Some takeaways and notes from a talk ‘Building with People’ with Katie O’Connell and Bailey Richardson
Instagram’s team was largely community builders when they started.
Substack provided a weekly office hour to writers where they can upskill on the business subscription side and using help them to get the most out of the platform. They had tools that allowed them to invite every writer on substack engaging in specific threads to join conversations via email to join the office hour.
Most passionate community members need a communication channel: need to have an opt-in for people to communicate with you.
‘Being independent doesn’t mean being alone
Community: when people keep coming together over something they care about.
They started with the underlying question what does “this group need?” is it nerding out on a passion, emotional support, belonging, inspiration…
Then came to: What do writers need? What can we offer that group? writers needed knowledge of the platform - how to run a subscription business and how to succeed.
Writer testimony and bringing their voices forward are key elements.
Personalized reach outs - “People will show up where they feel they might be missed”
https://gettogether.substack.com/p/what-weve-learned-from-substack-writers
Understanding the people that are most important to the future of your business and being able to target those folks is crucial to success.