Community
Launch your community
Go from an empty community to a welcoming room with its first members, in one sitting.
By the end of this guide your community has a name, a tone, a first gathering on the calendar and its first members inside.
When to use this
- You're opening your community for the first time.
- Your community exists but nobody has joined yet.
- You want to relaunch a quiet community with a fresh start.
When your community is brand new, Community → Overview shows a checklist called "Let's set the room": Set your guidelines, Write a welcome, Schedule your first gathering and Invite your first members. The steps below follow it.
Name it and add a tagline
Go to Community → Settings. Under Identity, give your community a name and a one-line tagline (for example "A quiet place to reflect, together."). Click Save changes.
Decide who can join
Still in Settings, look at Membership. Leave Require a paid membership off for a free community, or turn it on to keep it for paying members. See Make your community members-only.
Set your guidelines
Go to Community → Onboarding and open the Guidelines tab. Write a few lines on how this community is held. Members read them before they enter. Click Save.
Write a welcome
On the Welcome steps tab, click Add a step and write the first words a new member reads. Steps land as drafts, so click Publish on each one when you're happy. See Set up onboarding and guidelines.
Schedule your first gathering
Go to Community → Gatherings and click Schedule a Gathering. A first gathering gives new members a reason to show up. See Host a live gathering.
Post something
Go to Community → Posts and click New post. A short hello from you means the first member doesn't walk into an empty room.
Invite your first members
Go to Community → Overview and click Invite Members. Copy "Your community link" with Copy link and share it by email, in your chat spaces or on social media. "Share this link and anyone can join your community."
Show it on your portal
Go to My Portal and turn on the Community section so visitors can find it. See Your portal.
Tips
- Start with one or two people. "A community begins with one or two." Invite a few people you know personally before announcing it widely.
- Welcome new members by email. On Community Members, the "Welcome new members automatically" banner offers Set Up Welcome Email. It sends a friendly email whenever someone joins.
- Tell your existing audience. Send an announcement to your subscribers and leads with your community link.
- Keep guidelines, access and lifecycle aligned before you invite. It's much easier than changing the rules once people are inside.
Your community link includes your portal handle. If you change your handle later, links you've already shared stop working.
What your members see
People who open your link land on your community and click Join the community (or Subscribe to join for a paid community). They read your guidelines, step in with Enter the community, and see your welcome steps, your first post and your upcoming gathering.
Your community appears as a card in Soul's discovery once you've written a tagline or guidelines and someone besides you has joined or there's something inside.