when I first started building my online community, I thought it would be simple. Put out great content, show up consistently, and the right people would magically appear, right? Yeah… not exactly.... I quickly realized that growing a thriving community isn’t just about content it’s about connection. It’s about creating a space where people feel seen, valued, and excited to stick around. So, after plenty of trial and error, here’s what actually worked for me (and what can work for you too). 1. define your people this is where most people go wrong they try to attract everyone . But a strong community isn’t for everyone , it’s for the right ones . Who are your people? What do they dream about? What challenges keep them up at night? Get super clear on this, and everything else your content, offers, messaging gets easier. Pro tip: create a saved folder on Instagram or Pinterest with posts your ideal members would love. This keeps their needs top of mind when you're creating content. 2. step into leadership people don’t join a community just because it exists . They join because they trust the person leading it. Here’s the good news: you don’t need to be the world’s top expert. You just need to be a few steps ahead, willing to share what you know, and committed to showing up. Make your expertise visible update your about page, share your experiences, and don’t be afraid to tell people why your community is the one worth joining. 3. create a path for engagement I used to think people would automatically engage if they found value. Nope. Most people lurk until you give them a reason to take action. Here’s the simple four-step process that worked for me: - awareness – get discovered (free content, collaborations, guest posts) - interest – make it clear who your community is for (spell it out: this space is for... ) - decision – show up consistently so they feel safe engaging - action – create an easy way for them to go deeper (email list, membership, challenges)

so you’ve got an online course, and you want people to actually engage not just binge a few lessons and disappear. i’ve been there. i thought if i just packed my course with great content, people would stick around. but content alone isn’t enough. people come for the lessons, but they stay for the community. here’s what i learned about turning an online course into an engaged, thriving community: 1. build where your audience already hangs out not every audience wants to be in a facebook group. some love slack, others prefer circle, discord, or even private telegram chats. i had to test a few spaces before finding the right fit. the key? don’t force people into a platform they don’t like. meet them where they’re comfortable, and they’ll naturally engage. 2. structure your course for momentum my first course? a total content dump. no clear steps, just a pile of knowledge. people got overwhelmed and ghosted. the fix? i structured my course with milestones, small wins, and a clear success path. now, people see progress fast and that keeps them engaged. 3. make engagement effortless asking people to “engage more” never works. instead, i started posting simple polls, thought-provoking questions, and quick wins they could share. engagement shot up because it was easy and fun. don’t overcomplicate it make interaction feel natural. 4. gamify the experience turns out, people love a little competition. i added leaderboards, challenges, and small rewards (even just badges or shoutouts), and suddenly, people were way more active. it wasn’t about the prizes it was about the recognition and fun. 5. don’t do all the talking i used to feel like i had to drive every conversation. but real communities thrive when members connect with each other, not just with you. i started encouraging peer-to-peer interactions, and the difference was huge. people felt like they belonged, not just like they were following a leader. 6. design for scale from day one if 100 people joined your course tomorrow, could you handle it? i learned the hard way that answering every single question myself wasn’t sustainable. now, i build systems like group coaching calls, community-driven Q&A threads, and member mentors to keep things running smoothly as we grow.

Hi, everyone. I just made a new Python-based automation system that makes blog articles. So, essentially, it scrapes the top search results from Google based on a keyword and then passes these keywords to Gemini AI, which in turn gives a title for an article. Then, it searches for that article on YouTube and gets the transcription of the most recent top video. And again, that is given to Gemini Ai which generates a table of contents (TOC). Then, the program processes that TOC and passes each heading to Gemini Ai one by one with (a lot of) guidelines and the transcription we just extracted. So, after everything's done, it creates an AI image prompt for the article and then an AI image using Flux Schnell, and finally everything is uploaded to Firebase's Firestore DB. Then, that data is accessed in the front end of my new Next.js blog and all that good stuff is done programmatically. After all that I also have a make.com automation which triggers and uploads these generated images and article links to Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook. All this system completely runs on auto pilot without any input from my side. For reference, here is a blog post generated using the system:- https://blog.developerareeb.com/olxOp3LGmPLllLWdzTd2

I was surprised to find that IG Stories required you to upload individual images instead of something like a PDF (with multiple images in it). Which really created a workflow nightmare for review/feedback and posting. So I set out to create an automated solution that removed all the pain points involved. It's pretty cool, I ended up using a PDF (for the majority of the workflow) and then used automation to break it into multiple images and then send those images (via a folder link) to the person who is posting. It could also be sent to an auto poster like Metricool if you wanted. I made a quick video on it here → https://bit.ly/46aj4AZ Would love your feedback.

I released this automation last year, and it was one of the biggest automations I’ve ever built. Now, I’m considering creating a new and improved version, but I need your feedback. In this video, I showcase how I used Make.com, Airtable, and AI to fully automate the entire video creation and social media posting process. What this automation does: • Generates video titles and descriptions automatically • Creates AI-generated voiceovers and videos • Uploads to YouTube, Instagram, and more • Schedules posts and manages social media without manual work This system is powered by AI, Json2Video, Make, and Airtable, making video production effortless. Whether you’re a content creator or a business, it can help you streamline content creation and grow your brand without wasting time. Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/YjteF-IgEW0?si=Id16PbsZwilOoAzm I’m thinking of building a new version of this automation with even more features and improvements. If you have any ideas on how to make it better, let me know in the comments. Your feedback will shape the next version.