Community Seeding Strategy

A strategy for seeding and growing online communities by starting with a core group of influential members and creating structured engagement. This approach focuses on creating FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and maintaining intimacy even as the community grows.

Key Points:

• Initial Seeding Strategy:

  • Start with 10-30 impressive people who join for free
  • Pre-write content and have these members post it on specific dates
  • Makes the community appear active from the beginning

• Create Barriers to Entry:

  • Interview all potential members
  • Turn down most applicants
  • Builds FOMO and exclusivity

• Maintain Intimacy:

  • Keep groups small (250-500 people max)
  • Create multiple sub-communities within the larger community
  • Limit access to certain channels

• Set Community Norms:

  • Establish unique cultural standards
  • Example: Making it acceptable to brag about business metrics
  • Create structured ways for people to introduce themselves

• Operational Structure:

  • Create multiple communities within the main community
  • Restrict access to certain channels
  • Focus on keeping things intimate even as you scale

This strategy was successfully implemented in multiple communities including Trends and Hampton, with Hampton reaching 100 members and targeting 1,000.