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🌟 Introduction

Alright, folks, listen up! In the fast-paced world of SaaS, being a founder can be a lonely road. I mean, picture this: you're hustling day in and day out, grinding away, trying to make your mark in this wild industry. But guess what? You don't have to go it alone! Oh no, my friends, because there's a game-changer waiting for you: Community.

Embracing the power of community can flip the script on that isolated experience you've been having. It's like stepping into a whole new world of support, collaboration, and growth. Imagine connecting with other SaaS founders who get it, who've been in the trenches just like you. Whether you join existing communities or take the reins and build your own, the significance of fostering these connections cannot be emphasized enough.

Today we’ll discuss:

• Do’s and Don’ts

• Case studies

• Communities that you need as a SaaS founder
  

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📰 What “NOT” to do

• Overselling to the community:

  The technique here is to offer a lot of value to customers for very little or no money, and sometimes even for free. It's a normal way to sell products or services. However, if you go too far or fail to provide a higher level of value to your community, it can lead to a significant downfall in your business. So, it's important to find a balance and make sure that what you offer is worth more than what people expect..

• Spamming your community:

  Starting a community and having people join can be exciting, but it's important to avoid getting carried away by bombarding them with updates and content they didn't ask for. It's crucial to develop the skill of finding the right frequency and balance to engage with your community members. Rather than overwhelming them, aim to provide the right amount of information and updates that they actually find valuable.

• Not knowing why they are joining:

  You need a clear CTA so that members find what they expect when joining your community. You don’t want people rushing into your group to find a cemetery of spam posts and not a single useful piece of information, no events, or even discussions.
  Ask the community members, personally, if they found what they were looking for in the community.

• Letting your community outgrow you:

  Communities are like A.I. which means that they can evolve unpredictably. You need to always stay relevant to your communities by growing with them but also not outgrowing the new members too.

🏋️‍♀️ Four Tips for building raving communities

• Community vs Audience :

  If you want more than just a passive audience, building meaningful connections among people is crucial to fostering a thriving community. Let your members engage in open and authentic conversations, going beyond your own influence. Keep in mind that a community fulfills a fundamental human desire for belonging and acceptance. Don't forget to regularly express gratitude and value towards your community members. While online communities are fantastic for sparking ideas and forming new friendships, it's through real-life conversations that these relationships truly come alive.

• Hire a community manager :

  When building a community around your product, service, or business, the most important step is to hire the right community manager.

  • This person will be responsible for fostering relationships and encouraging participation within the community.

  • The ideal community manager should have a strong understanding of your offering and be genuinely enthusiastic about its success.

  • They should also be able to effectively communicate your community's vision and inspire others to join in.

  • Additionally, they should have the skills to handle challenging conversations and resolve conflicts efficiently.

• Authenticity :

  I can’t stress this enough, be genuine!
  Many people use social media to grow their businesses and promote their brands, but they often miss the importance of being real. Some post generic messages or try too hard to be clever. But if you're not honest, it's hard for others to trust you. The best approach is to be yourself and share what you love. People will connect with you when they see the real person behind the product or service, someone who genuinely cares about what they're doing.

• Find the Golden user :

  A golden user is someone who likes your product in such a way that he finds solutions to your problem.

  Let me share a genuine example:

  There was a time when I encountered a bug in my product, and it caused quite a commotion among the users. It appeared that everyone was facing the same issue, and I found myself helplessly reading through the comments. As the founder of a SaaS company, it was truly frustrating to witness. However, a user named "Leo" emerged as a shining star by providing a workaround and assisting others in effectively utilizing my product. Intrigued by Leo's consistent willingness to help people with their queries, I decided to dig into his previous comments. Impressed by his dedication, I offered Leo a lifetime deal for my product and even had the pleasure of meeting him in person. Now years after selling the business, i still see Leo’s engaged in crucial discussions.

  Point to be made: find your Leos!

📊 SaaS XX case studies

There are a lot of examples of companies getting creative with their communities, but these are the ones that I will mention:

• LEGO Ideas:

  LEGO Ideas is an online platform where LEGO enthusiasts can submit their original designs for new LEGO sets. Users can vote for their favorite ideas, and if an idea receives enough support, LEGO considers it for production. This community-driven approach allows LEGO fans to actively participate in the product development process. By involving their customers directly, LEGO fosters a sense of ownership and builds a passionate community around their brand.

