I noticed it right after I got back from vacation...
at first I had no clue what was going on.
The symptoms were easy to spot...
๐น๐ผ๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐, ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐.
And after talking to a few community members...
the diagnosis was easy.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ง๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐น๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐ธ.
But here's what I figured out that most community builders miss...
The Summer Time Blues aren't actually about summer.
Your members didn't stop caring about your community.
They just woke up this morning thinking about their lives...
โ๏ธ the vacation they just got back from.
๐๏ธ the new house they're moving into.
๐ the unexpected setback they're still recovering from.
๐ the new chapter they're trying to figure out.
Your community members wake up every day thinking about ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐ผ๐๐ป ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐!
And if you're not meeting them where they are right now...
no amount of posting, prompting, or pushing is going to fix it.
The people who join today will know exactly how to keep up the momentum ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐น๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐ป.
Those who don't want the cure can tough it out and wait for it to pass...
but summer is three months long. That's a long time to deal with the aches and pains of slow growth and very little engagement.
๐๐ผ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ผ๐ผ๐น ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ผ๐บ ๐ง๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐
p.s. The Summer Time Blues don't strike only during the summer, it's something that's happening all the time. The community builders who figure this out now stop chasing momentum and start creating it โ no matter what season their members are in.
p.p.s. Drop a comment below and tell me...
have you noticed any cases of The Summer Time Blues in your community?