage Substack.com to get started very quickly.
Utilizing larger social media sites and facebook pages are great to build rapport with other like minded individuals too. If you want to create your own community you could use a tool like tribe.so or circle.so or even just create a slack group to start off with. I think you will find you will probably hit a natural inflection point, after posting on the likes of IH, Facebook, Twitter etc... , where it will make sense for you to create your own community.
Just my two cents! I hope this helps. Let me know if you want to have a chat to discuss anything!
Thanks for your insights Gordon! You've been very helpful. Let me know how I can return the favour. :)
No worries at all @Zviko. I just dropped you an email too :)
Hello @Zviko ,
Build your community as soon as possible. Soo, your future contenders can be afraid of what you've already built! 🤠
Go Girl! You will rock it 💃
Thanks Karolina! Will do! :)