Community Building Formula

A framework for building successful communities based on creating exclusivity, maintaining intimacy, and strategically seeding content to drive engagement.

Core Elements of Community Building

• Create FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)

  • Interview and turn down most applicants
  • Establish clear barriers to entry
  • Make members feel excited about being "in"

• Maintain Intimacy

  • Keep groups small (250-500 people max before things get "wonky")
  • Create multiple sub-communities within the larger community
  • Restrict access to certain channels/areas
  • Set clear norms and standards for interactions

Strategic Content Seeding

• Start with 10-30 impressive initial members
  • Don't charge them initially
  • Have them post specific content on specific dates
  • Create illusion of organic activity (similar to Reddit's early strategy)

Community Norms & Standards

• Set unique community-specific norms
  • Example: Making it "okay to brag" about business metrics
  • Create environment where sharing typically "tacky" information becomes valuable
  • Establish clear introduction protocols

Operational Considerations

• More art than science
• One of the most desired but difficult things to execute
• Requires constant attention to:
  • Member engagement
  • Content quality
  • Community standards
  • Sub-group dynamics

Real World Example (Hampton)

• Exclusive community for CEOs with $1M+ revenue
• Members placed in groups of 8 similar businesses
• Monthly meetings
• Mix of digital and in-person events
• Currently 100 members, targeting 1,000
• Strict application and interview process