Who Should Join

I’d love to learn more about what you offer. Your community has exploded over the last few years, particularly focusing on sales and marketing professionals. Can you expand on who should join your community and what they can expect to gain from it? Besides sharing ideas and solving common problems, what else can they expect?

Absolutely, that’s a good question. Initially, the idea was to help with any startup-related problems, given my background in B2B SaaS projects. As the team grew and other community managers like Andre came on board, we started catering to a diversified branch of B2B professionals. Today, we mainly support CEOs, founders, and B2B professionals.

We have dedicated channels within the community where topic experts and subject matter experts offer help. For example, if someone needs advice on closing large B2B deals or managing a long sales cycle, they can find experienced leaders to guide them. To join, people can visit our website, fill out a form, and I generally reach out for one-on-one calls to onboard them into the community.

Engagement and Inclusivity

It’s important to emphasize that having a large community is one thing, but ensuring that new members feel engaged is crucial. Many focus on metrics like growing to 10,000 or 50,000 members, but a community is essentially about people. We strive to make members feel included and offer support tailored to their needs. Whether it’s hiring, handling unexpected challenges, or simply having a support system where founders can share their experiences and challenges, we aim to build an inclusive environment.

We used to have events, like nights within the community, to facilitate idea sharing and mutual support among founders. The goal is to create a space where everyone can benefit from each other’s experiences and support. Community Support and Sharing Failures

Try to support each other by sharing experiences. For instance, if a campaign didn’t go well, sharing that with the community can be incredibly beneficial. Founders often find these shared experiences valuable, even when they involve failures. Real people often find it easier to discuss their failures rather than their successes because failures can provide deeper insights.

Building a community where you can share those inner details without fear is crucial. When people feel comfortable and safe, they can grow together by learning from each other’s failures. These open conversations are much more powerful and productive.

Learning from Failures

It’s something you generally learn over time—people tend to share their successes more than their failures. A few years ago, I came across an idea on Indie Hackers, a community for solopreneurs and bootstrapping founders. An individual from Peru was interviewing founders who had failed in their startups. The website was an incredible resource. Many founders I know have read the blogs from this source, learning so much from the failures of others.

Success stories often become gospel, but learning from failures can be just as valuable. For instance, I struggled with hiring when I started my agency in 2020. Employees left mid-contract, adding stress as I had to manage execution, sales, marketing, and now hiring. Sharing this struggle led to insights from other founders, helping me and contributing to the idea of having inclusive nights within the community where founders support each other.

Business Collaboration and Community Growth

Once a trusted space is built, business collaboration naturally follows. Effective business collaboration often leads to sustainable growth. Members of the community join with a common mission, and business collaborations can flourish as a result. Meeting the founder and engaging directly helps in curating the community effectively, ensuring that everyone is actively involved.

The Importance of Building a Community

Building a community is crucial for brands. Especially post-COVID, remote work has highlighted the need for social interaction beyond just workspaces like Slack. People miss the office environment and the social connections that come with it. Communities provide a space where individuals can network, express thoughts freely, and connect with others.

Communities act as echo chambers. For example, my first interaction with a community was through Facebook groups, such as the Lemlist group. I joined to seek expert opinions on SAS-related questions. The discussions in that group were insightful, and recommendations came from real people, not search engines. Word-of-mouth marketing is powerful; recommendations from friends or peers often carry more weight.

Pros and Cons of Communities

Communities offer a mix of pros and cons. There will always be varying opinions—some positive, some negative. However, this transparency helps potential users see the real pros and cons of a product, enabling better decision-making. A strong community can lead to organic growth and valuable feedback cycles, which are essential for refining and improving products.

As the digital economy grows, having a community becomes a natural and intuitive decision for companies. Whether through Slack, WhatsApp, or Telegram, building a community is crucial because people are the heart of business. Where people gather, business opportunities arise.

Building Trust and Inclusivity

Trust is fundamental in any community. Members need to trust each other and feel a sense of cohesiveness and inclusivity. They should feel welcome to share their opinions, ask questions, and rely on answers. A community built around a common interest—whether it’s a product or a shared problem—tends to be more effective. Marketers and product owners should focus on the deeper reasons why people engage with a product and build communities around those core interests.

Mission and Core Values

A clear mission is vital for a community’s success. Many communities fail within two years because they lack a strong mission. For example, a community I joined closed down despite being part of a billion-dollar company. The mission should be clear and focused. Define your mission clearly, and ensure your community reflects those values.

To build trust, consider verifying social profiles of members, like LinkedIn or Twitter, which adds to the trustworthiness of the community. As a community leader, it’s essential to facilitate introductions and ensure members feel welcome. Although managing a community at scale is challenging, a strong mission and clear value propositions will bring people together and foster a supportive environment. Growth Through Rituals and Onboarding

You can grow from there because value propositions ensure that rituals are formed. When rituals are established, people will naturally start coming back repeatedly, leading to growth. From my experience with your community, you’ve done an excellent job with onboarding. Even as you scale, the mission and core purpose remain crucial, as you mentioned.

What you do exceptionally well, and what companies often lose sight of at scale, is onboarding. You ensure that new members are introduced properly, encouraging them to share who they are and what they can offer. This fosters dialogue and helps members feel included. Other communities could benefit from emulating this approach.

Focus on Engagement Over Numbers

Thank you for your kind words. It’s important to focus on engagement rather than just numbers. For example, having 50,000 members means little if only 100 are active. I’m part of a paid community for digital marketers with just over 100 members. The focus there is on active participation rather than growth beyond that number.

