Useful platforms for hosting your community
I have made a list of platforms where you can create your community and share your knowledge in a closed circle (and in some cases sell memberships).
The list is according to my preferences, so the platforms I use the most are at the top.
Slack
Discord
WhatsApp groups (or alternatives Signal, Telegram)
Skool
Circle
Patreon
HeroHero
Disco
Mighty Networks
Do you have your own platform recommendations that I haven't mentioned but are worth paying attention to?
Feel free to expand the list. 👇
Replies
Till telegram i was aware about platforms for community, list is worth sharing, Thanks.
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@ajay27324 You are welcome, Ajay :)
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@almaz_zagidullin Yeah, many people use it. I think that yesterday or the day before it was mentioned by @tashakosmos in the discussion. My take is that the platform (or at least some communities) are quite shady which cannot shed a good light on other platform users.
if your group related to an art somehow:
DeviantArt have a groups, and was a good place.
also Bluesky have similar to "groups" functionality,
but it's looks wierd to me and more like Twitter/x.
Thank for the list! i did't know a half of it
@marje I am also learning bluesky. Not many people know about it yet (at least my audience)
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You are welcome :) Does Devian Art still work?
@busmark_w_nika Well, yeah, mostly it works, at least the groups.
DA full of AI arts right now, and not much difference with Pinterest,
so it's mostly like an infinity feed of various arts.
But a lot of real people use it yet,
and it has a pretty good gallery at least
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@marje isn't it a little bit like a dribble? I haven't been there for ages :D
For community promotion, I would also add Instagram and TikTok. I especially think TikTok is a good place to promote your product. Many people refer their audience to their closed (or open) groups on other platforms from there.
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Do you have any good tips on how to make it on that platform? Because I still see it as the place for dances :D
@busmark_w_nika No, it's not just dancing. There are a lot of conversational bloggers and news channels as well... but to promote (advertise) their brand, many remake trends for their brand.
Of course, this requires effort for regular publications (coming up with ideas, following trends, filming, editing). If you don’t do TikTok regularly, of course, it won’t make sense. However, this probably applies to any social network.
Roads Audio
@Roads Audio is another option for a voice only closed circle!
(I'm the creator feel free to ask me anything)
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@davefaliskie How many users does the platform have?
It reminds me Clubhouse model. Is it successful? Because their platform has not been talked about for a few years.
Roads Audio
@busmark_w_nika Around 600 users now, so still pretty small. The main difference from clubhouse is it's not live audio rooms everything is async.
Most users seem to using it for personal chats/ staying in touch with friends & family. So in that way it's more similar to sending audio messages via Whatsapp
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@davefaliskie Still solid :) I am surprised because the audio boomed during COVID times and many apps started closing their spaces (as it was in the case of LI and Reddit or AirChat). Hope that you will scale it!
Roads Audio
@busmark_w_nika Thanks yes I have a few ideas planned for the future of it!
Facebook Groups are still very useful for some niches.
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@marko_jurisic That's interesting – I use that platform only for observing events and MEME groups :D Can you recommend me something like a more intellectual-oriented community? :D
@busmark_w_nika naah, most popular ones are already mentioned
I support the telegram idea, I've seen a lot of Influencers who create closed channels there and sell memberships, for example participation in different fitness marathons
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Can you name really good channels or creators I should follow on Telegram? Or at least, I will try to find them on other social media :)
I think telegram is a good area too
I made a channel there and i made a good community and found good people helping me 🥹
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@achungi Nice to hear that. What is the community about and how do you deal with community management? What activities you do, how do you moderate it?
@busmark_w_nika My community is about dev and there we discuss problems with members and teach each other the ways of work and scientific progress.
Telegram supports strong robots that can manage the groups and channels and keep the groups safe from ads and spams or fake accounts. with the rules that you can set on the robots the managment and moderations are too easy.
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@achungi Like the approach :) Feel free to share the link (if it is not strictly private) :)
Thank you for sharing, Nika!
I believe in the early stages of a product, it's important to find the first 100 loyal users and improve the product based on their feedback. In this case, using Slack can be a good way to communicate with them quickly and effectively. While building a community works well for this specific purpose.
In other situations, communities often create more noise than value. We don't always need to build a community.
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@bonvisions I think that building community can be crucial. Tho I was more in B2B communities on Slack while on Discord for B2C or some hybrid. It feels more friendly – like creating friendly relationships with users.
I’ve heard good things about Heartbeat — kind of like Circle but more affordable. Anyone tried it?
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Do you have own experience?
Whop is great too
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I will check it out, thank you! :)@ecomforger
This is a solid list! I’ve mostly used Slack and WhatsApp groups, but I’ve been curious about Circle for more structured communities. Have you found any platform that balances engagement and simplicity well? Some tools are great for scale but can feel overwhelming to manage day-to-day.
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I think that Slack and Discord were the most effective for engagement. Discord because the whole vibe is more casual (but it is only my reckon).