You’re a busy membership owner + you’ve probably been “wearing all the hats” when it comes to your community.
You create all the content, schedule events, welcome members in and “engage”. Everything.
And ya know what?
Until recently, that worked for you...but you’re starting to feel the “I need help” itch and decided to hire a Community Manager.
Now...before you email your VA with some additional tasks to add to their list and move on, it’s time for me to hit PAUSE and give you the red pill.
Yup.
Morphious here {me} and I've got a red pill and a cup of water with your name on it.
Note that there is no blue pill in this scenario cause I can't let you move forward thinking “Community Management isn’t all that complicated/important”. It's time to unplug from the matrix.
So down the red pill...bottoms up your H20, and saddle up for some insights, and actionable steps.
That way when you do handover the keys to your community castle someone...you can do so with an air of confidence.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what we’re going to jam about:
Pop your name and email below and I'll shoot the PDF version to your inbox.
First...here is my definition of what a Community Manager is, in the context of online Memberships.
Community Manager: A trained professional who provides strategic support and insights that boost the everyday running and member experience of an online membership community, while simultaneously serving the members, the team and the membership host.
Now, that definition isn't perfect but it gives you a good idea of what Community Managers are responsible for and what their focus should be on.
You’ll also notice that the focus is on activity INSIDE the membership.
This is an important distinction, as a lot of business owners will try to combine the role of “Community Manager” and “Social Media Manager”...which are totally different animals.
Virtual Assistants are people who handle agreed upon tasks and provide support for businesses remotely.
Now...technically you could have a VA that specializes in Community Management related tasks, but the breed of CM that I’m referring to isn’t that.
Why?
Because VAs tend to be “reactionary”. They are given tasks and they do them. They aren’t expected to proactively assess a Community to see what needs improving from a strategic perspective.
What I’m talking about when I say, “Community Manager”, is someone who owns the community piece of your membership puzzle. Who balances the needs of members, the team and you as the host, so that the community can function as a whole and everyone wins.
Community Managers are…
Basically...Community Managers do A LOT of shit! (so you don't have to)!
They're like proactive octopuses...with tentacles always on different levers and moving parts ensuring that the community runs smoothly and that your members enjoy and find value in the experience.
It’s like a hamster running on a wheel while having balls thrown at it periodically...and it being expected to catch said balls and organize them...all while RUNNING!
It takes a special breed of person to nail "all the things", while being focused on the mission, purpose and vibe of the membership.
I see this question A LOT. Usually from membership owners who know it’s time to get help, but they are unsure how to find it.
Here are the most common options, with some thoughts to consider for each as well.
So what can YOU do to ensure that the person you want to hire is a good fit for the role...for your members, your team and for your bottomline?
You can assess the shit out of them BEFORE you give them the keys to your membership community castle.
Truth: You're hiring the person in the trenches who will facilitate a community that boosts retention.
So at the end of the month or year when your members are deciding if they should keep throwing cash your way...it's a YASSSS take my money {a no brainer}.
To help you assess someone quickly and efficiently, I created a mini guide that includes 13 juicy Qs to ask yourself about that person. Drop your name and email below + I'll shoot the mini guide to your inbox.
Got it? Great.
Now...really take a moment to answer these 13 questions about the potential hire...or your current Community Manager.
If you notice that you’re getting a lot of negative responses or that this person might be falling short, take your assessment one step further and ask yourself the following Q:
Is this issue something that they could learn through training/explanation/experience, or is this something that will likely never change?
If it’s not something that can be learnt or groomed into them, you’ll then want to ask yourself if this is a deal breaker for you, your members and your team.
An example of this would be hiring a Community Manager that doesn’t write well. Maybe English is their second language, or maybe their grammar sucks.
Whatever the issue is, if you have to start having other team members write copy for them, or review their writing, or you are worried about what comments/replies they are writing in the community {wondering if they are interpreting questions correctly etc} then this person is creating more work for the rest of the team and not delivering peace of mind for you.
Once you’ve assessed someone using the 13Q Assessment, you’ll want to put the person through a similar process you would any new hire/candidate.
You can either put them through an official assessment process {which includes email correspondence to assess their writing, a live interview, and a written assignment} or you could delegate that all to me.
No matter what you decide to do, just know that most membership owners tend to underestimate the Community Management role or downplay the importance of what’s being done.
Many believe that Community Managers are simply glorified VAs that execute on task lists that have been given to them...that happen to involve the community. They “scroll” and “check” the community and not much else, which couldn’t be further from the truth.
You of course know better...because you took the red pill and read this mini-guide.
Your next steps:
Here’s a high level look at what that might consist of:
Congratulations! You've but a ring on it. Haha. Once you find the right person, it's time to train them to ensure that they take a strategic approach to your community {making your life easier and making the experience for your members outstanding}.
What's next?
It's time to train them into a unicorn Community Manager and my live coaching program UniU: Community Manager Training Program for Memberships could be exactly what you need. Click here for all the details + to learn when it's next open for enrolment.
Pop your name and email below and I'll shoot the PDF version to your inbox.
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