I miss working on a team.

As a solopreneur extrovert, lately, I’ve been missing working on a bigger team. Whether leading or participating, there’s something different about team dynamics that solo projects just don’t replicate.

There’s a lot that brings a team together. The playful arguments, the conflict, and the hot takes—the realities that come with working with other messy, flawed humans. Maybe I’m odd, but I love that mess. It reveals an opportunity for growth.

But what I miss most is the collective vision that emerges from a healthy team. A group-defined sense of direction—where everyone’s individual contributions are aligned toward a larger, shared goal.

As a solo founder, the vision falls entirely on me. Sure, I’m okay at casting vision, but I’m actually better at leveling up other people’s visions than creating my own from scratch.

In community-building, I excel at helping other founders clarify their ideas of what could be. Making those ideas more realistic, achievable, and within reach.

That’s why I believe the Member Journey matters so much. It’s a critical tool that aligns your community around a shared vision and ensures that each member knows not only where they’re headed but why they’re sticking around.

What Is a Member Journey?

At its core, the Member Journey is a roadmap—a carefully designed sequence of idealized steps that guide each member’s experience within your community. It tracks how a member evolves from a newcomer to a highly engaged contributor, and eventually, possibly even a community leader.

Without a clear Member Journey, you run the risk of your community feeling scattered and unfocused. Your members may drift, not knowing what they should be doing or why they’re part of your group. A structured journey helps to keep members engaged, showing them how they can grow and contribute over time.

A well-thought-out Member Journey helps answer key questions that any member will inevitably ask themselves:

Why am I here?
Is this community working for me?
What am I supposed to do next?

If you can address these, you will foster a sense of direction, purpose, and consistency. It will be easier to keep members coming back, knowing exactly what value your community provides.

Why the Member Journey Should Be Written in Pencil

Let’s get one thing out of the way: the Member Journey is not set in stone. It’s an evolving blueprint. That’s why I like to say it should be “written in pencil”—you should create a clear plan, but leave room to adjust based on what works (or doesn’t work) as the community evolves.

Here’s why:

Communities are Dynamic: Members change, needs shift, and unforeseen circumstances can quickly alter the course of your community. You need flexibility to adjust the journey in real-time.
Features may Succeed or Fail: You may launch a feature or event, only to realize that it doesn’t resonate with your audience. That’s okay! Treat it as a prototype and adjust.
Not Every Member will Stay: Every ask you make of your members (whether attending events or participating in challenges) will naturally result in some saying no. That’s part of the process. Your journey will evolve as you understand who your most engaged members are and what they respond to.

This doesn’t mean the Member Journey is vague or unimportant. On the contrary, it should be thoughtfully crafted with the understanding that it will need iteration. Keep it flexible, but always have a plan. Without one, you risk losing the momentum and engagement you’ve worked so hard to build.

How to Create a Member Journey

Now let’s get down to the practical work. Here’s a detailed, step-by-step exercise for creating your Member Journey from scratch. If you’ve never done this before, don’t worry. The key is to focus on clarity and structure, allowing each step to build upon the last.

Step 1: Clarify Why Members Are Here (aka. “The Community Pitch”)

Before you can even think about the journey, you need to define the purpose of your community. This is what I call your Community Pitch. While I take my clients through a much more involved version of this, at its core, it’s a simple, clear statement that communicates:

Who your community is for (your target members).
What they’ll get out of it (the benefits or transformation).
Why it matters (the purpose or mission of the community).

For example, if your community is for startup founders seeking mentorship, your pitch might be:

“Our community exists to help early-stage founders build their businesses through the help of mentors. Our mission is to provide guidance, support, and a network of expert mentors that accelerates your business’ growth and success.”

Your pitch will serve as a guiding light for every other decision you make about your Member Journey.

Step 2: Map Out the Stages of the Journey

Now that you’ve clarified the why, it’s time to map out the how. What are the different stages a member will pass through, from newcomer to seasoned contributor?

Let’s break this down into a few key stages. You can customize these depending on your community, but most Member Journeys will look something like this:

New Member (Month 0-1)

They’ve just joined. What’s the first thing they should do? Typically, this involves an introduction or onboarding phase where they learn how to navigate the community.

Engaged Member (Month 1-3)

The member has participated in their first event(s) or discussion(s) and starts to feel a sense of belonging. Your job here is to keep them engaged. What’s the next step they need to take to deepen their involvement?

Contributing Member (Month 3-6)

They’re now contributing regularly, maybe even hosting an event or sharing insights with others. At this point, you want to provide more responsibility or opportunities for growth.

Leader (Month 6+)

Some members may “graduate” to leadership roles—mentoring newcomers, hosting discussions, or even helping moderate the community. How will you cultivate these leaders and recognize their contributions?

Step 3: Build a Clear Onboarding Process

Onboarding is where the Member Journey begins. This is where new members are introduced to the community and get their first taste of what it has to offer. While every community is different, I’ve attached a semi-detailed onboarding process of a community I manage to give you an example of how this could work:

What matters more than anything else is that by the end of onboarding, members know how to navigate your community, make the most of what it has to offer, and can begin doing the things that make your community unique.

How to Use Your Member Journey in an Ongoing Way

Once your Member Journey is established, you’ll need to monitor, adjust, and improve it over time. Here’s how to use the journey as an ongoing guide to foster engagement:

Track Member Progress
Use analytics (participation in events, forum activity, etc.) to see where members are in their journey. Are they moving through the stages as expected, or do some stages need adjustment? This will help you to see where people are getting stuck.
Celebrate Milestones
Recognize members when they complete key stages (e.g., finishing their first month, contributing a forum post, or attending five events). Simple recognition can go a long way in reinforcing their sense of belonging.
Incorporate Feedback Loops
Regularly ask members for feedback, especially at transition points (e.g., after completing a reflection exercise or leading an event). What worked for them? What didn’t? Use this feedback to adjust the journey as needed.
Engage Your Leaders
Members who have graduated to leadership roles (e.g., mentoring newcomers or hosting events) are a goldmine for insights. Work closely with these leaders to fine-tune the Member Journey for future cohorts.

Example of a Completed Member Journey

Let’s bring this all together with a visual example of what a completed Member Journey might look like:

0-1 Month (New Member)

Check out the About Page
Self-discern if it's a good fit
Become a member
Engage with the forum

1-2 Months (Engaged Member)

Go to New Member Event
Take a self-assessment
Start 10-day reflection exercise

2-4 Months (Contributing Member)

Begin a 90 day leadership challenge
Contribute posts to the forum weekly
Engage often in group coaching calls

4-6 Months (Leader)

Post often in the forum about challenges
Provide feedback
Invite in new members

6+ Months (Community Mentor)

Lead a book club or cohort
Mentor newcomers
Receive 1:1 coaching

The goal is to show how members are gradually introduced to the community, given opportunities to engage, and eventually offered leadership roles. Each stage builds on the last, ensuring continuous growth and involvement.
*(NB: The* ***red %’s*** aim to show how many members will take the next step within the community. This community assumes that half of the members won’t make it past step 6. Try and build your member journey so that it is both realistic and achievable.)

The Member Journey isn’t just a set of milestones—it’s the framework that aligns a community’s vision with its members’ needs. As you craft a thoughtful and flexible roadmap, you guide members from casual participants to become engaged contributors and eventually leaders.

This journey isn’t just about keeping members engaged. It’s about helping them grow, transform, and find value within your community. Whether they’re with you for months or years, your job is to make their time in your community purposeful, rewarding, and, most of all, impactful.

The Member Journey