Understanding WHAT and WHY your Community is about
As I've spend the last 2 days analysing this and many other communities, I've come to understand a couple points that I have been unclear on. When building a community, it’s easy to focus solely on WHAT your community is about—whether it’s about startups, tech, entrepreneurship, or personal development. But the real key to success lies in understanding WHY your community exists in the first place. The Approach that Works: The most successful communities are built on a clear purpose. It's not enough to simply gather like-minded people. You need to define your community’s unique selling point (USP)—what sets you apart and makes your community irresistible and how they benefit from your community specifically. The Approach That Doesn’t Work: On the other hand, focusing too much on what your community is without emphasising why it matters to your avatar will lead to superficial engagement. Here’s why: If your community’s focus is unclear, members will lose interest or struggle to find value. People need to understand the deeper reason (to feel included) behind the community’s existence—how it supports their goals and aligns with their values. When you focus too much on selling, rather than fostering genuine relationships or adding value, your community will feel like just another transactional space. Think micro-transactions in video games (i know we all hate those). This results in low engagement and a lack of loyalty, people will just dump out and your churn will skyrocket. The Bottom Line: Ask yourself, "why does your community exist beyond just offering products or services?" What makes your approach unique and irresistible to your ideal members? If you can clearly define both the WHAT (the topic or focus) and the WHY (the deeper purpose and the value your community brings), you will create a magnetic community that draws people in and keeps them coming back.