Recently approached by an organization wanting to provide a forum for people who need support with sorting and organizing. They were wondering how to create a lively community. The encouragement that I gave them was inspired by the blog Ten True Regulars by David Spinks. He talks about the ability of a community to scale with just a few active participants.

He suggests that you start with 3 active members. People who are interested in the intentions of the community and are keen to initiate discussions and make sure that no post goes unanswered.

Build up to 10 people that are visiting your community, posting and responding to posts. With just ten contributors, you can focus on developing deep, meaningful relationships with each of them, providing personalized support and fostering a sense of connection and belonging.

Spinks provides a metric for determining which of your members are developing a habit of engagement:
“Total number of members who post or comment in the community on at least three days of the week, for four weeks in a row.”

Metrics for measuring regular engagement can vary depending on the platform and the community’s specific goals. Common metrics include the frequency of visits, the amount of time spent on the platform, the number of posts or comments contributed, and the level of interaction with other community members.

Whatever metric you choose to work out whether your members are regulars. It feels doable to cultivate ten true regulars.