I wrote about 5 signs that you community is ready for a centralized community platform here!

When we partner with clients, we have a set list of seven deliverables that guide our work on the project. The deliverables are as follows: Community Ecosystem Map Together we brainstorm and craft a diverse ecosystem of interactions for your community. You'll get a vision for how a variety of different interactions can support your three main call to actions within the three pillars of community: events, conversation, and content. Community Onboarding Flow Get clarity on exactly how, when, where, and why members join your community. You'll understand exactly how all of your systems work together to create a seemless onboarding experience for your members. If automations could make your life easier, we'll map those here too. You can always get automation services as an add-on. Onboarding Copy We'll equip your team with sample onboarding copy adjusted for your brand voice and values, and customized according to your onboarding flow. Community Platform setup, layout, and permissions We'll set up your community platform with a strategic layout and all the correct settings and permissions you need to host all of your community experiences. Community Copy We'll provide sample copy adjusted for your brand voice for your community pinned posts, FAQs, community guidelines, and more. Launch Plan + Checklist We'll work together to create a strategic launch plan to kick off and iterate your community over time. We'll also send you a final checklist before you send invitations as well as a helpful list of "how-to's" for adjustments you might need to make in your community in the future. Final Audit This is a final review of the community before you press go. We'll review the onboarding experience, permissions and layout, and review all of your messaging to make sure it's crystal clear to new members. Complimentary Calls For smaller projects, we will have a set number of calls where we assess and review deliverables together as they are completed. For longer projects lasting more than 6 weeks, we have a weekly call to review the deliverables that were completed in the last week and agree on the deliverables being worked on that following week. Pricing To get a pricing quote, sign up for a discovery call to help us understand the scope of your project.

A Brand Community Strategist partners with an organization to assist in launching a community or to assist the leading the community through significant change. At Ember, I partner with organizations that want to take the first step to becoming community-led. I partner with the community manager to create a high level vision for what the community could be, create an iterative launch plan, and set up one centralized home where all of the community experiences will happen. Read more about my work on the About page.

Pricing ranges depending on the scope, value, and impact of the project at hand. Set up a discovery call to share more about your project and get a quote.

There are three ways I support community managers after our project has ended. First, I put out a lot of free content around what I'm learning in community building on my blog and on youtube. Not all of it will pertain to you, but there's some gems in there. Second, I run workshops in a quarterly rhythm for community managers with varying topics, these can be very helpful for assisting your strategy for continuing to grow your community. Sign up for the newsletter to be alerted when a new workshop is coming soon. And finally, I have one-off consulting calls that I've found work great for follow-up if you ever need to brainstorm, feel stuck, or just want some strategic advice.

Yes! Catch me and my co-host Victoria Cumberbatch on our podcast, Community Alchemy!

Many! You can find a five-step guide to hosting phenomenal events here.

We answered this question in a lot of depth on Episode 10 of Community Alchemy Podcast: How to Craft a Communication Plan for Your Community.

Yes! There are many phenomenal all-in-one community platforms that host all your community events, conversation, and content in one place. We've made it easy to compare some of our favorite all-in-one platforms against each other in this article comparing Circle.so, Mighty Networks, Heartbeat, and MeltingSpot.

Yes! I have researched community platform options and written extensively about them. You can find resources under the platform comparison blog category.

I talked about this in depth in an event hosted by Gradual called: Your Audience is Not Your Community.

For a course to learn how to DIY launch and grow your community, I recommend the Business of Community Course and Community. To rub shoulders with other community builders, I recommend joining The Community Club. To find free writings, videos, and resources, I recommend joining our newsletter for a roundup of monthly content coming out of Ember.

Well, I've seen a lot of communities. Two of my favorites from our Community Dissection series are Lego Ideas, the Spotify Community, and the Hubspot Community.

As a Community Consultant, finding other community people to rub shoulders with is critical to my practice. Some of my favorite communities to meet other community managers include: The Community Community - for senior community managers The Community Club Rosieland

Over the years, I've met other Community Consultants at community conferences (like CMX's Summit) and through online community spaces (like The Community Community, The Community Club, and Rosieland). Right now, there's a group of Community Consultants who meet regularly over at the Community Consultant Collective.

After six years of launching and growing community from zero to seven figures, I quit my job to help brands launch thriving communities. Some key steps I took include: - Having 100 virtual coffees in 90 days - Setting up a single-member LLC - Creating an initial package for my clients I talk more about the experience on the Beginner Maps podcast and in this article where I reflect on three years of running my Community Consultancy. I also reflect a lot about my journey building my business on LinkedIn - follow along there!