Home / Grow and monetize / How to Get Your First Community Members
Grow and monetize
How To Get Your First Community Members
A relationship-first plan for your first cohort.
Disclosure: We may earn a commission when you sign up through our Skool referral link. Our editorial team has experience using Skool; specific experiences and outcomes are not independently documented here.
Find The Right People
Start with people already discussing the problem your community addresses. Do not scrape or spam contact lists.
Invite Personally
Explain the promise, format and time commitment. Ask for candid feedback rather than a promotional testimonial.
Make The First Visit Useful
Provide an introduction prompt, a resource and a specific next interaction.
Learn From Departures
Ask departing members what did not work and make changes without pressuring them to stay.
A Founding-Member Invitation
Invite people who have already expressed the problem your community addresses. Explain who it is for, what happens in the first week, and what feedback you want. Avoid promising a busy community before it exists; be transparent that the group is new.
Start With A Relevant Invitation
List people who already experience the problem your community solves: existing customers, newsletter readers, workshop attendees or professional peers. Invite them individually with a clear explanation of the outcome and what participation requires. Ask permission before following up. Do not import contacts into a group or imply that a free trial is a permanent free offer.
Create A Feedback Loop
Ask early members to complete one concrete activity, then find out what helped and what was confusing. Share improvements with the group so feedback visibly matters. Encourage referrals only after members can describe the value in their own words. Track the number of people who complete onboarding and return for a second useful interaction; those signals are more informative than a large inactive member count.
A Practical Next Step
Put the decision into a one-page worksheet: write your audience, the member outcome, your current constraints, the first action a new member should take, and one question you still need to verify. Test the journey with a real prospective member, note where they hesitate, and change one thing at a time. If a platform feature or fee affects the decision, check the provider's current documentation before acting. Return to this guide after the pilot and update your assumptions using observed behavior rather than guesses.
Continue Your Research
How To Grow An Online Community Without Empty Engagement
Build repeatable acquisition and retention loops.
Community Engagement Ideas That Serve Members
Replace generic activity prompts with useful member interactions.
How To Monetize An Online Community
Explore memberships, courses and services without overpromising income.
Skool Review: Features, Trade-offs And Who It Fits
Skool combines community discussions, courses and member participation tools. Evaluate its fit before you create a group.
Skool Alternatives: Compare Community Platform Models
Explore Circle, Mighty Networks, Kajabi and Discord by the kind of community you want to run.