The key takeaway is not to chase numbers. While a large membership count might look impressive, retention and active engagement are more important. In the SaaS world, for instance, retention is crucial. You need to create an environment where people feel included, and their questions are answered.

Leading by Example

Initially, it was a challenge when people wouldn’t help each other out in the community. As a leader, it was my responsibility to step in and provide assistance. By leading the way, others naturally followed suit. Genuine interests and strong leadership are essential. A mission that comes from within helps guide this process.

In real life, some people are natural community builders, ensuring a supportive group around them. It all comes down to having a strong system and a common mission that binds everything together. Scaling is important, but making sure the majority of members feel welcomed is crucial.

Balancing Hands-On and Scalable Approaches

It might not be feasible to conduct one-on-one calls if you’re scaling to a large number. However, the initial phase of community building sets the tone. A good approach is to be hands-on in the beginning, getting to know the community members personally. As you scale, you can become less hands-on, but the mission will help maintain cohesion. When members see others behaving in a certain way, they will likely follow suit.

Foundation of the Community

I agree completely. Focus on creating a solid foundation with initial members who act as pillars of the community. Even if you’re not present, these members will help maintain the community. Their energy and involvement will rub off on new members, fostering a sense of inclusiveness.

Moderation and Regulation

A question from the community addresses moderation: What about regulating or moderating the community? As members from around the globe interact, maintaining vigilance is essential. Scaling brings challenges, such as managing spam and inappropriate content. Marketers, in particular, may have a tendency to spam, which can be problematic.

Effective community moderation involves understanding the community’s behavior and language. Spam and unsolicited messages must be managed carefully. Community managers play a fundamental role in sustaining a healthy environment. Reporting issues and taking action against spam are crucial.

Handling Spam and Unsolicited Messages

Spam and unsolicited direct messages are challenges in community management. Encouraging members to report spam helps maintain a clean environment. Initially, our community faced significant issues with spam, but identifying and removing problematic users helped improve the situation.

It’s also important to redirect members from spamming. Instead, encourage them to ask questions or start conversations. This approach fosters discussion, engagement, and value creation within the community.

Creating Value Through Discussion

Ultimately, discussing problems rather than just promoting products is more effective. Engaging in discussions about problems can lead to solutions naturally incorporating your business. Reddit, for instance, can be a valuable channel if approached correctly.

Many B2B businesses overlook Reddit as a platform. Discussing problems openly allows your solution to be recommended by others if it fits the need. Understanding customer perspectives can also be beneficial. Asking for help can lead to surprising support and valuable interactions. Seeking Help from the Community

Back in 2016, when I was just starting out on the internet, I encountered a major issue with my project. The email system I had built began sending emails repeatedly. By that point, I had sent the same email copy five times to all users, and I was in a panic, especially since it was late at night and I was the only developer awake. I reached out to the Indie Hackers community, asking for help because I feared that all the hard work of six months might be lost by morning.

A developer from Belgium reached out to me, and we had a call where we discussed the issue for 90 minutes. He showed me how to solve the problem. This experience demonstrated the power of community: when you ask for help, you might be surprised by who out there is ready to assist you. Asking for help is a natural way to progress.

Choosing the Right Platform

Regarding platforms, we’ve discussed Reddit, but are there other embeddable options? Many people are moving to Slack for community building. I know you have a great Slack group, which I recommend. Are there any other platforms you’d suggest, or could you explain why you chose Slack?

It all boils down to what sort of community you want to build and your vision for it. For example, I’m part of a small community of around 30 CMOs who prefer to keep it small and active. Conversely, some communities have thousands of members, each with its own pros and cons.

If you want a personal community where you discuss personal matters, WhatsApp is handy. However, some users prefer more privacy and may not want corporate messages there. For a professional community, Slack is excellent due to its widespread use among businesses and its robust features. The downside is that notifications can become overwhelming, and some users may ignore them, impacting retention.

Discord is another option but is more suited to programmers and gamers. It has many automation options and is a solid platform for those niches. Telegram is also popular and has a user-friendly interface. Peter Levels, a well-known figure in the startup community, moved from Slack to Telegram. Telegram supports automation and is a good option, though it is banned in some countries.

Embeddable Options and Accessibility

There are embeddable options like Circle, which has been gaining popularity. It allows you to integrate a social product into your website. The key is to make it easy for people to access the community. For example, if members have to reach out after weeks for a link, it indicates accessibility issues. Platforms like Slack and Telegram are popular because they have dedicated apps, making access easier.

Future Plans for the Community

So, what’s next for Bin? What are you working on, and where can people learn more about you? I know we have a link, but why should people join your community?

As mentioned earlier, many communities close within two years due to the challenges of community building. It’s a slow process, and retaining members without personal calls can be difficult. Our goal for 2024 is to become sustainable, aiming to break even by the end of the year. This will allow us to envision a future where the community stands on its own.

We are grateful for the support we’ve received from Vlad and others. Vlad is an amazing entrepreneur who manages many businesses while staying active in the community. For the remainder of 2024, our focus is on making the community self-sustainable, fostering collaboration between companies and members, and ensuring the community serves its purpose.

Final Thoughts and Recommendations

Your dedication to the community is evident, and I believe your mission is clear. The value you create is apparent. I recommend your community to sales and marketing professionals, especially executives looking for a supportive environment where they feel included and can receive answers and support.

You might even get to meet key team members like Andre, who are part of the onboarding process. We’re proud to partner with Falcons and look forward to continuing our collaboration. For those interested in learning more about BLKNs, visit BLKNs.co to sign up and connect with the team.

Thank you very much, Andy. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with NachoNacho, and I look forward to continued collaboration. Thanks again for the wonderful session.