Thinking a creating a niche community? Back in 2019 I did just that. It’s called the Digital Marketing Union: DMU for short. A online community of some of the finest independent digital marketers from across the globe.
After so many DMs I wanted to get down why I think the DMU works. Hopefully it offers you some insights if you’re thinking about doing something similar. Here's what is often asked:
I’m not here to brag, there’s no course to upsell you to – this is just one way, not the way in how a niche community might work for you. At the end of each section in bold I've listed some questions I have constantly asked myself since launching the DMU. First though, here's how it started.
LAUNCHING THE COMMUNITY
Let's rewind to 2019. I was lonely. I’d been freelancing full time for 3 years after working agency side. I didn't have anyone to talk to, whether that’s for technical advice, client rants or just the general water cooler chit-chat about the latest TV series. Fellow freelance SEO, Charlie Williams, suggested we set up a Slack to chat and the DMU was born.
How niche a community is the DMU? Right now we're at just under 100 members from around 14 different countries. We're small by design yet we have some of the biggest names in solo marketing covering SEO, PPC, Content, Web Development, Strategy, Analytics and Social Media. To date we've sent 193k messages and recorded over 120 videos. Here's what I've been thinking about ever since we launched.
THE ETHOS
I wanted the DMU to be something different. I wanted something that scratched my own itch.
A small group. Serious conversations. Something that put freelancers on the map.
Several strands influenced how this would look. 1000 true fans by Kevin Kelly, the operational model of the Hanseatic League, the fun of MSN messenger in the 2000’s, a bitterness at the level of attention agencies receive over solo marketers. Plus, the lack of spaces to talk about self-employment.
I built something that I would want to be part of. Something no matter where you are at with your business, or where you were the world, you could open your laptop – and there shining back at you is the most incredible team of people.
Plan how you want your community to look and feel with precision. It benefits you in the long run.
THE REVENUE
Can you make money with an online community? The answer is 100% yes. The DMU generates money than any single client I offer SEO consultancy for. But not enough (yet) to generate a full time income.
We operate on a subscription basis and that’s it. There’s no upsells, no adverts and no sponsored opportunities. I've seen plenty of other communities generate revenue via advertising, sponsors, affiliate sales on tools or services, or taking a commission on work generated from members. Different models have different advantages however, recurring MRR is good for me for now.
New members now pay £75/month and the more members we have the higher the price will become. Financially, the disadvantage of the DMU model is that it's small by design, so the final few people - because the DMU has finite capacity - will be expected to contribute the most as they've got access to the most people and the most knowledge. Right now I'm unsure how to increase this further without breaking what makes the DMU special. Watch this space.
Plan your pricing model up front. What are the sources of your communities income? What's the ceiling? Does it align with your wider personal financial objectives?
THE PRICING
The community went paid in August 2020, after a full 18 months of it being free. The offering was a simple monthly subscription, £10/month for existing members. £20 for new folk. I wish I did this sooner. My time is billable, my hours are limited and despite the fun of running it, the group was taking more hours, billable hours, away from SEO clients.
Choosing how to much to charge was a mystery as there was so little to compare it to. Nowadays I've seen communities that are completely free and others which charge 4 figure monthly subscriptions. What ultimately it comes down to is the value that people believe it brings. That's all that matters.
Whatever you pick becomes fixed in the minds of members though. This much money equals this much value, so pick your starting figures very carefully. Trying to increase prices for current members was hard and we lost a few subscriptions during this time. It's been far easier to share a price with new members who have always been happy to accept. We have around a 60% conversion rate from people who start a trial to signing up.
What should you starting price be? Should there be offers for new members? What's the maximum and minimum you can charge? Can subscription revenue be supported by other types of offers or upsells? What are your operational costs?
THE MARKETING
I don’t market the DMU. Strictly speaking, I have a website and its optimised for Search (hey, I’m an SEO consultant) and there’s a LinkedIn page where I reshare member’s posts but that’s it. No newsletter, no socials, no blog. Retention is excellent and around is roughly 90% losing only a handful of members each year.
