Community Launch Checklist

Welcome to the Community Launch Checklist – your comprehensive guide to navigating the complexities of community building with confidence and clarity. Starting a community is exciting and a bit challenging. With the right steps, you can create a lively and engaging space where people connect and feel at home. Designed to accompany you every step of the way, this checklist is your roadmap to success, offering insights, tips, and actionable tasks to ensure your community launch is not only smooth but also profoundly impactful.

1. Community Purpose and Goals

Establishing a strong foundation for your community starts with clearly defining its purpose and goals. By focusing on the most crucial aspects, you can ensure your community meets both your business objectives and the needs of your members. 

❑ Identify Core Objectives

Define the primary reason for your community's existence. Determine what you want your community to achieve, such as support, education, networking, or collaboration. Are there specific engagement metrics you aim to achieve, such as active member participation in discussions or completion rates of courses?

❑ Align with Business Goals

Identify how your Kajabi community contributes to your business objectives. This could include goals like increasing course sales, improving member retention rates, or enhancing customer satisfaction through community support.

2. Familiarize with the Key Features of Kajabi Communities

Building a vibrant and engaging community requires understanding the tools at your disposal. Kajabi Communities offers a suite of powerful features designed to foster connection, collaboration, and growth. By familiarizing yourself with these key features, you can create a tailored experience that meets the unique needs of your members.

• Access Groups: Create specific member groups for different courses or membership levels. This way, each member gets the content and support that match what they signed up for. 
• Channels (formerly known as Circles): Set up public and private discussion spaces for focused conversations. These virtual gathering spots let members dive into specific topics, share insights, and connect with others who have similar interests or goals.
• Meetups: Host live sessions and events to bring your community together. Schedule and run live sessions like Q&A sessions, guest speaker events, or workshops right within your community.
• Challenges: Create fun and engaging challenges to reinforce your content with clear instructions and prizes. Joining the challenges yourself can inspire your members. Watch the tutorial here.
• Member Directory: Help your community members find and connect with each other. The directory makes it easy for members to find peers with similar interests, goals, or career paths, promoting collaboration and building connections.
• Leaderboard: Add a competitive edge to your community with leaderboards. These gamify the experience by giving points for engagement, participation, or achievements. Leaderboards provide motivation and a sense of belonging, which boosts member engagement and retention.
• Custom Pages: Make your community feel more personalized with custom pages. These pages can be hubs for important information, resources, announcements, or upcoming events. Customize your landing pages to fit your brand and meet your community's needs and preferences.
• Community Admins and Moderators: Designate admins and moderators to assist you in managing your Kajabi Community.
   

3. Crafting a Valuable Community

Before launching your Kajabi Community, it’s important to confirm that your prospective members will find it valuable. Here are a few ways to do that:

❑ Surveys and Interviews

Engage in interviews with potential community members to share your vision and understand their expectations. Discuss their goals, challenges, and desired outcomes to tailor offerings effectively. Use these insights to design member feedback surveys that explore community needs and interests thoroughly.

❑ Competitive Analysis

Evaluate other communities serving a similar audience or those you admire, even if they operate in different niches. Identify successful strategies and potential gaps to differentiate your Kajabi community, creating a distinctive and valuable experience for members. See our community showcase for inspiring examples.

4. Plan Community Programming, Engagement, and Cadence

Building a thriving community hinges on careful planning of programming, engagement tactics, and event schedules. This checklist outlines key steps to help you organize activities, foster member interaction, and optimize community features for lasting engagement and satisfaction. Whether launching or refining your community, these guidelines ensure a solid foundation for growth and meaningful member experiences.

❑ Determine Event Frequency

Decide how often you will host each type of event or activity (e.g., weekly challenges, monthly meetups) and plan daily, weekly, or monthly prompts and discussions to maintain engagement and keep the community active. Establishing a consistent schedule of events and interactions helps create a dynamic community atmosphere where members know what to expect and can actively participate in ongoing conversations and activities.

❑ Calendar and Schedule

Develop a calendar outlining all planned activities, events, and content. Plan the frequency and timing of these activities to ensure a consistent and predictable cadence that members can look forward to (e.g., Include specific dates for all planned activities, such as live Q&A sessions, challenges, and content updates)

❑ Plan Engagement Strategy

Develop a comprehensive strategy to actively engage community members and sustain their participation over time. Incorporate diverse engagement methods such as interactive polls, live streaming events, collaborative projects, and gamification elements like rewards and leaderboards. Aligning these strategies with member preferences and community goals creates a dynamic and inclusive environment where members feel motivated to contribute, interact, and derive value from their participation.

❑ Plan Essential Features

Identify and prioritize essential features that will contribute to the vibrancy and functionality of your community. This includes access groups tailored to specific member interests or needs, robust discussion channels for focused conversations, live meetups to facilitate real-time interactions, engaging challenges to inspire participation and learning, and effective notification systems to keep members informed and engaged.

