Community Strategy Insights

The latest insights on community strategy, technology, and value by FeverBee’s founder, Richard Millington

The Trickle Stage

Richard Millington
Richard Millington

Founder of FeverBee

It’s scary to launch a new community.

This is especially true when you’ve been working on it for half a year and made a $500k investment into the technology.

You launch and wait for the first trickle of activity. Two posts become four. Four posts become Eight. Eight posts become 16 and so on.

You see this with Datarobot’s community right now. The first trickle of activity is just starting.

Don’t rush this stage. An explosion of activity doesn’t help you if you’re left with a trickle of activity afterward. You don’t want most of your audience to see an empty community. That’s a terrible first impression.

Instead, go above and beyond for each new member who does arrive. Ensure the questions receive a quick and empathetic response. Direct message members and check their problem was resolved. Get to know each of them. Make the first members feel part of something new, special, and exclusive. Give them unique access just for being one of the first pioneering members of your community.

Don’t rush this process, but lean into it (and set expectations for it). The trickle stage is the time to identify and resolve issues, nurture future top members, and provide a world-class experience to every newcomer.

Soon the trickle becomes a stream, a stream becomes a river, and the river becomes a torrent of activity.

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