I still remember the first time I hit "publish" on a community forum post and got... nothing.

Zero responses. Zero comments. Not even a pity like from my friends (who I convinced to join).

Just me in the loneliest corner of the internet. 🦗

I've been a part of building and joining more communities than I want to admit (just don’t ask what kind of communities 🤣 🤣 🤣). Some took off like rockets with thousands of active members, daily banter, and enough inside jokes to fill a comedy special.

Others? Well, let's just say I've watched more than a few communities flatline despite my very sincere attempts to resuscitate them.

I've launched strategies that bombed harder than my high school line dancing phase. I've sent enthusiastic welcome emails into the void. I once hosted an "exclusive member event" where the only attendees were me and my growing sense of existential dread. (Pro tip: party for one is not actually a party.)

But here's the thing: I've also witnessed the magic – the late-night posts where someone types "I can't believe I found you all" with genuine emotion, the moments when members start planning their own meetups without any nudging from you.

Here's what caught me off guard: platforms like beehiiv have completely flipped the script.

Instead of playing whack-a-mole across Slack, Discord, Facebook groups, and whatever new app launched this week (spoiler alert: your members definitely aren't checking all of them), you can bring everyone together in one spot around your newsletter.

Krista Doyle, founder and editor of Taypedia, said this about community once in an interview, “I started thinking about how I can grow Taypedia into something that’s a community people are willing to subscribe to for extra features.”

Your subscribers stop being passive scrollers at that point and become actual participants.

Let’s dive in to see how!

Let’s start by talking about what a community is, because I see a lot of people getting this wrong.

An online community isn't an audience. It's not your email list or follower count.

A “real” community is a group of people who share something in common and engage with one another because of it. That's the key.

If everyone's only listening to you, you have an audience. When they start talking to each other, you have a community.

Think about online spaces you've loved:

What makes these places work? Emotional connection.

People join online communities for knowledge or support. They stay when they feel seen.

I started asking myself: how can I create moments where people connect and feel like they belong?

So how do you build an online community? How do you start your own community?

When I was helping my commercial real estate client tackle this exact problem, these questions were haunting me in my dreams.

I once created an online community where I was dealing with toxic members who had taken over the “safe space.” As an admin, that really hurt my spirit. I wanted a place where members felt safe to share and where knowledge could be shared without judgment. Instead, I created a culture that felt forced, where there was finger-pointing, and it was unsustainable.

Don’t just take it from me, the king of community-building, Brett Dashevsky, founder of Creator Economy NYC, once commented, “Your newsletter should genuinely reflect your community's interests and needs, and I know from working with creators and building newsletters that consistency and a manageable cadence is the best way to grow and keep an engaged audience.”

Years later, I learned that there are three key foundations for building a successful online presence.

When it comes to building an online community, your community needs a clear answer to one simple question: "What is this place for?"

Don't use anything vague like “connecting entrepreneurs” or “discussing fitness.” These answers are so broad that they're basically meaningless. I mean that your community must have a specific purpose that makes someone stop scrolling and think, "Oh, wow, that's exactly what I've been looking for."

Weak vs. Strong Purpose:

See the difference? The second one tells you exactly who belongs, what happens there, and why you'd want to join.

Your online community's identity goes hand-in-hand with purpose.

If you don't actively shape your online community culture, it will shape itself – and you probably won't like what it becomes. I learned this the hard way.

Early on, I was too hands-off. I thought letting everyone "find their own vibe" was the move. Instead, a few loud voices took over, new members felt intimidated, and the whole space got cliquey and unwelcoming.

Now, I set clear expectations from day one:

I use beehiiv's segmentation when building a healthy online community culture as we grow. Different welcome messages for new subscribers versus longtime members ensure that everyone understands what makes our space special from day one.

Here's the ugly truth about building a community: you need systems, not just vibes and good intentions.

I used to rely purely on inspiration to show up. Some weeks, I'd be all in, responding to everything. Other weeks? Silence. That inconsistency confused people and killed engagement.

I have actual systems now:

A real community needs real human connection. But systems ensure that communication keeps flowing even during chaotic weeks, and members always know where to find what they need.

Linda Hwang has extensive B2B marketing experience and previously worked at a renowned international facilities management company. There, she played a crucial role in creating effective content and social media marketing plans. Now, Hwang is a marketing consultant who helps small businesses create compelling brand stories.

Okay, enough theory. Let me share with you what has worked for me to build an online presence.

The first few times I tried to build healthy online communities, I built everything around what I wanted to talk about. I had a content calendar mapped out for months, with all of the topics I thought were super important.

The result? Mediocre engagement at best. People showed up, but nobody was particularly excited.

