Dear Bri: Community Strategy, Fiascos, and Drama

How do I find the first members for my niche community? With Murtaza Bambot, Founder & CEO at Heartbeat

Oct 15, 2024

Murtaza Bambot, Founder & CEO of Heartbeat, shares insights on building niche communities, especially around sensitive topics. He emphasizes empathy and communication for attracting initial members. Murtaza discusses grassroots strategies over paid ads, the power of a paid waitlist, and the necessity of constant research and testing. He highlights the importance of focusing marketing on transformation and advises on leveraging tools like ChatGPT for support. This conversation is a goldmine for anyone looking to foster genuine community connections!

53:35

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Episode guests

Murtaza Bambot

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Empathy is essential when recruiting initial members for sensitive communities, as it helps address their fears about joining such groups.

Building trust through open communication and regular engagement is crucial for maintaining member confidence, especially during challenges.

Marketing should prioritize the connection and shared experiences of community members, using authentic testimonials to illustrate their transformations.

Deep dives

Finding Initial Community Members

Starting a community can be challenging, particularly when trying to find the first few members. The initial focus should be on understanding where potential members gather information about their shared challenges, such as specific conditions or interests. Engaging individuals through personal conversations, perhaps via Zoom calls, can create connections and identify those willing to join. These strategies help build a foundational group that can grow through word-of-mouth as these initial members share their experiences.

Intro

3min

Navigating the Challenges of Building Niche Communities

3min

Navigating Community Challenges

19min

Grassroots Strategies for Community Building

8min

Sustaining Community Engagement Through Self-Reflection

2min

Marketing Connection-Centric Communities

15min

Embracing Adaptability in Community Building and Sales

2min

Evolving Strategies for Community Growth

3min

In this episode, we’re hearing from Sensitive in Seattle. Today’s letter deals with how to grow a community where joining that community might in and of itself be taboo.

To better help Sensitive in Seattle, I’m bringing in the big guns. I invited Murtaza Bambot as my guest expert. He is the Founder & CEO at Heartbeat — the all-in-one platform for community businesses (also the sponsor of this podcast!) that has served has served over 5, 000 communities.

So, tune in for an episode packed full of wisdom where Murtaza guides us through the process of finding those initial community members, even in a sensitive community, from a place of empathy and authority.

In this episode:

(05:51) Having a customer community when everything is going wrong

(10:55) The only way out is through

(14:40) The communitea: Sensitive in Seattle’s letter

(15:41) Why community exists in the first place

(18:23) Immediate boots-on-the-ground strategies to find your initial members

(22:52) Prime advice on sales calls

(24:43) Murtaza’s advice on using paid ads

(26:27) The power of a paid waitlist to launch your community

(31:16) You deserve to be paid for your work

(34:45) Focus your marketing on the transformation

(45:17) Be ready to constantly research, test, and implement

(46:40) Leveraging ChatGPT as a thought partner

(49:25) What makes a great salesperson

Resources Mentioned:

❤️ Sign up 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:

“When you have 0 customers, your job is just to get to 1. And when you have 1 customer, your job is to get to 10. You don't have to think about what 100 customers, 1,000, 10,000 customers look like. Don't build these things to scale at the start.“ - Murtaza Bambot

Murtaza Bambot

🖥️ Website

📱 Linkedin

Bri Leever

🖥️ Website

📩 Newsletter

📹 Youtube

📱 Linkedin

And before you go…

💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

💚 Leave a review on Spotify

That helps the podcast more than you know and I deeply appreciate it. 🙏

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.

Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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Dear Bri: Community Strategy, Fiascos, and Drama

How do I find the first members for my niche community? With Murtaza Bambot, Founder & CEO at Heartbeat

Episode guests