The CMJ Group’s Community Newsletter Experiment
We’re re-launching our newsletter! I (Carrie) took a few months away in 2023 for parental leave to recover and welcome little baby Marlowe Joy into the world.
During my time away, I realized how much I missed being in conversation with community builders and leaders like you. So we decided it’s time to rekindle our newsletter but do it in a way only community builders can—together.
Carrie Jones and Kelly Shetron facilitating a workshop at ComNet 23
Kelly, The CMJ Group’s Director of Strategy, brought the idea to me at the end of last year: What if we built a newsletter with an emphasis on community building? Not just aggregating updates and links but built from the ground up with collaboration and connection in mind?
Kelly has an extensive background in thinking and writing through the lens of community building. She’s my go-to for all things qualitative research. She has interviewed people in myriad ways, as a ghostwriter of bestselling books like The Crowdsorceress, StoryCorps storyteller, and our team’s principal strategist—she’s interviewed close to 100 community members for our clients. She pulls out their insights like rabbits from a hat. 🪄
So when Kelly brought the idea, I was all in.
Together, we see a lot of evolution in how people, platforms, and companies think about community. We have deep conversations about what we’re seeing—and we want to loop you in.
Kelly and I will be using this newsletter to talk about our view from the inside—the community trends and faux pas we can all learn from. We’ll share our first insights in 2 weeks, but for now here’s a preview of what you can expect...
Carrie: Why a newsletter in 2024? Isn’t email dead? 😉
Kelly: If you ask me, email never went out of style 💅 But as a small business, it’s hard to do all the things, so our newsletter has been backburnered for a while. Even though we have our social accounts and community of community managers, it still feels like something’s missing to me. We need a place to gossip! In a meaningful way. Email offers an intimacy and conversationalism that social media doesn’t.
Carrie: I love the idea of meaningful gossip; sharing insider knowledge is crucial to creating belonging. What do you think is important about writing in a collaborative format?
Kelly: No one writes, brainstorms, or creates in a vacuum. There are always editors, collaborators, and fellow thinkers operating in the background—plus, we are continually drawing from influences past and present whenever we create anything. I love bringing those collaborations out of the shadows. Plus, I’m more energized when I’m in conversation with others. It’s just more fun! And I wanted an excuse to ask you a lot of questions.
Carrie: What topics are you most excited to explore with our readers?
Kelly: Oh my gosh, there’s so much. I really want to hear from folks about what’s on their minds. There are a few things I can’t wait to talk about…
What’s happening with "community" on Substack?
Which podcasters are doing a good job of creating meaningful communities, and how are they doing it?
Which influencers are making the leap from social media to community platforms, and how are they faring?
Why are Facebook Groups still so often the default, and what are the (good) alternatives?
Carrie: Gah, love all these topics; I am so excited! 🎉
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