How to welcome your first community members
Give a new community a clear purpose, invite people personally and make the first conversation easy to join.
Your first members do not need a grand launch. They need to know why the space exists, who it is for and how to join in. A small room with a good conversation is a better start than a large room where no one knows what to say.
Give the space one clear purpose
Write one sentence that a new person can recognise themselves in: This is a place for [people] to [do something together]. "A place for home bakers to share the loaf that did not go to plan" tells someone more than "a community for food lovers."
If you are still finding that focus, start with a small niche you can test. You can widen the invitation later.
Invite people as people
Think of a few people who already talk with you about the subject. Send each a short invitation that says why you thought of them and what they could do when they arrive. Make it easy to decline. Ask early members what would make the space useful to them.
Avoid making a membership count the goal. If five people have a good reason to return, you have something to build on.
Make the first reply easy
Open with a question people can answer in a sentence. Share your own answer first. For a run club, ask where everyone likes to run. For a craft group, ask what they are making this week. Welcome replies and connect people with similar interests when they choose to share.
Pick one repeatable activity, such as a Friday check-in or a monthly show-and-tell. Keep it manageable for you and useful for them. If the room gets quiet, try these ways to restart the conversation.
Where Xanivar fits
Xanivar is opening region by region, and its community tools are not available to everyone yet. You can use these ideas wherever your people meet now. If you want a place on the launch list, join the waitlist.