Welcome to The Dear Bri Podcast, an advice column for community conundrums, fiascos, and drama. In this episode, we’re hearing from Crumbling in Kansas. Our letter today comes from a community manager in the thick of a complete overhaul for the type of community they run. And it has to do with the tension between a cohort-based model and a membership model.

To better help Crumbling in Kansas, I invited Marie Schacht — CEO of Akimbo— as my guest expert. I thought of Marie because back when everyone was just starting to create online courses, Marie, Seth Godin, and the team at Akimbo were trailblazers in the education-centric community design space, specifically for the cohort-based model.

So, tune in for a special episode as we cover a wide variety of topics from the high-level mindset and curiosity with which we must continue to approach community building, all the way down to some of the really practical experiments that Marie is conducting to figure out what the future of learning looks like online and especially in community.

In this episode:

(04:06) Marie’s computer meltdown

(08:44) The communitea: a letter from Crumbling in Kansas

(15:29) The strengths of the cohort-based model

(18:54) The benefits of the membership model

(21:20) Which model is best for you based on your marketing engine

(25:11) Test and experiment before the community model transition

(29:27) Discuss with leadership the vision, mission, and values behind a community strategy transition

(37:07) Trends in the online learning community space

(42:05) Practical community experiments that Marie is conducting

(45:11) Listening to your community and embracing the third option

Expect: Marketing strategy, community engagement tactics, and lots of support for community builders and community managers.

Resources Mentioned:

❤️ Signup for Heartbeat. Bri’s recommended all-in-one community platform.

💛 Join Ember. The place for go-getter community creators building community-powered businesses.

Noteworthy quotes:

“That is leadership. Going and having a discussion and owning your feelings and what you're not feeling totally sure about is a huge leadership skill. And if it were someone on my team, and I was that CEO making that decision, I would want them to come have that conversation with me.” - Marie Schacht

“Don't do it alone. Community building is hard enough. There's no reason to do it alone.“ - Bri Leever

Marie Schacht:

Marie is the CEO of Akimbo, a company founded in 2015 by Seth Godin. She's designed and run more than 100+ community-centered workshops, courses and trainings. Both online and in-person ranging from a few hours to 200+ days.

🖥️ Website

📱 Linkedin

Bri Leever:

Bri got her start building a community and growing it to a multi-million dollar revenue stream for a social enterprise in Portland, OR. Now, she supports folks used to running their business on content, coaching, and consulting create their community offer. She's a Community Strategist by day and a Campervan host by night on the Big Island of Hawaii and you'll usually find her on, in, or under the water.

🖥️ Website

📩 Newsletter

📹 Youtube

📱 Linkedin

And before you go…

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Want your story to be next? Submit an anonymous letter about your community conundrum, fiasco, drama, or other dilemma here.

*Dear Bri is produced by Ideablossoms.