Field guides for people who actually run communities
Playbooks, worksheets and field notes on building a community that earns its keep. Written from how we run our own, and free to take.
The guides
Each one has its own page and its own download. Take whichever fits the quarter you are having.
How to grow a successful online community
Thirteen pages on what a community actually is, the six types and which one you are building, five worth studying up close, where new members really come from, and the eight steps that work in order.
The 90-day community visibility playbook
Nine pages on making your customer answers easy for search and AI to use. Three phases: map your top twenty questions, rewrite them properly, then keep them current in thirty minutes a month.
The community leader's toolkit
A fillable worksheet. Eight use cases split by when they pay off, a KPI menu you pick three numbers from, and a one page scorecard for the conversation with your exec.
What is actually in the pages
A few of the things you will find inside.
The community flywheel
Attract, onboard, engage, retain, advocate. Each stage feeds the next, and skipping one is exactly why the wheel grinds.
Where members actually come from
Ranked honestly: your own product first, then email to customers, search, existing members, events. Pick two to start, not five.
Eight use cases, split by timing
Four that earn discovery and demand before the sale, four that compound retention and advocacy after it.
A KPI menu, not a dashboard
Pick three numbers: a leading indicator you can move this month, a channel KPI you report monthly, and the executive metric it ladders to.
The source-ready edit
Title, opening, proof, trust, discovery, path. Six passes that turn a buried thread into a page search and AI will actually use.
Why communities fade
No owner, no focus, an empty launch, vanity metrics, a neglected loop. Five causes, every one of them avoidable.