Begin by testing community engagement before building a proprietary community. Find a relevant existing community, become a member, engage, learn, and contribute value. Prioritize helping, answering questions, sharing resources, offering opportunities, and amplifying others rather than selling. If building a community, avoid launching it with a primary sales intent; initial focus should be on contribution and relationship-building. When engagement produces measurable benefit, consider deeper partnership or creating a community, recognizing that higher involvement requires greater time and monetary investment. Increase effort, time, and financial commitment only when the community clearly increases brand impact and returns relative to those inputs.
I have a post on LinkedIn with a step-by-step process to do that, that we can link to in the notes. Become a member and engage and learn. So this is a super important part when you join a community. You are here to help. So do not sell. If that is one thing you take away from this, it is do not go into a community that is not yours with the intention of selling.
I would actually even say if you build your own community, do not make it with the intention of selling. You are here to help. You are here to get things out of it, of course. But you are mostly here, especially in the beginning, to put things into it. So engage, learn, help, answer questions, provide resources, offer opportunities, amplify others.
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