Wow! thanks Alex this was very helpful. I'm trying my best to figure out that my "onramps" are as accessible as possible but I feel that it isn't. Maybe it relies too much on when I can host an event and people might lose interest. I have a coworking meetup tonight at wework and hopefully if all goes well I can have someone host another sooner than next time I originally wanted to host (scheduling conflicts). The connecting members is another one, maybe I should have people offer if they'd like to post their personal portfolio being we are mainly artists, I do sometimes get the "how can I keep in touch with everyone that came?" chat.
I definitely think it's way too early to open a space and the funding/sponsors question is mainly for networking events I throw and hopefully I can generate interest from nearby companies/organizations (autodesk, adobe, wacom, ves society) to help with cost / promotion of the event, this being a digital artist networking event. Is this too much of a reach? haha. I been to successful events in NYC and LA where I've seen this happen, why not here?! On Tuesday, September 4, 2018 at 8:30:39 AM UTC-7, Alex Hillman wrote: > > *How did you market to begin growing your community?* >> > > Your best "marketing" will be direct invitations, in two forms. > > 1 - you reaching out to specific people and inviting them to come, and > 2 - you encouraging your existing members to do the same! > > Also, don't feel like everything needs to be run by you. Are there other > things that are going on that your community could attend/participate in > together? > > *How did you keep the community engaged? * >> > > Engagement is a lousy metric IMO. It tends to lead to all kinds of stuff > designed to distract and demand attention, and inevitably burn people out > (including yourself). > > Instead, the one main metric I focus on is that people feel connected. > - What "onramps" to interacting with other members do you have? Are they > tied directly to things that your members already do, or want to do? > - Are your "onramps" accessible? To who? Who are you leaving out, > intentionally or accidentally? (Not saying you have to include EVERYBODY at > once - but I've learned to recognize my blind spots for people who'd love > to participate but, for instance, don't like going to bars.) > - Is it easy for new members to connect with existing members, even in > small group and 1-1 settings? > - Is there some regular rhythm of support and encouragement for these > kinds of interactions? i.e. if people miss one opportunity, is there > another one coming up again soon? > > Any advice on events I should host in order to keep momentum? >> > > Consistency. > > >> Is it too early to look for a space? >> > > Are your members ready to put their money where their mouth is? How many? > Would they write a check for 1-3 months of membership today? > > If so, then maybe...but don't forget to do it WITH them. > > If not, then yeah it's too early. > > >> Funding? Sponsors? >> > > For what? > > >> What did you do for social media outreach? >> > > Talk to people like a person. :) > > -Alex > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
