Grow your community

Welcome to the Community Coach newsletter, a value packed read
for ALL community builders, especially those battling it out on Telegram (read on).

In this newsletter…

📚 Community 101: Grow your community by raising awareness

🤖 AI assistant for Telegram is here (beta launch by Microsoft)

📚 Book summary: “Fanocracy: Turning Fans into Customers and Customers into Fans”

🔥 Inspiring community builder: Buildspace is mastering the community game

👋 Answering your questions: How can I find loyal members for my community?

Community 101: Grow by raising awareness

Here are some of my growth hack tips to raise awareness and grow your community:

• Be the best ambassador for your community: tell your story and be authentic and relatable. People will join a community if they like the founder/whoever is leading the charge to connect.
  

• Think big and how you can “go one level up”: how can you get the word out to your target members as effectively as possible? For example - if I were to build a student community, I’d look at reaching out to teachers to help spread the word to their students (rather than trying to reach each student individually). One level up again - targeting schools. Think how you can reach as many of your members as possible without having to reach them as individuals yourself.
  

• Find other events to promo your community, but don’t be pushy on the sales: for example - if are attending an online event/ streaming/ realtime chat and people are sharing things like their own portfolio links, websites, LinkedIn profiles, Instagram etc
  

• Join other communities and figure out ways to add value first (and then plug your community): Some examples include:
  - a curated list of podcast episodes to help people with a specific goal
  - a free directory of something that adds value - relevant IRL events, job listings, useful tools, relevant content creators to follow etc
  - ebook, free workshop, templates for notion, canva etc…
  

• Make it easy for members to refer others to join: you don’t need a complicated referral system, it could be as easy as sharing a link with your members which contains all the info about your community, the benefits etc. You could offer discounts for referrals to join, or additional benefits to members if they refer others.
  

•  Think about SEO and other ways pages can link out to you: put your marketing hat on - make sure your community website can be found and any other valuable content to raise awareness that your community exists and how to join

Copilot AI assistant for Telegram by Microsoft

Copilot is a personal generative AI assistant powered by GPT model and Bing Search, available within Telegram.

Microsoft's Copilot for Telegram is like having an assistant right in your Telegram chats… and you can invite it to your Telegram groups!

Here’s how it can help you as a community manager

• Content Creation: Produce creative content like poems, stories, code snippets for your community + draft community announcements, newsletters, event descriptions

• Language support: Communicate with members in their preferred language , translate messages, docs

• Moderation: set guidelines for Copilot to follow when moderating discussions, auto filter out inappropriate content

• Knowledge sharing: Answer FAQ’s based on knowledge base, provide information on various topics when asked

• Brainstorming/ Collaboration assistant: Helps with brainstorming ideas, writing collaboratively, drafts meeting agendas, project proposals.

• Suggest engagement activities right in the Telegram app - which is great if you use Telegram a lot

Need inspiration on what else Copilot can do for your community?

• Boost Your Gaming Experience: Ask Copilot for the latest game releases, cheat codes, and walkthroughs to elevate your gaming.

• Travel Planning Made Easy: Use Copilot to get travel suggestions and detailed itineraries for your next trip.

• Fitness Assistance: Get personalized workout suggestions and fitness tips directly through Copilot.

• Shopping Smart: Copilot can help you find the best deals, compare prices, and even snag discounts when shopping online.

• Learning New Things: Tap into Copilot to learn something new every day, whether it's a random fun fact or a deep dive into a topic you're curious about.

• Work and Productivity: Use Copilot to streamline work tasks like scheduling, creating itineraries, or managing emails efficiently.

It works on different devices too, so you can keep up with your community from anywhere.

How to get Copilot

You can use Copilot on Telegram desktop & mobile app or on Telegram web. 

Currently free and available as part of their beta program.

If you already have Telegram app on your device or are already signed into Telegram web on your browser, click on this link to start interacting with Copilot. You can download & sign into Telegram app or sign into your Telegram web account and then click on this link to start interacting with Copilot. 

