Sarah Irwin
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How to build community

How to build community

1 min. read

Sarah Irwin
January 03, 2026

Something I get asked all the time is how to go about building community.

Where to start; how to grow it; how to monetize etc.

And not just by folks in the legal sector: XDRs, Marketing, HR, RevOps...

People in all kinds of roles tell me they'd love a supportive peer forum like ITGC to knowledge-share and become stronger leaders in their field.

Well don't worry - I've got you!

Below are my 14 tips on how to get started the right way.

My one bit of advice though: DO go for it.

If you've had the nouse to think of it, you're a born community builder.

👇

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Identify target audience

Pick the category of folks you want to help and identify key elements of their persona - who are they? What keeps them awake at night? What do they want? How do they feel? Don't make this about you btw - don't "feature-dump". Keep the mission about them.

Identify Vision

Get these key ducks in a row before you launch.

What is your mission (pick 3 things)? What are your values? Why is this the answer to members' problems? How are you different from your competitors?

Pick Branding

Get a freemium Canva account and pick colours and a simple logo that reflect what this community is about - could be standard colours typically associated with the sector (e.g. black & red for cybersecurity), or you could go wild and pick something unusual to stand out more (e.g. Legally Blonde pink for law!). There are plenty freelancers out there that can design something simple for you fast.

Positive vibes only

There are no grumpy community leaders. You're always visible. Your members will look up to you to boost their spirits. Be kind and courteous in all your interactions. Be nice to strangers when you're out and about - that person you were rude to in the Starbucks queue could be a future community member (or sponsor!).

Small is beautiful

Alexander The Great mentality is out. Bespoke, hyper-personalized, close-knit communities are in.

You don't have to cannibalize the whole planet (and that's too overwhelming a thought when you start off anyway). Keep an incremental mindset and focus on each new member at a time.

Thought leadership

Start posting insightful content on Linkedin about the problems your community is having, and your view on how to fix those. Make it educational, or entertaining, or emotionally provocative. They need to know you get them and what they're going through.

Be Authoritative

Don't sit on the fence - be clear about what you stand for and why in a way that leaves no doubt.

Do this in your content, at your events, in your newsletter, via email etc.

Pick a simple platform

For fast, private comms among members. There are plenty freemiums out there: Slack, WhatsApp, LinkedIn Groups, old-fashioned email. Bear in mind some sectors prefer what they're used to (e.g. anyone in tech will love Slack; lawyers not so much)

Be consistent

"Show up" consistently so members know you are dependable and trustworthy. Do this through regular thought leadership posting on LinkedIn, or stimulating conversations in your freemium platform, or even a simple monthly email campaign.

Freebies

Give folks what they want for free. Don't blatantly monetize from the people you're trying to help. In time, your LinkedIn content will become your freemium and you can charge for events and membership if that's what you want, but until you've proved you have something to offer them they want to pay for (i.e. product market fit), give for free generously.

Sponsorship will help you keep stuff free.

Be sponsor-savvy

The right sponsors are like the right investors: the most wonderful supporters to help you scale your community the way you want. Understand which companies will want to sell into your community (i.e. the market you have created). And that you are the gatekeeper to that and should be charging for access.

Hard Launch!

You've poured your heart & soul into creating this and the whole world should know about it. You also need to start finding new members, so: social media announcements; launch party; whatever. Just go at it HARD!

Hang in there!

99% of people give up. Be the 1% that doesn't. You have a community to take care of now so let that incentivize you. Nothing worth building is easy and takes time & intentionality. Stay the course and watch your efforts compound before your very eyes.

And maybe your bank balance too. 😉

Join my inner circle!