• Zapier:

  Zapier's community takes proactive measures to encourage active engagement among its members. They have implemented a badge system that rewards individuals for providing the best answers and reaching milestones based on their post count. The community features a dedicated section called 'help others,' allowing members to filter posts and easily identify individuals seeking assistance with Zapier. This setup facilitates the sharing of expertise from experienced users to newer ones, fostering a collaborative environment and allowing individuals to establish their reputation within the community.

• Notion and Duolingo:

  Notion began its journey by creating a Reddit community where top employers of large companies that use Notion can interact. As of 27.05.2023, the community has grown to 283k members. However, the efforts of Duolingo and Notion didn't end there. The Duolingo community team applied the 1/9/90 rule to achieve significant outcomes. They encouraged the top 1% of community members to share their content, which resulted in attracting a larger user base. On the other hand, Notion introduced an ambassadorship program called Notion Pros, leveraging a group of influential creators to propel the growth of Notion's user base.

• Ahrefs:
  Ahrefs highlights its Ahrefs Insider community prominently on its website's homepage. This community is hosted on Facebook and is exclusive, meaning only users with an Ahrefs account can join by providing their associated email addresses. Ahrefs presents its community as the ultimate destination for acquiring knowledge about SEO. This taps into the fear of not missing out and makes people feel like they are special.

🛍️ Communities that you need

it's time to talk about the communities you need to join as a SaaS founder. These are the tribes, the gatherings of like-minded individuals who speak your language, who understand your struggles, and who can offer invaluable insights and support. They're the secret sauce to leveling up your game.

• Indie Hackers: This community is a gold mine. Although not exclusively focused on SaaS, it is a vibrant community of founders building profitable online businesses. You will find success stories, interviews with founders, and a place to ask questions and share your experiences.

• Micro SaaS: it's where all the Micro-SaaS consultants, bootstrappers, and IT side hustlers gather. ll about sharing knowledge, swapping tips and tricks, and making sure that nobody gets left behind. It's a community of like-minded individuals who know that by supporting each other, we can achieve great things.

• Microconf Slack: MicroConf is a conference that caters to the needs and interests of start-up and independent SaaS founders. Their Slack community is a vibrant digital hub where SaaS founders from all walks of life gather to chat, collaborate, and unleash their entrepreneurial spirit. And let's not forget the networking opportunities! MicroConf's Slack community is a place where you can connect with potential collaborators, find mentors, or even form partnerships that could take your SaaS business to the next level.

• NuggetOne Slack

• Reddit: /r/SaaS, r/EntrepreneurRideAlong, r/Entrepreneur, r/sidehustle: These are communities of SaaS enthusiasts, founders, and pros who gather 'round to swap insights, ask questions, and get some honest feedback on anything and everything related to SaaS.

And you? Which communities have you joined that you'd recommend? Hit the Reply button and tell me about them.

📑 Conclusion

While it may sound cliché, I want to assure you that this article was indeed written in Bali. But let me clarify, I'm not one of those typical digital bros you might have in mind. I'm here on a business trip, focused on making things happen.

Now, let's shift our focus back to communities. Before we wrap up, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to all of you, my fellow SaaS enthusiasts. We've been on this journey together for the past six months, and we're about to hit the incredible milestone of reaching one thousand users. We genuinely enjoy what we do, so don't hesitate to reach out with any questions or requests. Our platforms are here to facilitate learning, participation, support, and even promotion. We're more than happy to provide assistance "For Free" because we believe that not everything in life has to be about money.

Thanks again for being a part of this community.

If you end up liking my work and have your own publication, a writer recommendation is always appreciated! I subscribe to all publications that recommend me and after a while, if I enjoy the content, I am happy to return the favor

Ask me questions! Don’t be shy, I am willing to answer and chat, maybe grab some coffee if you are around. Just reply to this email with “Hi ! I am (your name)” and I’ll share with you one of the latest articles, podcasts, or videos that I read, heard or watched.

You can connect with us on LinkedIn, where we share our insights on business, SaaS products with our community.

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