Alternatively, you can search for Copilot by typing @CopilotOfficialBot in the search bar within Telegram. 

Steps to setup Copilot for your Telegram group:

1. Create a Bot on Telegram

Open Telegram and search for the BotFather.

Start a chat with BotFather and use the /newbot command to create a new bot.

Follow the instructions to set a name and username for your bot. You'll receive an API token.

2. Invite Copilot to Your Group

Add your Copilot bot to your Telegram group by searching for its username (e.g., @YourCopilotBot) and inviting it.

Make sure the bot has necessary permissions (e.g., read messages, send messages).

3. Configure Copilot's Responses

Decide how you want Copilot to interact with your community. You can customize its tone, language, and behavior.

Use predefined internal tools to enhance Copilot's capabilities (e.g., content creation, translations).

4. Set Up Commands

Define commands that trigger Copilot's responses (e.g., /poem, /translate, /help).

Map these commands to specific actions using your bot's logic.

5. Test and Monitor

Test Copilot's responses in your group to ensure they align with your community's needs.

Monitor feedback and adjust settings as necessary.

Fanocracy: Book Summary

Key takeaways from this book

• Focus on Real Connections: Forget the usual marketing spiel and really talk to people. Building genuine relationships matters more than just pushing content.

• Give People a Voice: Let your community members throw in their own ideas and content. It makes everyone feel more involved and valued.

• Bond Over Common Interests: Find what everyone in your community is passionate about and make that a central theme. It's all about connecting on what you all love to talk about.

• Smart Use of Tech: Use tech to keep conversations going and everyone connected, but don’t forget the importance of the human touch.

• Meet Up When You Can: Nothing beats face-to-face interaction. Organize events or meet-ups to turn online connections into real-world experiences.

• Listen and Learn: Always be open to what your community has to say and be ready to switch things up based on their feedback. What works today might not work tomorrow.

Inspiring community builder
Farza Majeed @ Buildspace

Buildspace, founded by Farza Majeed - is the “largest group of people in the world making cool sh*t”.

Backed by investors finc + yc + a16z. These guys have decent budgets.

But let’s take a look at some of the things they do really well that you can replicate for your community, no matter the budget.

They brand their community as a separate thing to Buildspace.

They don’t say “join the Buildspace community”.

They have a “nights & weekends community”. Here’s what it looks like:

They split their meetups into cohorts/ “seasons”. 

This keeps member numbers small yet allows for meaningful interactions.

They are doing interesting things that literally blow up their website…

Their website even went down for a while - all from this tweet:

Obviously I understand you may not have $100k floating around to just gift to community members.

But the main takeaway is providing VALUE to their community. And with very little ask in return - they don’t even want equity, contracts or any other ask (except buying them a jet ski!).

Key lesson here? Be selfless when building your community.

They clearly provide value to their members.

Here’s just one of many success stories from members being a part of their community:

I’ve mentioned Farza (founder of Buildspace) before on my Youtube channel a few years ago when he had first started Buildspace.

More details on Buildspace below:

Answering your questions

“How can I find loyal members for my community?” 

Finding loyal members in your community is really about giving more than you expect to receive.

Start by consistently providing real value— such as insightful content, genuine support or meaningful interactions that relate directly to their interests and needs.

The key here is authenticity. Your efforts should be and feel sincere - not just a strategy to gain loyalty.

Create an environment where everyone feels seen and heard.

Engage with your community members regularly, respond to their concerns, and show appreciation for their contributions.

Over time, those who resonate most with your genuine approach and the value you provide are likely to become your most loyal members.

They'll not only stick around but also become advocates for your community to others.

Got a question for me? DM me on Twitter and ask away. Your question may be answered in a future newsletter (and I’ll reply to everyone who asks).

Until next time,

Carmen
Community Coach

Connect with me on Twitter, Youtube, LinkedIn.

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