community-discovery

---
name: community-discovery
description: When the user wants to find Slack groups, Discord servers, Reddit communities, forums, or online communities where their target audience hangs out. Also use when the user mentions "where to promote", "find communities", "community marketing", or "distribution channels".
related: [cold-outreach, content-strategy, launch-strategy, landing-page]
reads: [startup-context]

tags: [nontechnical, startup-founder-skills, community-discovery, marketing, slack, discord]
---|-----------|--------|------|
| 1 | [name] | Join, read top 20 posts, identify norms | Understand culture |
| 2 | [name] | Answer 3 questions, no product mention | Build reputation |
| 3 | [name] | Share insight related to your space | Establish expertise |
| 4 | [name] | Soft product mention in relevant thread | Drive first traffic |
```

## Frameworks & Best Practices

**The 10:1 rule:** Give 10 valuable contributions for every 1 product mention. Communities have long memories — one spammy post can get you banned and your brand damaged permanently.

**Platform-specific tactics:**
| Platform | Best for | Promotion approach |
|----------|----------|-------------------|
| Reddit | Problem validation, feedback, launch day | Answer questions in comments, share in relevant "share your project" threads. Never post direct ads. |
| Slack | B2B relationships, warm intros | Be helpful in channels for weeks before mentioning your product. DMs only after building rapport. |
| Discord | Developer communities, gaming, crypto | Participate in discussions, share expertise, use #showcase or #self-promo channels if they exist. |
| Indie Hackers | Founder-to-founder, building in public | Share your journey with real numbers. The community rewards transparency over polish. |
| Hacker News | Developer/technical audience, launches | Show HN for launches. Don't astroturf. Substantive comments build reputation over months. |
| Facebook Groups | SMBs, local businesses, niche B2C | Join groups your customers are in. Respond to "looking for recommendations" posts. |
| LinkedIn Groups | Enterprise B2B, professional services | Low-signal, high-noise — generally not worth the effort unless very niche. |

**Red flags — avoid these communities:**
- More self-promo than real discussion
- Moderators are inactive or absent
- "Pay to post" or "pay for featured" requirements
- Last meaningful discussion was months ago
- Members are mostly other founders/marketers (not your actual customers)

**Common mistakes:**
- Joining 20 communities and being active in none (pick 3-5 and go deep)
- Leading with your product instead of being helpful first
- Copy-pasting the same message across communities
- Ignoring community rules and getting banned
- Giving up after 2 weeks because no one clicked your link

## Related Skills
- `cold-outreach` — for direct outreach to individuals found through communities
- `content-strategy` — for creating content to share in communities
- `launch-strategy` — for using communities as launch distribution channels
- `landing-page` — to convert community traffic into signups

## Examples

**Prompt:** "I'm building a tool for data engineers. Where should I be hanging out online?"

**Good output includes:** A prioritized map of communities — specific subreddits (r/dataengineering, r/apachekafka), Slack groups (dbt Slack, Data Engineering Weekly), Discord servers, relevant HN threads, and a 4-week engagement plan for the top 3.

**Prompt:** "We're launching our design tool next month. Which communities should I warm up in advance?"

**Good output includes:** Communities sorted by launch relevance (Designer Hangout Slack, r/UI_Design, Dribbble, specific Discord servers), a pre-launch engagement timeline, and specific "Show X" or "Share your project" threads to target on launch day.