A guide to curation in community: Building an audience-first product

A guide to curation in community: Building an audience-first product

Curation is a powerful tool for community builders. It allows them to provide their members with valuable and trusted information quickly. The act of curating not only benefits the members but also the community builder themselves. Through curation, community builders gain a deeper understanding of the community they serve.

One of the key benefits of curation is the ability to stay aware of trends. As a community builder, it is crucial to be up-to-date with the latest conversations, content, and tools in your niche. By curating and sharing this information with your community, you establish yourself as an expert and provide value to your members.

Before building a community, it is essential to research the ecosystem and discover who your potential members are. Understanding their interests, conversations, and content preferences will help you curate effectively. When curating, it is important to ask yourself whether the information is worth saving. By capturing only valuable content, you ensure that your curation remains high-quality and relevant to your community.

Continued curation not only benefits your community but also yourself as a community builder. It keeps you engaged and constantly learning. By curating, you never run out of interesting questions to ask, content to write, or events to create. It becomes a continuous cycle of learning and sharing.

While organizing your curated content with tags and categories can be helpful, it is important not to go overboard. Too many tags can make your curation counterproductive and chaotic. Instead, focus on connecting the dots between different pieces of content. The power of curation lies in the ability to see the connections and provide a cohesive narrative for your community.

Now, let's explore how curation ties into building an audience-first product, as outlined by David Perell. Perell suggests a three-step process: build an audience, build a product, and scale the solution.

The first step is to build an audience. Instead of immediately jumping into building a product, Perell emphasizes the importance of attracting like-minded people through sharing ideas. By writing about topics that resonate with a specific group, you can connect with them and establish your audience. The key is to focus on resonance rather than scale.

Once you have built an audience, you can move on to the second step: building a product. The product should solve a problem for your audience or yourself. It is crucial to identify a customer pain point that hasn't been adequately addressed. By offering a unique solution, you can differentiate yourself from the competition.

However, it is important not to rush into automation and lose the human touch. While technology has made it easier than ever to build an online audience and create products, maintaining a personal connection with your audience is vital. Building relationships and understanding the needs of your community will help you create a product that truly serves them.

Avoiding competition is another key aspect of building an audience-first product. Instead of trying to solve the same problems that others are already addressing, focus on unique solutions. Find the intersection of ideas that nobody else is exploring and create something truly innovative.

By following this audience-first approach, you can leverage the power of curation to build a network around yourself. As you curate and share valuable information, you attract like-minded people who become your first customers and supporters. They will share their best ideas and help you grow your company.

In conclusion, curation is a valuable skill for community builders. It allows them to provide trusted and vetted information to their members while also deepening their understanding of the community. By incorporating curation into the process of building an audience-first product, community builders can attract like-minded individuals, solve unique problems, and create a network of supporters. Three actionable advice to take away from this article are:

1. Prioritize resonance over scale when building an audience. Focus on writing about topics that resonate with a specific group and connect with them on a deeper level.

2. Identify and solve a customer pain point that hasn't been adequately addressed. Offer a unique solution that sets you apart from the competition.

3. Maintain a personal connection with your audience and avoid rushing into automation. Technology is valuable, but the human touch is what truly builds relationships and fosters growth.