𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗚𝗼 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗢𝗻𝗲

Your members aren't lazy. Your niche isn't wrong. Your community feels quiet because it was designed for a topic, not for people.

There's a distinction social psychologists call 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗱. Common identity is attachment to what the group is about. Common bond is attachment to the actual people inside it.

Topic-first design brings people in. People-first design makes them stay. A community that's 100% tutorials and coursework is a library. Libraries don't build loyalty.

The second mistake is what I call an extractive vulnerability tax.

You ask a new member to introduce themselves, share their goal, name their biggest struggle. Their brain runs a cost-benefit. They pay the emotional cost. They get silence, or a generic "Welcome!" They won't do it again. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗰𝘆 🧠 it's the whole mechanism. If you want members to open up, someone who actually leads the community has to go first, and a real person has to respond when someone does.

The third one is where a lot of thoughtful builders still get caught: starting members at zero.

If your onboarding drops someone at Level 1 with zero points, the climb looks impossible and motivation flatlines before it starts. Behavioural science has a name for the opposite effect: the goal-gradient. Effort accelerates as people perceive themselves getting closer to a goal. So you don't leave them sitting at zero. Have someone like their first comment, whatever they show up with, and they've already got their first points before the day is out. 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗽 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻𝗲. That's just how the brain works.

Three different problems. Same outcome: a quiet feed and a founder posting hype questions to themselves.

This is exactly the kind of thing we pull apart inside Skooligans. Follow the link and come sit with people building the same fixes.

Which of these is the one you're actively fighting right now?

https://www.skool.com/skooligans/about?ref=43dc4c8a678e40739648f7d26cd73335

1 comment

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗚𝗼 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗢𝗻𝗲