Building a New Community
Your 90-Day Launch Checklist – By Task A COMMUNITY BUILDING TOOL BY CLI
Product Management: Identify staff/contract resources to dedicate to implementation. Review product plan with implementers and assign duties. Segment audiences by demographics and value.
TOOLS/CHECKLISTS
Pull the lists for R&D use. Define the community brand in support of your core brand. Establish the 3-5 benefits of a certification for growth marketers. Based on member benefit goals, identify the core components the member platform must support. For example: Two different engagement levels from free to paid with distinct persona-based offerings; Member Directory with different levels of access; User-defined discussion groups, user-generated member profiles and tracking for actions taken on site; Content hosting for live and pre-recorded events, alerts and notifications; Curated “bundle” of content as first level of professional certification, etc.
Define the Member “Promise”: Begin 21-day audience segment research and analysis using existing metrics and demographics. Add survey and individual interviews. Define the personas and rank value, high to low. Quantify the universe for each tier/persona. Using the research, identify 7-9 core benefits per membership tier and map to personas. Create a clear set of user-focused benefits statements. FOR MORE INVALUABLE COMMUNITY BUILDING TOOLS AND INSIGHTS JOIN THE COMMUNITY LEADERS INSTITUTE FREE OF CHARGE TODAY www.communityleadersinstitute.com Copyright ©2021 Community Leaders Institute. All rights reserved
Using research, customer feedback, and internal industry insights, create names for each level of the membership (free >> paid). Ideate content, activities, and services to serve the identified needs. Create a timeline for importing profiles, adding copy, and ensuring smooth transitions as the member navigates the site.
Content Curation / Design Elements: site.
Using brand definition, create logo, colors, and visual elements for the membership
Existing content should be vetted and sorted into how it best serves the member benefits statements.
TOOLS/CHECKLISTS
Identify 5-7 pain points for each membership tier to help sort existing content and develop new content. Content that serves the highest-value personas bundled to best meet the stated needs. Identify a few high value pieces of content or content that will help attract your prospects to the membership promise – in other words, content that will demonstrate the benefits they will receive from the membership program. Prepare access to all recorded webinars for migration to the new platform; Define subject categories. In defining these categories, consider what questions the category answers rather than static labels to drive more engagement. Select content to release to members and be sure to track opens, clicks and where relevant, shares, to learn more about members. Start seeding discussion groups with conversation using staff, “pilot members,” and/ or sponsors. Create an e-letter and content publishing schedule for communications that can be easily customized to meet the membership tiers and covers the initial 90-days from membership launch. Create one multi-module e-learning course for sale and upsell leverage. Assess content consumption on a bi-weekly and monthly basis.
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Platform / Technical Build / Website Confirm list of characteristics platform must serve and assess choices and recommendation against those needs. Map the new community website pages including copy needs for current website and required new pages. Create member profiles and three easy-to-access discussion groups with topics. Incorporate events into your overarching brand and envelope community in the brand. Finalize all landing page copy and FAQ’s. Secure membership platform for build-out. Permission policies; Privacy policy; Content access points.
TOOLS/CHECKLISTS
Define requirements for multi-part on-demand “course.”
Member Acquisition: Identify best prospects for each of the membership levels. Define profile elements; Ensure profiles contain info that will be useful for attracting more members. Create FAQ and customer service talking points and training. Import profiles pre-populated with as much data as possible into the free membership tier – members will confirm/unlock their profiles and then be able to edit/update. Create content themes around the personas and their needs. Schedule your marketing plan with 3-4 outbound “invitations” using easy-to-access calls to action; For Example: Unlock your free membership! or You are the first to be invited! or Become a charter member!, etc. Social media campaign to invite followers to convert to free membership – be clear that the best content will be available to members first and often for exclusive periods of time. Include invitation promo blocks on all social and email communications. Upon free registration, offer complimentary free trial of paid membership and other upsell measures, such as, offering a course and 1-year of paid plus membership. FOR MORE INVALUABLE COMMUNITY BUILDING TOOLS AND INSIGHTS JOIN THE COMMUNITY LEADERS INSTITUTE FREE OF CHARGE TODAY www.communityleadersinstitute.com Copyright ©2021 Community Leaders Institute. All rights reserved
Create a 3- 5 part welcome series to run over a 7-10 day period, pointing new members to benefits and to activity you will have already started in discussion groups. Create upsell offer series for free members 25-30 days into membership.
Copywriting: Update your existing website with splash launch announcement for home page, member platform pages, instructional copy, FAQ’s, connectors, and interstitials. Email acquisition series of invitations. Email welcome series. Upsell offer emails and site messages.
TOOLS/CHECKLISTS
First e-learning course offer emails and site messages.
Sponsorship Sales: Inventory current and prospective sponsors for promotional opportunities in the new community and define sponsor levels for access to content, programs, and members. Create sell sheet(s). Determine who you want to be your charter sponsors and offer them first access. Establish the data that will be meaningful to your sponsors and ensure mechanisms are in place for tracking.
FOR MORE INVALUABLE COMMUNITY BUILDING TOOLS AND INSIGHTS JOIN THE COMMUNITY LEADERS INSTITUTE FREE OF CHARGE TODAY www.communityleadersinstitute.com Copyright ©2021 Community Leaders Institute. All rights reserved