In order to build a successful community, you must first understand your members. That idea seems obvious but explains why many communities fail. Often, creators build a community to serve only their needs and hypothesize about what members will get out of a community, and the community’s purpose and programming do not resonate with members.

Conflict is inevitable in any community. Yet many organizations still fail to plan for how to mediate conflict and tension. It’s important that we do: when you let conflict fester and turn into a full-blown crisis, it can destroy the community you’ve worked so hard to build.

“How do you keep community members engaged?” Though this is one of the most common community questions, the answer is always frustrating and unsatisfactory: “It depends.”

There may not be one singular approach to engaging all communities, but there is a framework to structure engagement for your specific community.

It’s called the Community Commitment Curve.