10 Tips for Building a Thriving Slack Community

By Zach Schleien

I've built 2 successful online communities. Most die within weeks. Here are 10 tips that actually work - from acquisition to moderation to engagement.

Most online communities die within weeks of launching. I've built two that didn't. Here's what I learned about the difference between a thriving Slack community and a ghost town.

10 Tips That Actually Work

1. Use Reddit for Acquisition

Getting members is the hardest part. The cheapest, most effective channel I've found: Reddit. Create a list of every subreddit relevant to your community's topic. Read the rules for each one. Write a short, honest post explaining what the community is, why you started it, and an invitation to join. This alone drove thousands of members for 18percent.

2. Share at Events and Conferences

If you run a Paleo diet community and attend PaleoFX, tell people about it. The attendees are already interested. The conversion rate is much higher than cold outreach.

3. Write a Code of Conduct

This is often overlooked - and it shouldn't be. A code of conduct sets the behavioral standard. When you need to remove someone, you can point to a documented policy instead of making it personal.

4. Recruit Great Moderators

Moderators can make or break your community. They don't need to be subject matter experts - they need to keep things running smoothly and enforce the code of conduct.

5. Hold Moderator Calls

Recruiting mods is step one. Keeping them engaged is the real challenge. Regular calls - reviewing what's working, what's not - give mods ownership and purpose.

6. Warn and Ban Consistently

When someone breaks the code of conduct, respond consistently. Keep a warn/ban list so you can track repeat offenders. Consistency creates culture.

7. Don't Create Too Many Channels

This is a classic mistake. Too many channels = too much dead space. Start with very few and expand based on member demand. Archive dormant channels without guilt.

8. Don't Sell to Your Community

The moment members feel like they're being marketed to, they disengage. If you introduce a product or service, ask yourself honestly: would my community actually want this?

9. Iterate Constantly

Like any product, see what's working and what's not. Archive dead channels. Create onboarding tutorials if people are confused. Keep evolving.

10. Listen to Your Members

Never force something on your community. Allow it to shape itself, evolve, and grow. Your vision of "what works" might be different from what your members actually want. Be nimble - but stay true to why you built the community in the first place.

Building community is a skill. If you're a founder looking to build an engaged audience around your product or brand, I can help.