Mattakushi432 Community Building
Community Flywheel
New members join
↓
Onboarded → get value quickly
↓
Engage: ask questions, share wins
↓
Contribute: answer others, create content
↓
Advocate: invite peers, spread the word
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More new members join (loop)
Break the loop at any stage and retention collapses. Optimize the slowest stage first.
Platform Selection Matrix
| Platform | Best for | Size sweet spot | Cost | Discovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discord | Dev/gaming/creator communities | 500–50k | Free | Low (invite only) |
| Slack | B2B SaaS, enterprise | 100–5k | Free/paid | Low |
| Circle | Courses, memberships, cohorts | 100–10k | $89+/mo | Low |
| Open-ended, SEO-rich | 1k+ | Free | High | |
| Discourse | Technical, long-form Q&A | 500+ | Self-host free | Medium |
| Facebook Groups | Consumer, 35+ audience | Any | Free | Medium |
| LinkedIn Groups | B2B professional | 500+ | Free | Medium |
Decision heuristic:
- Dev tool → Discord or Discourse
- B2B SaaS → Slack or Circle
- Consumer app → Discord or Facebook
- Need SEO → Reddit or Discourse
Member Journey Stages
Stage 1: Awareness
- Discover community via product, referral, or search
- Actions: click join link, view landing page
Activation: Clear value proposition on join page. Answer "why join?"
Stage 2: Onboarding (Days 1–3)
- Welcome DM or email within 1 hour of joining
- Prompt: introduce yourself in #introductions
- Show them 1 quick win (best thread, best resource)
Welcome DM template:
Hey [Name]! 👋 Welcome to [Community Name].
Quick orientation:
• #announcements — product updates
• #ask-anything — questions answered fast
• #wins — share your progress
One request: drop an intro in #introductions!
I'm [Your name], [role]. Reply here anytime.
Stage 3: Activation (Days 3–14)
- Post first message or question
- Get a helpful response within 2 hours
- Feel "seen"
Key metric: % of new members who post within 7 days (target: >30%)
Stage 4: Regular Engagement (Months 1–3)
- Check in weekly
- Contribute: answers, feedback, content
- Attend events (AMAs, office hours)
Stage 5: Superuser / Champion
- Top 5% by contribution
- Evangelize outside community
- Co-create content or events
Engagement Loops
Daily Loops
- Staff member posts a prompt/question each morning
- "Daily tip" or "resource of the day"
- Celebrate wins (new users, milestones)
Weekly Loops
- Weekly thread: "What are you working on?"
- Office hours / AMA (30–60 min, async-friendly recap)
- Curated digest of best posts emailed to members
Monthly Loops
- Featured member spotlight
- Product update recap with Q&A
- Community challenge or contest
Moderation Playbook
Rules (keep to 5 or fewer)
- Be respectful — no harassment or hate speech
- Stay on topic — relevant to [product/niche]
- No spam or self-promotion without permission
- Search before asking — reduce duplicates
- Share your wins and learnings
Response SLAs
| Type | Target response time |
|---|---|
| Bug report | 2 hours |
| Question | 4 hours |
| Introduction | 1 hour (team) |
| General discussion | Best effort |
Escalation
- Warning (private DM) → Timeout (1 day) → Ban
- Document each action in moderation log
- Keep receipts (screenshots) before banning
Community Metrics
Health Metrics (weekly review)
| Metric | Definition | Target |
|---|---|---|
| New members | Joined this week | Growing |
| DAU/MAU ratio | Daily active / Monthly active | >15% |
| Response rate | % questions answered <4h | >80% |
| Post rate | % members posting monthly | >20% |
| NPS | Would you recommend this community? | >40 |
| Content creation rate | Member-generated posts / total posts | >50% |
Leading Indicators
- Intro posts per week → predicts 30-day retention
- Response time → predicts activation
- Events attendance → predicts long-term engagement
Lagging Indicators
- Monthly active members
- Revenue from community (if applicable)
- Referrals sourced from community
Superuser Program
Identification Criteria
- Posted 20+ helpful messages in last 90 days
- Answered at least 10 questions from other members
- Zero moderation issues
- NPS given ≥ 9
Benefits to Offer
- Early access to features
- Direct Slack/DM access to founders
- Co-create content (co-author blog, webinar co-host)
- "Ambassador" badge or role
- Monthly calls with product team
- Merch / swag
Onboarding Superusers
- Personal invitation from founder
- Private channel or group
- Quarterly call to gather feedback
- Clear expectations: 1 helpful post/week minimum
Community-to-Revenue Attribution
Direct Attribution
- Unique referral links for community members
- Promo codes tracked by source
- Survey at signup: "How did you hear about us?"
Indirect Attribution
- Track conversion rate: community member vs non-member
- Measure time-to-close for community-sourced leads
- Track churn rate: community member vs non-member (expect 2–3x lower)
Reporting Template
Community Monthly Report
New members: X
Active members (posted): X (X%)
Questions answered <4h: X%
Top contributors: [names]
Revenue attributed: $X (direct) / $X (influenced)
Key wins: [notable moment]
Action items: [what to improve]