S8E4 | Sandra debunks common myths

“Monetization should not be the ultimate goal. When you make that the ultimate gal, you’re making it about yourself and not about the community you want to build.” 

There are several misconceptions that people have about growing, engaging, and monetizing their groups, and in this episode, we’ll be covering just a few of them. 

The first myth is that growing a Facebook group is easy. A lot of people think it’s as easy as inviting your friends and family to join, but when your friends and family don’t have an interest in your topic or will never be one of your customers, this is a huge mistake. Growing a community takes time and effort and requires creating valuable content, engaging with members, and promoting the group through various channels. 

Some people believe as long as they have a large number of members in their group engagement rates aren’t important, but engagement is really essential to the success of a group. Without engagement, members are more likely to lose interest and leave the group. Thanks to the Facebook algorithm, it will also be harder for unengaged members to see your upcoming events, challenges, and promotions. 

Whether your group is 5 people or 50,000 people, you’ll want to bring in some engaging posts. And if you don’t know how to engage your group, we have our Engaged Groups Membership, which is all about engaging your group, and it also offers some lessons about monetizing your group as well. 

Another misconception is that monetization of your group is the ultimate goal. Many people start their Facebook group with the sole purpose of making money, but when you do that, you make the group about yourself and not about the community you want to build. The focus should be on creating a valuable, safe, and protected community where everyone feels welcome. In a warm community people are likely to stay longer, become bigger fans, and stick with you through all your offerings. Monetization should come as the result of providing value to the members. 

People also believe that selling in your group is the only way to monetize, but there are other options, like affiliate marketing. These affiliate partnerships allow others to promote their offers into your groups, and vice versa. You just want to make sure you’re partnering with people who have the same values as you. 

Other ways to monetize can include sponsored posts, where someone can pay you to put a post in your group. Again, you’ll want to make sure their values match yours. You can also have sponsored guests, or even have people who are paying a monthly fee to be the expert in your group. 

Remember, just having a large group doesn’t equal success. Real value comes in having a community that’s engaged, safe, and fun to be in!