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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

  1. Class Introduction
  2. Why the Market is Primed for Your Community
  3. How Community Can Transform Your Business
  4. Why This Isn’t About You
  5. What Community Means for Your Business
  6. Take Advantage of Network Effects with Mighty Networks Founder Gina Bianchini
  7. Interview and Q&A with Gina Bianchini
  8. Craft Your Community Vision
  9. Craft Your Community Vision Define the Boundaries of Your Community
  10. Invite Your Charter Members Inside
  11. Create Your Community Story
  12. Hot Seat with Mollie Fagan
  13. Discover Why People Use Your Community
  14. Discover Why People Join Your Community
  15. Craft the Right Message (Hot Seat with Nadia Santiago)
  16. Make Your Members Feel at Home
  17. Design Your Community Onboarding Systems
  18. Hot Seat with Ayelet Marinovich
  19. Craft Your Member Support Philosophy
  20. Craft Your Member Support Plan
  21. Choose Your Platform
  22. Create Your Member and Contribution Plan
  23. Develop Your Community Policies
  24. Deal with the Bad Eggs & Misfits
  25. Communicate Who Belongs in Your Community
  26. Create a Context for Joining the Community
  27. Retain the Members You Have
  28. Hot Seat with Alice Karolina
  29. How Community Can Transform Your Brand
  30. Support Your Customer's Journey Through Community
  31. Decide Whether Your Community is Free or Paid
  32. Leverage Your Community for Other Offers

Reviews

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.