Why Most Communities Fail & How to Fix it

When I was first running my community, there was one worry that kept me up at night:

“What if nobody actually cares?”

I’d post content, host events, do everything “right”, and still, silence.

Turns out, that fear isn’t just in your head. It’s a very real sign that something needs to change. Not because you’re failing, but because maybe you’re building for your idea of what people want, rather than what they actually need.

The Issue We're Avoiding

Most of us fall into this trap:

• We guess what members might find interesting.
• We come up with ideas in isolation.
• We assume people will engage just because we thought it was cool.

When engagement stays low, it feels like failure. But really, it’s a mismatch between intention and what the audience cares about.

The Shift That Helps

Here’s what turned things around for me, simple, but game-changing:

1. Stop assuming. Start asking.
   Don’t build content or events just based on what you think is useful. Talk to a few members. Ask what they want more of. Ask what frustrates them. What they wish the community did.
2. Listen for pain, fear, desire.
   The deeper stuff. Not “Which topics are good?” but “What keeps them up at night?” That’s where engagement and loyalty come from.
3. Build from the feedback.
   Adjust what you create, how you run things, based on what people say. It doesn’t need to be perfect, small changes matter.

What This Looks Like in Practice

Here’re examples of what this shift could actually mean:

• Instead of creating weekly live sessions because “that’s what people do,” you run a poll to ask when people are free and what topics they most want.
• Instead of sporadic posts, you test one type of content (say, short Q&A) and see what actually gets responses.
• You follow up on feedback. If people say they want more mentorship, you set up a mentor match or peer review. If they say they feel left out, you run smaller breakout groups.

Why This Matters

Because when you do this:

• There’s less wasted effort. You stop doing things that don’t land.
• People feel seen. That builds trust, and then engagement.
• The fear of “nobody caring” starts to fade, it’s replaced with signals (comments, replies, shares) that you are making a difference.

Takeaway

If you feel like you’re working hard and getting silence back, don’t beat yourself up. Use that as info. It’s telling you there’s a gap between what you're building and what people actually want.

Try this: pick one thing, a poll, a conversation, even a DM or two — that lets you hear from members before you build. Then adjust based on what they say.

Because in the end, people do care, once you put in the work to find out what they care about.

💬 And if you want personalized support, feedback, or help applying these steps to your situation, book a free personal guidence chat