Explore every episode of the podcast Bad Community Advice

“Don’t worry about onboarding until after launch.” That’s the kind of bad advice that can doom your community before it even gets off the ground. Community strategist Heather Angel joins host Seth Resler to explain why the welcome experience is one of the most important parts of community building—and why it can’t be an afterthought. Heather shares practical tips for helping new members feel comfortable, connected, and confident from day one, including how to use DMs, events, and even a Spotify playlist to turn newcomers into engaged participants. They also dig into how to measure whether your onboarding is working, the dangers of overwhelming members with too much content, and why no amount of AI automation can replace genuine human connection. If you’ve ever been tempted to “set it up later,” this episode might just save your community.

Get Heather's onboarding guide: https://heatherlynnangel.com/seth

You can’t manage what you don’t measure—and that includes your community. Community strategist Catherine Hackney, Principal of Confident Communities Consulting, has seen too many organizations skip tracking engagement metrics because “we don’t know what to do with the data.” In this episode, she explains why that’s a fast track to a stagnant (or dying) community. Catherine shares which numbers actually tell you something meaningful—like average replies per post and unsubscribe rates—and which ones are just noise. She also talks about how to combine quantitative data (like dashboards and reports) with qualitative feedback (like member quotes and stories) to paint a full picture of your community’s health. Learn how to connect your data to your larger goals, create better feedback loops, and prove your community’s ROI before the budget axe swings. Confident Communities Consulting: https://confidentcommunities.com/

“Community marketing doesn’t work.” That’s the bad advice that shaped the career of Andy Claremont, Head of Ecosystem and Community at Glide—and it couldn’t have been more wrong. In this episode, Andy and host Seth Resler of Community Marketing Revolution unpack why early skeptics misunderstood the power of community-led growth, and how marketing through genuine connection has become one of the strongest competitive moats for modern brands. They explore: * How audience and community differ (and why the direction your chairs face matters) * Why community belongs everywhere in the org chart—not just in marketing * What “intentional matchmaking” looks like inside a thriving SaaS community * How to turn your members into the heroes of your brand story Andy also shares his prediction for the next five years of community building—and why, in an AI-saturated world, authentic human connection will matter more than ever.

What happens when brands mistake transactions for relationships? Christina Garnett says that’s where community efforts often go wrong. A fractional Chief Customer Officer and CX strategist, Christina argues that gamification is not the magic fix many leaders think it is—it can create surface-level engagement but rarely delivers belonging. In this conversation, Christina unpacks lessons from her new book, Transforming Customer Brand Relationships, a hands-on guide to building stronger connections and deeper loyalty through empathy and emotional intelligence. She explains why community is the “silo killer” in customer experience, why listening to your customers matters more than listening to your competitors, and how psychological safety shapes whether members truly engage. Together with host Seth Resler, she digs into the pitfalls of chasing vanity metrics, the diminishing returns of swag, and why the most meaningful communities help people transform, not just transact. BUY CHRISTINA'S BOOK: https://amzn.to/4meDS20 (This is an affiliate link.)

Chasing community might not be the best move for every content creator. Arielle Nissenblatt, Head of Community and Content at Pinwheel by Audily, has seen countless podcasters dive in only to discover that community isn’t always the magic growth engine they hoped for. She joins Seth Resler of Community Marketing Revolution to unpack the difference between audience-building and community-building—and to reveal the situations where launching a community makes sense, and where it doesn’t.

In most support communities, a small group of vocal members dominates the conversation—while the vast majority quietly lurk in the background. It’s easy for community managers to focus on the loudest voices. But Jillian Bejtlich, Senior Community Manager at Calendly, says that’s a mistake. She explains how the silent majority can reveal what truly matters—if you know how to listen to the data.

Conflict is part of community management—and so are difficult members. So you just need a thick skin, right? Not quite. David DeWald, Community Manager at Ciena, joins Seth Resler of Community Marketing Revolution to explain why toughness alone won’t cut it. He shares practical strategies for handling high-stress situations, knowing when to ask for help, and protecting your mental health along the way.

Too many community builders spend months—or even years—designing the “perfect” online space, only to open the doors and find no one there. Todd Nilson, Community Strategist at Clocktower Advisors, joins Seth Resler of Community Marketing Revolution to explain why “If you build it, they will come” is a great movie line but terrible advice for launching a community. Before you invest time and energy creating your community space, learn what actually works.

Seth Resler asks community building professionals about the worst advice they ever received and why it doesn't work.