Two Ways to Launch
There are two schools of thought that debate over how fast you should launch your community. Either can be the right move, depending on your internal goals, priorities, and desired business outcomes.
Some in the fast camp think you can launch not just a new community, but a new startup over a weekend.
I wanted to learn more and joined Greg Isenberg's Community Empire to see what his playbook entailed.
What I learned is that while that could work for Isenberg, it likely won't work for most of us. Isenberg and his team are pros at iterating high-quality ideas fast, he may be the "king of scrappiness."
Those in his camp believe that launching can be (and often should be) limited to a group chat to kick things off. Feature #1. Then that group will tell you what to build next.Here's what's missing from this picture:
An assumption that you have an engaged audience of 20k+
A belief that niche = momentum. This isn't always true.
Marketing-shmarketing. Acquiring new members happens via osmosis–definitely false without a large, existing following.
A misunderstanding of how humans really connect and what drives them to contribute.
Communities can take all different shapes and sizes. Some are truly best started in this fashion. No bells and whistles. Just a group chat affixed onto a growing niche that you can find via Gummysearch.
The other way might not work out well for you either.
This camp is the "lengthy-launchers." This is where I have personally failed more times than I'd care to admit.
Here, we have the idealists (my tendency) – we aspire to create a new community built on dreams and virtue ethics. They'll take months to get to launch. They'll build the waitlists (and often wonder why the waitlist isn't working).
They'll get the positioning mapped out. They'll create extensive marketing campaigns and pitch formulas. They'll think through not just a launch plan, but a feature plan, member journeys, the whole nine yards.
This too may not work. Here's why:
It assumes communities need to adhere to a Skool/Circle method of community building.
They can take too long to build and lose the initial momentum
A belief that marketing effort will save you
Neither the 10-minute or the 10-week launch will be foolproof. No community should follow a cookie-cutter mold. Each one is unique and it's hard to know what is best for you.
Sparing you the details - I believe every community only needs 3 things to launch:
A niche topic with interest and momentum behind it.
A pathway to acquire new members.
A willingness to show up, build new features, and help members belong.
I help founders discover these aspects about their own communities. Then I help them launch.
If you know you want to launch a new community, but you don't have the time or knowledge, let's talk. Book a consultation call with me here.
