Mkt Community

---
name: mkt-community
description: Community-led growth — picks platform, seeds members, sets ritual and moderation, ties community to product metrics. Use when user says "community strategy", "Discord community", "community building". Referral mechanics are mkt-referrals.
license: MIT
metadata:
  source: "coreyhaines31/marketingskills (MIT)"
  category: marketing
---

# Community — Community-Led Growth

**A community is a product, not a channel.** The "gather users, then promote" order fails — the payoff active members get must be designed before promotion can attach.

## Design Judgments

1. **Define the payoff** — which of the 3 reasons people spend money and time to join (information access first, peer network, identity) are you providing. If none, don't start
2. **Platform choice** — real-time, informal exchange = Discord/KakaoTalk; high-volume search traffic and public knowledge = Reddit/forums; B2B professional = Slack/LinkedIn groups. Public platforms give search traffic, private ones give density — start with just one
3. **Seeding** — the first 30 members should be invite-only. Start among people who already know each other to avoid the "empty room effect". Only after 150 (Dunbar's number) discuss autonomy
4. **Ritual** — one fixed weekly program (AMA, weekly challenge) retains 2~3× better than always-on small talk
5. **Moderation** — 5 written rules maximum; enforcement slow but consistent. Delegate authority to 3 core users

## Tying to Product Metrics

- Community KPI is not signups but the **monthly active converser ratio (target 15%+ engagement)** and the rate of first post/comment completed within the first 7 days
- Check the retention correlation: compare retention between community-member and non-member cohorts each quarter. No gap means the community is a cost

## Output

```
# Community Strategy — {product}
## Payoff definition (which of the 3 + rationale)
## Platform decision (reasons to pick / exclude)
## Seeding list criteria (profiles for 30 candidates)
## Ritual calendar (4 weeks, by week)
## KPI + cohort comparison design
```