Welcome to the first in what I hope will be many more stories about online community leaders who are thriving with a membership, program, or course.
I met Aimee through Mighty Networks Host Community. I’d love to speak to other community builders, no matter what platform you are on, so if you have had a great experience as a community builder, reply to this email and you could be featured next on my blog and email list.
Aimee Bobruk wanted to change how she worked with students. During the pandemic, she tried teaching online and started hosting music clubs. She aimed to build connections with songwriters worldwide.
In June 2024, Aimee launched Tuneagers.com to help young musicians connect with professional mentors for feedback and support from peers. The platform gives students a safe space to share their music and grow as artists.
Aimee is a professional musician, songwriter, and teacher with over 15 years of experience in the music industry. She has even been nominated for two Grammys! The ideal members for Tuneagers are teens aged 12 to 17 who want to become musicians or songwriters, get private lessons with Aimee, or connect with other aspiring musicians.
Like many community builders, Aimee faced a few common challenges:
- Narrowing down her target audience.
- Creating simple marketing strategies.
- Building a community without relying only on social media.
- Being patient because community growth takes time.
To better understand her audience, Aimee sent surveys and interviewed current and potential members. This helped her focus on key opportunities for the club.
Aimee chose the Mighty Networks platform after hearing recommendations from colleagues. She liked that it allowed her to post content and add videos. However, at first, she struggled to get members to use the network’s chat instead of direct messaging.
Amy wanted to begin with getting valuable feedback from the members and wanted to offer feedback to new songwriters, in addition to members supporting members.
Initially, “early birds” paid $65 per month. Once she honed in on the community’s strengths, she knew she had a system that worked. Now, new members pay $85 per month, which is still much cheaper than private lessons. Aimee plans to keep the price steady for at least six months before considering any changes.
Aimee also uses digital tools, including AI, to streamline her courses and programs for members. She is thinking about collaborating with other songwriters and sharing their newsletters within the community. She wishes she had access to this kind of support when she was in high school.
One of Aimee’s biggest challenges is member engagement. To address this, she has partnered with community members who want to host meetups and help moderate the group.
Aimee has also decided to limit the community to 100 members. She doesn’t want to scale up to thousands of students. Instead, she prefers to work closely with fewer members who are committed to songwriting.
Another challenge for community builders is balancing their time between running the community and handling marketing and sales. Aimee dedicates about 15 hours a week to her community and focuses on developing new programs and courses for her members.
Tuneagers offers a variety of activities for members, including weekly challenges, live sessions, co-working sessions, virtual workshops, and self-paced learning. The community is built around four main pillars:
- TuneUp: A weekly short video that shares a songwriting tip or trick for members to try in their own music.
- TuneOut: A weekly live virtual workshop led by a professional songwriter. Members practice the TuneUp challenge, learn new techniques, share songs, and collaborate.
- FineTune: A monthly virtual showcase where members can perform new songs and get feedback in a supportive environment.
- TuneIn: Special virtual events like concerts, songwriting round robins, and masterclasses with industry experts designed to inspire members.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this story. Please let me know if you have a story to share, or if you could recommend another community builder.
Best,
Deb
