Another concept from our Psychology of Community course.
At the top of many communities sits a banner. This banner makes an offer.
Often this offer is mundane and forgettable (i.e. “connect with others”, “share your expertise”, or “join the conversation”)
You can do these things elsewhere. It’s not indispensable.
The real purpose of the banner is to make what we call an unrefusable offer.
It has to pack so much value into a few short words that people would be nuts to reject it.
It has to suggest what makes your community indispensable (i.e. what value does it offer that members can’t get anywhere else?).
It has to clearly imply what the community is, what it’s about, what actions are needed, and why people should perform these actions.
Socialmedia.org has a fantastic offer: “Conversations you can’t have anywhere else”
In six words they’ve defined the privacy, uniqueness, and the actions required. The best offers, as we saw yesterday, target people at the emotional level, not just the need for information.
What emotions will people feel in the community which they can’t feel anywhere else? What kind of mental associations will they form?
Your words can imply a wide range of different emotions.
- Confidence – “Equip yourself with a private network to [x]”
- Frustration – “Solve your problems in minutes, not days”
- Fear – “Avoid making common mistakes, follow our members’ roadmaps”
- Confidence – “Swap tips with the people who have done it”
- Safety – “Have conversations you can’t have anywhere else”
- Proud – “Get help to create the best [x] you can”
- Superiority – “Collaborate with the top experts in the field”
- Proud – “Help contribute to the best collection of [x] resources on the web”
My advice is to make your offer bold, wildly different from anyone else out there, and touch upon the deepest desires of your audience.
Of course, once you’ve made an offer you have to deliver on it. Every touchpoint your members have has to match the offer you made. And your offer might well change as you grow. The offer you make to a few dozen members when you’re getting started will probably be different from the offer you make to a few hundred members.
The ‘Unrefusable Offer” defines the mental association members make with your community which will have the biggest influence on whether they participate or not.
Don’t waste it on something mundane or easily imitable.
p.s. You have until Monday to sign up for our Psychology of Community course.