So I tried something different. I started asking my community what they actually wanted, not in a vague "let me know if you have questions" way, but through the following methods:

When I created content about what my audience cared about (not what I assumed they should), everything changed. Engagement tripled. People started sharing the newsletter. The community felt alive.

Even Nate Wells, Head of Business for The Pour Over, once said, “We’re trying to connect with the community by hosting a lot of giveaways and maintaining a friendly, personal tone.”

Wells also added, “Have realistic expectations for your first two years and focus on content while providing your readers with an excellent experience.”

To achieve a thriving community, I use the best online community platform: beehiiv. beehiiv has analytics that track which topics have the highest open, click-through, and response rates.

How do you ruin community engagement? Treat your newsletter like a TED Talk where you're the only one allowed to speak.

I see this all the time in other online communities. They never invite dialogue. They never ask questions. They never acknowledge responses. It's basically a lecture hall, not a community.

Here's how I learned to flip that dynamic:

The shift from broadcasting to conversation building isn't always comfortable. You're giving up some control. 

Your community might take discussions in unexpected directions, but that's exactly when the magic happens. That's when members start connecting with each other, not just with you.

Recognition is the most underrated community-building tool I've found.

Let’s be honest. People contribute for a simple reason… to feel appreciated.

I use a two-tier approach.

I give public recognition for contributions that benefit everyone:

Public recognition does double duty. It makes that person feel valued and shows everyone else what good participation looks like.

I give private recognition by sending personal thank-you messages to the people who consistently show up:

It's the small gestures that create serious loyalty and keep people coming back.

I've learned to treat feedback from community members not as an occasional check-in, but as an ongoing conversation.

Here’s how I’m building successful online communities:

First, I use regular feedback requests:

Rules that I follow:

What’s the beautiful thing about running a community through beehiiv? I have direct lines to members.

Let's talk about the practical platform choice.

After trying dozens of community tools, I've found that beehiiv offers something unique: the ability to build online presence and community simultaneously through newsletter-based engagement.

Here's why this matters and how I use it.

I used to think my newsletter was just a content delivery system. Hit publish, provide value, repeat. But when I realized newsletters could build thriving online communities, everything changed.

Here's how I structure my beehiiv newsletter as a community hub:

The newsletter is where everyone gathers, where important stuff happens, and where conversations start. And because it lands in inboxes, you own that relationship.

My favorite beehiiv feature? The comment functionality.

Members can respond directly to content, creating threaded discussions everyone can follow. It's basically a forum built into your newsletter.

Here's something I realized that changed how I build online communities: not everyone needs the same content at the same time.

New members need different information than long-time participants.

Highly engaged members want more advanced stuff than casual readers. Once I understood this and acted on it, my community began serving everyone better.

This is where beehiiv's segmentation features become incredibly powerful. I've set up several key segments.

New Subscriber Welcome Sequence:

Engagement-Based Segments That Treat People Differently Based on Activity:

The beauty of automation through beehiiv is that it doesn't feel automated. Because these sequences are based on actual behavior and interests, they feel personalized and relevant. Members receive the right message at the right time, without me having to manage hundreds or thousands of individual relationships manually.

This is how you scale community while maintaining the personal touch that makes it special.

This is where beehiiv's Boosts feature becomes a powerful accelerator in building successful online communities.

Boosts allow you to tap into other newsletters' audiences through a recommendation network.

Here's how it works and why it's brilliant for community building: 

When someone subscribes to a newsletter in the beehiiv Boost network, they might see your newsletter as a recommendation. If they opt in, you get a new subscriber who's already interested in topics your community cares about.

What makes this different from traditional advertising or growth hacks is the quality of these subscribers:

I've used Boosts strategically to grow many of my clients’ communities from a few hundred engaged subscribers to several thousand in just a few months.

Here's my strategy:

Let me save you some pain by sharing mistakes I see constantly.

Yes, I've made most of these myself. 🫣

The good news? All of these mistakes are fixable.

I know because I've fixed them in my own communities. The key is noticing when something isn't working and being humble enough to change it.

After years of building online communities, here's what I've learned about creating something that lasts.

Using beehiiv to build an online presence is a smart move because it doesn’t require complex technical knowledge.

beehiiv’s newsletter format has these uniquely powerful qualities:

Every Tuesday when I send my newsletter through beehiiv, I'm not just sharing information. I'm nurturing relationships. I'm inviting dialogue.

And when you get it right? When you build a space where strangers become friends, and everyone grows together, there's no better feeling.

Start your beehiiv newsletter today and see how naturally your community grows with the right foundation.

With powerful automation, smart segmentation, growth tools like Boosts, and a platform built specifically for creators who want to build real connections, beehiiv gives you everything you need to turn subscribers into a thriving community.

What are you waiting for? Join beehiiv today!

Your people are out there right now, looking for a place to belong, looking for others who get them, looking for what you're about to create.