Ever had an instant "These are my people" moment?

Some brands, products, or even random internet memes just live rent-free in our brains. But why? 🤔

Think about it—there’s a good chance it’s not just what they said or did, but how they made you feel.

Today, we’re diving into that magic—what makes certain communities instantly captivating and why some just… aren’t. Let’s talk about resonance and why it builds the communities we can’t stop thinking about.

In this newsletter:

• Essay: Build it, they might come — but will they stay?

• Candid Updates: The Scrappy Systems Podcast is LIVE!

• Blog Resources: Plan your next brand launch or course

Build it, they might come — but will they stay?

There’s this lie we’ve all been sold about community: If you build it, they will come.

Sure, maybe they’ll come. But that doesn’t mean they’ll stay. And if they don’t stay, do you even have a community? Or just a very full (but very quiet) online space?

The Ghost Town Problem

Recently, I audited a massive Circle community, 30,000 members strong but with only ~30% of them active each month. That’s 21,000 people who showed up once and never came back. And when I dug into why, the answer became obvious:

❌ No clear reason to stay
❌ No real emotional connection
❌ No shared “we get each other” moment that makes people feel seen

The kicker? The founders relied on mentors to “run the space” but never built an actual community strategy. They had the infrastructure but none of the resonance.

An Example of “Good”

Now contrast that with what’s happening in the Corporate Chaos Club a new community riding the viral wave of the "Be Weird on LinkedIn" movement. They’ve done something genius:

👉 They identified and named a shared frustration: LinkedIn is getting exhausting, inauthentic, and… kinda cringe.
👉 They made people feel seen and understood: “You don’t have to play the corporate game, here’s a space where we all agree on that.”
👉 They showed, not told: The founders are actively breaking the LinkedIn mold—so people trust them to lead the charge.

And the result?
~1,000 people signed up, eager to read their content, before they’ve even sent their first newsletter. 🎉 

The Invisible Work That Makes Communities Stick

What Jillian gets right (and what the Circle community missed) is this: Community isn’t just about having a space. It’s about making people feel something.

If you want people to stay, you have to do these four things:

1️⃣ Clearly define the problem. (What unspoken frustration is your audience feeling?)
2️⃣ Communicate that you deeply understand that problem. (Make them feel seen!)
3️⃣ Demonstrate that you can solve it—by actually embodying the solution.
4️⃣ Position your free community as the no-brainer next step. (And then make so much noise that people can’t not join.)

This isn’t just about marketing. It’s about resonance. Because when people feel seen, they don’t just join.

They stay.

What’s a community or movement that made you feel an instant “hell yes, these are my people” moment? 🤔 

Hit reply and let me know as I’m looking to learn more from those who manage to achieve this resonance with their audiences.

Candid Updates:

Look, systems don’t magically appear overnight — even though I’d love to wake up from an ADHD hyper-focus blackout and find everything perfectly organised (one can dream, right?).

But Scrappy Systems is slowly but surely taking shape, and I’ve been getting so many excited messages from you all about how helpful it is to see behind the scenes of other people’s messy, brilliant workflows. 🙌

If you haven’t checked it out yet, go give it some love on Spotify—you can watch the video or just listen while pretending to be productive. I won’t judge.

🔥 Next up? We’re recording another Scrappy Systems session LIVE next week Thursday with AI-obsessed brand expert Jomiro Eming—and if you’re struggling to repurpose your content without losing your sanity, this is the one to join.

RSVP to be part of the convo (or lurk in the background, totally valid). And if you’re feeling bold, bring your content struggles so we can brainstorm them together in real time.

In the Candid Community:

Ever wondered what happens when you put a bunch of brilliant, slightly rebellious minds in one space? Well, in the Candid Community, we’re experimenting, questioning norms, and turning ideas into action. Lately, members have been:

• Following Jomiro’s design study in creating without order or limits (because who needs rules anyway?).

• Rethinking subscription models to avoid the dreaded “Ugh, another monthly fee?” fatigue.

• Swapping writing practice tips that actually make hitting “publish” less terrifying.

Come lurk, contribute, or start your own experiment—we’d love to have you.

Join us here! 

Free Blog Resources:

If you’re gearing up for a brand or product launch (or just frantically realising oh crap, I need a plan), our resident Candid Consultant Marisa Crous has put together some useful resources to help you actually launch like you meant to do it all along:

• How to Set Marketing Priorities for Your Brand/Product Launch (a.k.a. what to focus on so you don’t cry into your coffee)

• How to Create a Basic Go-To-Market Strategy for Your Brand Launch

But maybe you’re deep in course creation mode instead — staring at a blank doc, questioning all your life choices? We've got you covered there too. Learning design expert Nomusa Mavuso-Kilian has shared her best tips:

• Is a Course Right for Your Brand?

• Course Building Made Simple

Your turn: What’s the biggest struggle you’ve faced with launching something—brand, product, course, whatever?

Hit reply and spill the tea. I promise I’ll actually read it (and probably nod aggressively in solidarity).

Cands 😄