Combined or Split Free & Paid is a strategic planning decision. How I decided…

I spent 3 weeks deliberating 😅 and used my strategic plan to decide. Also hot topic rn (see bottom).

The right answer for each person lies in their overall strategy/model and what will enable delivery. The clearer this is, the best decision for you becomes obvious.

Community structure (including # to host) is an executional decision that should be informed by the business strategy and specifically for me... brand, communication, approach, sales, and ops strategies/priorities.

Ultimately, are you treating it as a funnel first or are you trying to build a community first?

Below are snippets of my strat plan that clarified for me and current breakdown attached...

MISSION - Create more work-life joy. Communally.

>> Combined serves this better.

VISION - People connecting and being their unadulterated selves, living meaningful lives, and doing fulfilling work so they have more energy for themselves, their loved ones, and the world.

>> Combined serves this better.

BRAND - Pillars that are relevant here:

Human Connection
Communal Learning
Strategy Over Tactics
Accessibility (financial and experiential)

My priority is fostering connection and thus support across the board and encouraging people with more means or professional working experience to support those who are more junior or less financially able.

>> Combined serves this better.

COMMUNICATION - I want all my comms to be as organic, cohesive and efficient as possible, since the themes I cover are universal. I don't want to do sales only comms and I see ways to seamlessly integrate.

>> Combined b/c there's no reason for separate free then.

APPROACH - People gathering in a safe space to:

Be themselves and connect on the crazy world of work
Create and live their version of work-life joy
Learn and grow from strategies, tools, and others’ perspectives on
Have and be sounding boards

>> Combined serves this better.

SALES - I want more paid memberships and only a few high tickets at a time. I will use content outside of school to drive traffic b/c it gets me paid speaking opps and other personal objectives. I don't want or feel the need to use community msgs to sell (aside from an occasional big offer). But I can easily use passive ways in the community that are inline with my communication priorities (e.g. locked courses, links to join the paid community in other content, events on the cal that only paid members have access to, CTAs on the monthly free call, etc.).

>> Combined b/c there's no reason for separate free then.

OPS - No unnecessary work and generally as simple as possible.

>> Combined, duh. 🙃

I obviously have to test and see what works once it’s live as idk about engagement, but the choice at this point is clear.

Here are three other threads from the last week discussing this...

@Graydon Ursel

- Combining Free + Paid Communities

@Philip Röder

- The “2 Skools” (free and paid) dilemma

@Ted Carr

- Why I Use 2 Skool Communities (1 Free, 1 Paid)

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