Build a Community & Grow Your Standout Business
Build a Community & Grow Your Standout Business
Class Description
When you have a small business, you’re always on the lookout for your next customer. They might pop up at a networking event, they could subscribe to your email list, they might fill out the contact form on your website.
Too often, knowing where your next customer is going to come from seems unpredictable at best and, at worst, like a huge gamble.
Luckily, there’s a way to ensure you always know where your next customer is coming from—and that your existing customers purchase from you more often—and that’s by building a community.
All sorts of businesses can benefit from making community-building part of their growth strategy and many can benefit from making it part of their business model, too. Whether it’s an informal community (like an email list or Instagram hashtag), a brand-driven community (like a free Facebook group that brings together people in love with the same brand and values), or a dedicated community (like a local group, interest-based social network, or a support group, your business can cultivate deeper connections with existing and potential customers.
Of course, an engaged community doesn’t just happen. If you want to reap the benefits of community-building for your business, you need a plan.
In Build a Community & Grow Your Standout Business, Tara Gentile, the founder of the small business support & social network CoCommercial, will share the must-dos, nice-to-haves, and compelling extras you need to make the most of the community you build around your business. By the end of this class, you’ll have a plan for making community-building an integral part of your marketing strategy—and always knowing where your next customer will come from.
Tara will cover:
- Simple ways to generate community without a group or forum
- Why and how to level up into a dedicated space for your business’s community
- How to create a clear reason Why for joining or participating in your community
- The systems and procedures you’ll need to manage the workload
- How to avoid community management burnout
- How to plan to earn more through your community—whether that’s through charging for membership, selling add-on offers, or generating more word of mouth marketing
Stop waiting for your next customer to come to you and start building a community that brings new business your way every day.
Lessons
1Class Introduction 2Why the Market is Primed for Your Community 3How Community Can Transform Your Business 4Why This Isn’t About You 5What Community Means for Your Business 6Take Advantage of Network Effects with Mighty Networks Founder Gina Bianchini 7Interview and Q&A with Gina Bianchini 8Craft Your Community Vision 9Craft Your Community Vision Define the Boundaries of Your Community 10Invite Your Charter Members Inside 11Create Your Community Story 12Hot Seat with Mollie Fagan 13Discover Why People Use Your Community 14Discover Why People Join Your Community 15Craft the Right Message (Hot Seat with Nadia Santiago) 16Make Your Members Feel at Home 17Design Your Community Onboarding Systems 18Hot Seat with Ayelet Marinovich 19Craft Your Member Support Philosophy 20Craft Your Member Support Plan 21Choose Your Platform 22Create Your Member and Contribution Plan 23Develop Your Community Policies 24Deal with the Bad Eggs & Misfits 25Communicate Who Belongs in Your Community 26Create a Context for Joining the Community 27Retain the Members You Have 28Hot Seat with Alice Karolina 29How Community Can Transform Your Brand 30Support Your Customer's Journey Through Community 31Decide Whether Your Community is Free or Paid 32Leverage Your Community for Other OffersReviews
Ayelet Marinovich
This class was exactly what I needed. It clarified, confirmed, and connected SO MANY more of the remaining dots for me. Tara, as always, is brilliant, energetic and a general joy to watch as she shares her immense knowledge and helps others get to "the nitty gritty" - thank you Tara, and thank you Creative Live!!
a Creativelive Student
Like I said on air... "Wow!" I've been building an online community for about 4 years now, based on what I thought I wanted to my business to be. Now I realize the value of creating a community around my VISION, then building the business based around the community needs and values. What I thought: 1) What people needed from me was my expertise. 2) Members will naturally bond with and engage with one another based on their shared interests and needs. What I learned from Tara: 1) Members rely on me to FACILITATE conversation and sharing. 2) It's my role to be the a connector and mediator. Tara has an amazing presence on stage and is super skilled at drawing out your vision as a business owner/entrepreneur. She makes community building easy to understand. I'll definitely be watching more of her courses. This one alone has changed the way I think about my business and my plan for building in monetization and community building.
user-381fc4
I went from a vague idea of wanting to build a community to having a clear path to take to start building it. I appreciated the focus on the member vs the business model. Tara presented a clear path for creating the plan first, from vision and purpose to creating the experience for community members, to helping members take the journey to how to monetize in many different ways. My brain is full and I'm excited to take action and launch a community that consolidates my current varied business offers. The presentation was thoughtful and well presented. Excellent and highly recommended.