❑ Plan When and How to Announce Your Kajabi Community

Planning when and how to announce your Kajabi community is crucial for making a strong impact on your target audience. Start by selecting the right channels for your announcement. Tailor your messaging to each channel, emphasizing the unique benefits your community offers, such as exclusive content or networking opportunities. Strategically schedule your announcement to coincide with times when your audience is most active and engaged. 

5. Community Structure 

Now that you've laid out a clear plan, understand the essential features, and have insights into what potential members are looking for, it's time to build the foundation of your community. Structuring your community effectively is crucial for fostering engagement and creating a welcoming environment where members can connect, learn, and grow together. 

• Create Your First Access Group: The access group is your community’s foundation, setting the stage for everything that follows. 
• Add Channels for Effective Communication: Create smaller groups based on interests or topics, ensure each has a specific focus, and encourage cross-channel communication to keep things lively.
• Set Up Challenges: Create fun activities to get people involved, use points, or rewards to motivate members, and keep updating challenges to stay fresh and exciting.
• Organize Meetups: Plan regular in-person or virtual events to build stronger connections, choose convenient times and locations, and mix formal and informal activities.
• Customize Community: Change how your community feature names appear, Customize the terminology used for reactions on posts and entries, Define how members communicate with you and each other, Roles aliases, 
• Community Email Notifications: Add your branding and customize your business information when your community members receive email notifications about your Community. Choose which types of email notifications your members will and won't receive.
• Navigation menu and custom page: Enhance user experience by creating custom pages that cater to specific community needs or initiatives. Customize the structure of your community's navigation menu to reflect important sections and facilitate intuitive access to information. Organize menu items by dragging them to reorder and create dropdowns to streamline navigation and improve overall usability.
• Add Admins and Moderators: Pick reliable and active members to be admins and moderators, clearly define their roles, and provide training on moderation tools and conflict resolution.
  
  

6. Create Community Assets

Designing visual assets like logos, banners, and graphics is a crucial step in establishing your community's identity. This process can be time-consuming but is essential for creating a memorable brand presence. Here’s a list of our Recommended Dimensions:

• Cover Image: 1280x720px
• Profile Photo: 200x200 px
• Channel Icon: 80x80 px
• Feed Post: 1250 x 643
• Challenge Cover: 1280x720
• Meetup Cover: 1280x720
• Guideline Image: 300x300px
• Announcement Image: 300x300px
  
  

7. Create a Welcome Experience

Creating a vibrant and engaging community experience on Kajabi involves more than just setting up features; it's about crafting meaningful interactions and fostering a sense of belonging from the moment members join. By strategically designing a welcoming onboarding process you can ensure new members feel valued and connected.

❑ Create a Community Guideline

Establish clear guidelines that outline community rules, etiquette, and expectations. This helps new members understand how to engage respectfully and productively within the community.

❑ Make Use of the Custom Page

Utilize Kajabi's Custom Page feature to create a dedicated onboarding page. Include tutorials on navigating the community, step-by-step guides on completing initial tasks like joining channels or participating in challenges, and introduce key features to enhance their experience.

❑ Create a Welcome Message

Send a personalized welcome email or private message to new members. Express your excitement for their joining, provide an overview of community benefits, and encourage them to explore and engage. This initial communication sets a positive tone and reinforces their decision to be part of the community.

8. Launch

 ❑ Test Before Launch

Before your official launch, invite a select group of users to beta-test your community. Engage moderators and admins to gather insights and make necessary adjustments based on their feedback, ensuring a smooth user experience. Then, bring your community online in a controlled manner by inviting a small number of users. Conduct final checks to ensure everything functions as intended, allowing you to address any last-minute issues before proceeding with your full launch.

❑ Public Launch

Officially launch your community! Announce its availability through targeted promotions, social media, or other channels. This marks the beginning of active engagement and interaction within your community.

After launching your community, it's crucial to monitor its success by tracking metrics like member growth, engagement levels, and participation rates. Use surveys and polls to gather member feedback on satisfaction and areas for improvement. Adjust your strategies based on these insights to enhance the community experience continuously. This ongoing monitoring and adaptation ensure your community evolves effectively to meet member needs and maintain engagement.

Kajabi Community Resources

Not sure what your next move should be, or need assistance? Feel free to check out our resources for guidance.

• Guidance and Resources: Explore our Beginner Resources for webinars, articles, and expert workshops to get extra help and insights.
• Official Communities Insiders: Join the Insider’s Community to chat with the Communities product team, learn from other Heroes, and stay updated on recent features.
• Build Kajabi Communities: Read our article on getting started with building your community on Kajabi, covering essential steps and tips.
• What's New With Communities: Stay informed about the latest updates and features in Kajabi Communities to leverage new tools and enhancements effectively.