For many creators, entrepreneurs, and organizations, building an online community is one of the most powerful ways to create real value. Communities bring people together around shared goals, passions, or identities. They generate conversations, inspire loyalty, and drive growth. But the question is: where should that community live?

Closing the “expectation gap” – or the difference between what customers expect and what they receive, is one of the major concerns of today’s marketers. Brands fall short of current expectations for speed and customization across all channels while using classic marketing tactics on social media.

At first glance, it’s natural to believe that there is no difference between support and product communities—after all, aren’t all communities built around product discussions and supporting members? The distinction is a subtle one: while service communities are about creating a great place to be, product communities are more about creating a great resource for…

Like most business ventures, the answer to generating profit from your community doesn’t lie in some lazy hack. It’s easy to start spamming your community with ads, merch, and membership fees…but it needs to be handled professionally. Do it wrong, and you might not have a community left to monetize.

We’ve looked previously at why gamification is powerful for online community engagement—today we want to explore the practical steps you can take to make it work for your community.