Case Study: Building a Movement through Online Business Community for Daniel Dalen

Initial Challenges

• Lack of clarity in community branding and purpose, leading to confusion.

• Low member engagement, with much of the content coming from Daniel rather than the community.

• High levels of spam and low-quality contributions diluting the value of the platform.

• Infrequent, unstructured community calls that lacked focus and clear takeaways.

Steps Taken

1. Defining Mission, Vision, and Values

• We collaborated closely with Daniel to articulate a clear mission and vision for the community. This focused on transparency, collaboration, and genuine relationships, aligning with Daniel’s personal brand and his “building in public” ethos.

• These values were positioned to inspire members to participate in creating something bigger, a movement that went beyond just Daniel, but kept him as the figurehead.

2. Member Analysis and Community Persona

• To ensure the community aligned with its members’ needs, we conducted in-depth interviews and research, developing an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). This allowed us to create a space where Daniel’s audience felt understood and motivated to contribute.

3. Rebranding to Build a Movement

• The community’s rebrand was anchored around Daniel’s role as a leader in the “building in public” movement. His audience was encouraged not just to follow his journey but to become part of it by actively contributing to his vision.

• We refined the community’s design and tone to mirror Daniel’s personal brand, ensuring a cohesive message that was instantly recognisable and authentic to his journey.

4. Amplifying User-Generated Content and Community Leadership

• A core strategy was fostering user-generated content (UGC) and member-led calls. By incentivising his audience to create POV videos and share their own experiences of building in public, we positioned Daniel as a facilitator of the community’s collective growth.

• These initiatives shifted the community dynamic, making members feel like co-creators, driving engagement up, and transforming passive members into active contributors.

Results

• 50% increase in membership within 30 days, as the community transformed from a passive following into an interactive, engaged movement.

• Improved engagement across all areas, with a significant decrease in spam and low-quality content due to the introduction of clear community guidelines and structured calls.

• Higher member interaction and a much lower churn rate as members felt more involved in shaping the community’s direction through UGC and collaborative efforts.

• Increased UGC and POV content: Members began actively creating content that resonated with Daniel’s brand and goals, further amplifying the community’s reach and impact.

Conclusion

Within 30 days, we didn’t just grow Daniel Dalen’s community—we created a movement that integrated his audience into the core of his brand. By aligning Daniel’s brand with the “building in public” concept and empowering his audience to co-create, the community grew rapidly and became self-sustaining, with strong UGC and engagement driving continuous growth.