Almost every member has come word of mouth. That was up until 2024 when I added in a small affiliate scheme. (Members get a £75 kickback for new members successfully introduced which has brought in 10 incredible additional marketers).
Combined, there's very little marketing and that leaves me to focus on members.
What's your marketing strategy? How much would this cost? How long do you expect members to stick around for? What would their lifetime value be?
THE TEAM
I run the DMU single handedly. However, I have a few trusted marketers, inside and outside the group I can ask for advice or feedback on to see how I should be adjusting things.
There wasn't a conscious decision to build it by myself. Self-employment automatically means a solo mentality I guess. However, I've seen several other communities of two or more owners. There's no right or wrong decision. Who you chose, how you structure things and what arrangements you come to have to be thought about though. It affects the entire business model.
What are your a partners strengths, weaknesses and communication styles? What are their commitments and responsibilities? What's the exit strategy and timelines for their involvement in the community?
THE MANAGEMENT
The DMU is a hungry-beast - in other words, it needs frequent daily attention and can't be left alone. Right now, it's at least 1 hour a day, but broken up into multiple chunks. This is the biggest frustration I have right now with the model. It often interrupts deep work time (really needed for SEO). Even if it seems quiet there's a lot of behind the scenes messages which only you will see. Checking in to see if members are ok, admin and billing questions and random chit-chat.
I'm trying to automate parts of this so I am able to take more than 24 hours away from it, but largely the success of the community relies on the person who set it up to lead and set the standards for what the community is about.
I worry about how much the DMU is a brand in its own right, and how much of it is because people buy into me. Introducing a community manager would answer this question.
Who should manage your community? Are members buying into you or the community brand?
THE MEMBERS
The success of the DMU also relies on an unofficial 'inner circle' of members - they're self-selecting but are often the people that post the most, join the talks, ask questions etc. We've also been able to meet up occasionally which is fantastic. This is what keeps the DMU fuelled for content and helps with both retention and increases chances of people recommending the DMU to others.
The reason this happens comes, I think, from two areas:
I make a real point of only accepting new members who embody the values in the DMU manifesto. While I don't shout about this as much as I should, all posts are monitored and my aim is that is always raises people up and never punches down.
When starting we didn't just open the doors to everyone but it grew bit by bit. I see a lot of community builders build a waitlist then announce a launching date. A crowd joins at the same time but there's no conversations for them to join in. Nobody knows one another. A bit by bit approach helps grow and cement the bonds between initial members and helps foster that inner circle which powers everything else.
Add a few people, let them settle in and get to know one another then add a few more so your membership grows progressively, rather than going from 0-100 members overnight. Decide on the values you and your community should uphold.
MEASURING SUCCESS
There's 4 metrics I use to feel if the DMU is working. 2 business and 2 personal.
For business, I measure member retention (roughly 90%) and the amount of messages sent. As long as public and private conversations remain static or grow then I know people want to use the DMU. At the time of writing this we've sent 5,720 messages in the past 28 days so around 55 messages per person (which is incredible).
For personal, I measure income. Not to get too capitalist but the DMU is an income generating tool and as long as the time invested into it matches or exceeds the hourly rate from SEO consultancy then things are good. Secondly, I ask myself, am I enjoying it here? As a member (because I ask questions and share posts too) am I getting what I would pay for from being surrounded by such fantastic people? (Answer: definite yes).
What does success look like for you? Pick it. Measure it.
EXPLORE OTHER COMMUNITIES
If you're a freelance marketer, then check the DMU out. There's a free 14 day trial. However, there's a stack of other online communities which I take inspiration from; sometimes from being a member, and sometimes from just looking through their websites. I'm not listing metrics as follower counts and revenue models are all completely different. But explore them and see what inspiration it can give you.
Here's my current list: