12. Finding First Members for Niche Communities with Murtaza Bambot, CEO at Heartbeat -- Ember Consulting

In this episode, we’re hearing from Sensitive in Seattle. Today’s letter deals with how to grow a community where joining that community might in and of itself be taboo.

To better help Sensitive in Seattle, I’m bringing in the big guns. I invited Murtaza Bambot as my guest expert. He is the Founder & CEO at Heartbeat — the all-in-one platform for community businesses (also the sponsor of this podcast!) that has served has served over 5, 000 communities.

So, tune in for an episode packed full of wisdom where Murtaza guides us through the process of finding those initial community members, even in a sensitive community, from a place of empathy and authority.

Click to learn more about Heartbeat, Bri's favorite all-in-one community platform!

In this episode:

(05:51) Having a customer community when everything is going wrong

(10:55) The only way out is through

(14:40) The communitea: Sensitive in Seattle’s letter

(15:41) Why community exists in the first place

(18:23) Immediate boots-on-the-ground strategies to find your initial members

(22:52) Prime advice on sales calls

(24:43) Murtaza’s advice on using paid ads

(26:27) The power of a paid waitlist to launch your community

(31:16) You deserve to be paid for your work

(34:45) Focus your marketing on the transformation

(45:17) Be ready to constantly research, test, and implement

(46:40) Leveraging ChatGPT as a thought partner

(49:25) What makes a great salesperson

Watch on YouTube:

Resources Mentioned:

❤️ Sign up for Heartbeat. Bri’s recommended all-in-one community platform.

💛 Join Ember. The place for go-getter community creators building community-powered businesses.

Noteworthy quotes

“When you have 0 customers, your job is just to get to 1. And when you have 1 customer, your job is to get to 10. You don't have to think about what 100 customers, 1,000, 10,000 customers look like. Don't build these things to scale at the start.“ - Murtaza Bambot

“Your community is going to evolve, how you find your members is going to evolve. Stay flexible to testing and experimenting, and also know you're never stuck. There's always another option. There's always another way.“ - Bri Leever

Murtaza Bambot

Founder of Heartbeat, the all-in-one platform for community businesses (also the sponsor of this podcast). Over 5K communities serving customers like Bumble & Bubble.io. Previously Head of Community at the 2nd largest startup accelerator in the world, Georgia Tech's CREATE-X. He is a self-professed lover of sales.

🖥️ Website

📱 Linkedin

Bri Leever

Bri got her start building a community and growing it to a multi-million dollar revenue stream for a social enterprise in Portland, OR. Now, she supports folks used to running their business on content, coaching, and consulting to create their community offer. She's a Community Strategist by day and a Campervan host by night on the Big Island of Hawaii and you'll usually find her on, in, or under the water.

📩 Newsletter

📹 Youtube

📱 Linkedin