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Today's tip is made possible by beehiiv. They just launched new Community features that allow you to build a community alongside your newsletter and podcast content. Learn more!
Get 30% off 3 months with code ARIELLE30
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Decide whether your podcast needs a community structure -- and, if it does, give that community a clear purpose.
"Community" as a concept is pretty buzzy lately in podcast land. But not every podcast needs a dedicated Slack, Discord, or membership space. Before you launch a community for your audience, ask yourself: do they want to interact with each other? Do they have time? Do *I* have time?
Write one sentence that completes this prompt:
Listeners will join my community to ________.
Make sure your answer to this prompt is specific.
Here are some ways to think about building a community around your show...
Suggestions for Implementation
- Identify your community’s job. For discussing episodes, meeting people, exchanging advice, finding collaborators, accountability, accessing you?
- Explore tools that connect your content and community. beehiiv just announced new Community features that let creators build free or paid spaces, create channels, sync podcast episodes and newsletter posts, host conversations, and track engagement in the same ecosystem.
- Test demand before building. Ask your audience: “If I built a space for us to discuss [x topic], would you use it?”
- Start with one repeatable activity. Try a weekly episode discussion thread, monthly Zoom, listener question, resource exchange, or accountability check-in.
- Build participation into the podcast. Ask a question on each episode. Direct listeners to discuss in the community.
- Measure activity, not membership numbers. Track how many people post, reply, attend events, or return each month rather than the sheer size of community members.
BONUS - Consider making the community paid. If members get ongoing value, you can charge a monthly or annual fee. beehiiv’s new Community features support both free + paid spaces, so you could keep a discussion area open while reserving higher-touch channels or programming for paid members.
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