In many ways how we do business keeps getting more complicated. There is more to do every day, there are many platforms to manage, there is marketing, there is delivery, there is product development, we might have teams to manage, admin to do, sales to generate and of course, social media to throw into the mix. It's very easy to become busy being busy, but it doesn't always translate into growing a long term, sustainable business.
The one really challenging issue that I'm encountering with business owners is that whilst they are crazy busy, doing lots of things, the missing piece from their world is a deeply engaged community. Once you have this, so many of the other business issues seem to disappear. Specifically the business development issues.
THE BIG CHALLENGE IS KNOWING HOW TO BUILD A COMMUNITY
Of course the challenge is that no one has taught us how to grow a community. And yes, if we do certain things, we are sure to grow a community over time. We might end up with a pile of followers but are they really engaged? Are they really supporting you and your business? Are you really supporting them? Growing a deeply engaged community is a business strategy - far more complex than simply building a list, getting more likes or follows. The transformational power of having a small, but deeply engaged community is far more significant than having a million followers that you've bought on social media but who really don't have any real relationship with you.
SO WHAT DOES A DEEPLY ENGAGED COMMUNITY LOOK LIKE?
A deeply engaged community means you have people who are connected to you in some shape or form. They may like what you have to say, they make like your products or services, they value what it is you do and who you are. In other words, you have a relationship with them. In the digital world we live in, you probably haven't even met all of them. They may be past customers, they may be friends of friends, they may be people who are thinking of working with you at some stage or they might just like the content that you share. They are engaged with you. And ideally, they are growing in number as members of your community tell other people about what it is you do and they join.
MY COMMUNITY BUILDING JOURNEY GOES BACK 20 YEARS
I’ve spent many years building my community. I respect everyone in my community, I value everyone in my community and I’m deeply considered with everything I do when I’m engaging with my community. Why? Because my community is my single biggest business asset. My community supports me, they teach me, they grow with me, they tell others about me - and yes, they buy my products and services and they have done for years. A deeply engaged community will support you through good times and tough times. And how your business copes through a rough time will give you a pretty good indication of how engaged your community actually is.
I’ve worked with so many different types of business over the last 20 years, from every industry imaginable. The successful ones all have one thing in common - they have a deeply engaged and growing community. They understand the importance of their community and they work every single day to nurture it. They know that it’s not just about numbers, a big number of followers without any engagement is useless. They respect their community and their aim is deep engagement.
WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC TOPICS THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS?
That’s why I developed this programme. It’s the first time I’ve ever offered a Community Building Programme - and I don’t think there has ever been a more important time to run it. I’ve spent a lot of time deconstructing what I’ve done and what I do to build my community. The key topics of importance that I'm going to cover include:
Most businesses struggle to build community and my goal is to work with you over a 6 month period to help you start building a deeply engaged community or if you've already started the process, add focus and strategy and technique to the community you’re building.
What we achieve in the next 6 months is going to be a solid foundation for you to build a community that will become invaluable to you for many years to come as it grows and evolves with you and your business. And if you’ve already got a community, you’re going to strengthen it, grow it and nurture it in a smart and strategic way.
I’m very excited about my Community Building Programme. It’s the first time I’ve done such a comprehensive, hands-on, virtual programme. I think I’ve come up with the missing link for most business owners who are busy doing what they do, and hoping that someone will buy what they are selling. I’m aiming to take this “hope” out of the equation and make it much more of a certainty.
This programme kicks off on July 15th - so start the new financial year in a really positive way. There’s plenty of information about the programme here. And those of you who know me, know that I always exceed expectations in the delivery of any of my products and programmes.
If you've got any questions, drop me a line -
Or if you're ready to build your greatest business asset, book in now.Cheers
Andrew Griffiths
PLEASE NOTE THE ORIENTATION WEBINAR TO LAUNCH THE PROGRAMME IS ON JULY 15th July 1.30pm SYDNEY/MELBOURNE
To develop solid community building habits there are a number of key considerations. There needs to be a transfer of skills and knowledge, development of an individual strategy and the establishment of important routines and rituals to ensure daily community activities are being undertaken. I pondered this for quite some time whilst I was developing this programme and decided on the five following elements that I believe each serve a vital part in the community building process.
1. DEEP DIVE LEARNING WEBINARS.
I’ve broken the key learning webinars into 7 key modules. These are listed below. Of course, each module has a pile of information contained within it - and I guarantee that from the first one, you’ll be seeing exactly how valuable this information and this programme are going to be. Each of these deep-dive learning webinars will of course be recorded and shared.
