Anna Hetzel

Once a month my extended family gets together for a dinner.

It was a tradition that started nearly ten years and it’s still going strong today.

This week was the first time all 8 of us gathered inside, masks off (we’re all fully vaccinated) , and sat around a table in more than 14 months.

I can’t even begin to describe how...wild...it felt.

We hugged each other!

And the hugs lasted really long!

(except with my uncle who really enjoyed the ‘no hugging’ bit of COVID 🤣 )

We sat and ate together!

I got to remember what their chins look like!

I got to see them smile!

I’m like this for the rest of the week:

And while I sat down to write this post I realized: family dinner is the perfect mini case study of what makes communities great.

Paid online communities are popping up everywhere lately.

And it makes sense!

It’s an additional revenue stream It brings people together (we lonely right now) And it’s a 1:many model And everyone else is doing it so social pressure

We’re all taught how to launch a paid community (membership, mastermind, group coaching program, etc).

But we're not taught how to design and facilitate the thing once people are sold into it.

We’re super good at selling, not so good at facilitating.

I’ve been studying communities for a long while now through personal experience, a metric ton of books and articles, and secret in-depth audits of the paid communities I’m in right now.

And I’ve found that there are 5 pillars to what makes a paid online community great .

And when I say great I mean—

Engaging Vibrant Diverse *Actually* Safe and Supportive

The five pillars to a supportive and regenerative paid online community: Immediacy Cycles Mutuality Investment Facilitation

⏱️Immediacy: the beginning and the end of a community

Is it a membership model? An open/close mastermind? Is it always around or does it have an end date? Having a clear reason to join and understanding how a space will end creates a sense of security. For family dinner, we know it starts at 6 PM and ends around 8 PM.

🌳Cycles: the programming inside the community

Will there be monthly themes? Weekly exercises? Programming is expected content, not the leader randomly asking people what their favorite color is. Cycles keeps people motivated to show up and reduces churn. For family dinner, we know it’s once a month and never more, never less.

😄Mutuality: how people show up and engage with each other

Is there a mentorship program? How do members become friends? Is there a Code of Conduct? A leader can’t be the sole connector in an online community. Creating ways for people to connect with each other is what makes a community truly vibrant (and what makes the leader less likely to burn out). For family dinner, we all have figured out how we show up in our own unique way and we stick to our lane.

🎁Investment: how much time, money, and energy will a member have to invest?

Is it a one-time payment? A monthly payment? Time intensive or at your own pace? Money is the first indicator of how much energy and time a member will have to invest in your community. Setting up the right expectation will help to ensure your members find the transformation you’re hoping they do. For family dinner, Grandpa pays (wins!) so we know it’s our job to show up and drive the conversation.

👐Facilitation: how the space is held, supported, and guided

Is there one leader or multiple community managers? Facilitating is much much different than leading. If you’re a service provider creating your first paid community, your role is going to look and feel a lot different than how you engage with your 1:1 clients. For family dinner, the person who picks the restaurant kicks off the conversation, even if we don’t notice that routine. It’s an unspoken thing. You don't have to leave great community culture up to luck.

I put all of this and more into Community Camp , a 4-week masterclass on how to design, facilitate, and maintain a paid online community for your business.

Camp isn’t an Exactly How To Do This Course.

Communities are organic, living, wonderful things.

They aren’t data pieces and ROI and profit growth.

Profit and great numbers will happen if you put the people in your community first, including yourself.

Over 4 interactive workshops, we dive into the big concepts of community so you can build your own vision of what your paid online community can look like.

And then hone that vision in an (overly detailed) worksheet so you can hit the ground running.

⛺Community Camp is now open to new campers⛺ The next Cabin is from May 31-June 25th and only 14 spots are available. (one is already taken!)

Registration closes May 21st, 2021.

Get deets and register for Camp here ↗️

Anna Hetzel

Columbus, Ohio, United States

500+ connections

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Anna Hetzel

Columbus, Ohio, United States 500+ connections

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Contact Anna for services

Copywriting, Brand Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Lead Generation, Email Marketing, Brand Consulting, Marketing Consulting, Content Strategy, and Market Research

About

View Anna’s full profile

People also viewed

Janel Torkington

Meg Rye

Amy Nicholson

Alexa Shoen

Kevin Rapp

Heidi Clifford

Alex Hunter

Sam Royle

Abe Blackburn

John McGarvey

Michele Bertoli

Lexi M.

Amy Posner

Jason "Sounds like 'adjacent'" Fox

Karl Pontau

Laura O'Callaghan

Scott Whitley 🧙‍♂️

Rachel Patterson

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Explore collaborative articles

Others named Anna Hetzel

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Columbus, Ohio, United States

500+ connections