Now when I say we do a deep dive on each of these topics, I really mean we do a deep dive. I'm going to share a huge amount of information to give you a very deep understanding of the strategy behind everything I do as well as how I implement each and every strategy. There will be many practical tips and ad hoc advice shared as we move through the programme to ensure a very well rounded approach to the learning and transfer of knowledge aspect of this programmes.
2. HANDS ON VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS
I can teach everyone the theory, but we need to be workshopping the ideas, the strategies, the advice - everything. That’s why I'm going to run 2 hour workshops throughout the programme. These are to do practical work towards building your community, planning, developing content ideas, mapping your strategies and implementation and testing ideas and creative ideas with the group. This is also going to be the opportunity for everyone to bring issues and opportunities to the table to share and to get collective wisdom and advice. So roll up your sleeves for these sessions.
3. A WORKING FACEBOOK GROUP
I’m really going to invest a lot of time and energy into the Facebook Group. We need to be having discussions, sharing both our challenges and our successes as everyone moves through the programme. The Facebook Group is going to be a hugely valuable tool for all participants and it's where I'll be adding new information, giving programme updates, sharing examples of successful community building and much more.
4. COMMUNITY BUILDING EXPERT INTERVIEWS
Throughout the programme I’m going to be interviewing 10 people who are really good at some specific aspect of community building. The idea of these interviews is to add their unique knowledge, strategies and philosophies to your expertise to help grow your own engaged community. These interviews will be recorded and made available to all participants.
5. MODELS, FRAMEWORKS AND RESOURCES
Anyone who knows me won’t be surprised to hear that I’m going to be giving you a lot of new frameworks, models and resources to help you build a deeply engaged community. These are mostly brand new tools that I’ve been working on for some time and I think you’re going to find them really helpful.
The aim over our 6 months of working together is for you to either build a community or grow your existing one. It doesn’t happen by itself - it takes work, every single day. And this programme is as much about establishing the right community building routines and rituals as it is about learning new skills and expertise.
I really only want to work with people who are going to commit to the programme and do the work. Feels strange to say that, but in reality, a lot of people have good intentions but simply don’t follow through. Please think long and hard about what this programme will mean for you and your business before committing. And come along ready to work.
That’s a good question and I’ve thought about it long and hard. In many ways it’s the programme I wish I had when social media started taking off many years ago. Today I think it’s perfect for anyone in their own business who is developing products and services but struggling to find an audience.
I’m kicking off this programme with a comprehensive “Orientation Webinar”. This is to get everyone on the same page when it comes to what we are going to be working on over 6 months together. This and all of the sessions will be conducted over ZOOM - they will all be live - and they will all be recorded. Every month participants will have projects and homework to do, so I’m going to suggest allocating time each week (and actually time each day) to work on building their communities.
All of the live training webinars and working webinar dates can be found below. Of course, if you can't make a session, no problem, they will be recorded and made available immediately.
Thursday 15th July | 1.30pm - 3.pm | Orientation Webinar - Creating your Community Vision |
Thursday 22nd July | 10am - 12pm | Month 1 - Building Rock Solid Foundations |
Wednesday 4th August | 1pm - 3pm | Working Webinar |
Tuesday 17th August | 1pm - 3pm | Month 2 - The Content Matrix |
Tuesday 31st August | 12pm - 2pm | Working Webinar |
Thursday 16th September | 1pm - 3pm | Month 3 - The Art of Deep Engagement |
Wednesday 29th September | 11am - 1pm | Working Webinar |
Friday 15th October | 1pm - 3pm | Month 4 - Selling to Your Community |
Wednesday 27th October | 2pm - 4pm | Working Webinar |
Thursday 11th November | 12pm - 2pm | Month 5 - The Battle for Relevance |
Wednesday 24th November | 2pm - 4pm | Working Webinar |
Wednesday 8th December | 11am - 1pm | Month 6 - The Future of Your Community |
Wednesday 15th December | 12pm - 2pm | Final Working Webinar |
There are two options for being involved in my Community Building Programme.
OPTION 1 - $3995.00 (or $795.00 month).
With this option you get all of the programme elements.
OPTION 2 - $8995.00 (or $1695.00 month).
With this option you get all of the programme elements PLUS a 1:1 coaching session with me every two weeks during the programme to help you with your community building activities (PLEASE NOTE DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS I CAN ONLY OFFER 4 OF THESE PACKAGES).
If this sounds like you, now is the time to book in. As mentioned there are two options, both have upfront prices and months prices - you can choose on the booking form.
BOOK ME IN NOW
If you’ve got any questions please feel free to drop me a line at
Cheers,
Andrew Griffiths
Every week I’m going to give away a copy of one of my bestselling books. All you need to do to go into the draw is put your details in the box below. If you win, it will appear in your mailbox. Simple as that.