Community Inc. A newsletter by Gareth Wilson

Community Onboarding at: Tana

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Tana's growing a passionate community of productivity power users around its Notion-like tool that combines spreadsheets and workflow management with AI. Let's take a look at how they onboard new members.
They've recently redesigned their homepage with a slick new look, so I'm eager to know how they drive folks to their community.
We're off to a good start. The entry point for most users to this community is via their homepage, and they have a clear call out for it in their top nav.
Before we hop into the community though, let's explore the homepage some more.
The top nav follows you as you scroll, so that community link is always right there.
Now this grabbed my attention...
This is fab. They're walking the walk here by featuring the community on their homepage.
Seeing photos of real members humanizes things. Equal billing to community content is rare. It takes trust and this gives the impression that community is taken seriously, so time spent here won't be wasted.
A great first impression, I'm excited to jump in.
The page is simple, and my attention is drawn to the heading and copy. We get to see more real community members and there are signals that this is a diverse, global community, which is welcoming.
The change in top nav link color is subtle, but confirms this is the community page I was expecting.
The heading is consistent with the homepage, that's good. But the copy is long, few will read it and it makes people work for the takeaway: a community for early adopters to share ideas and knowledge.
It's early days for Tana, so they're keeping things focused on early-adopter feedback. That's great, but conversion rates could be improved by spelling out the value to members clearly.<br /><br />... and by adding a bold CTA. What do I do next?!
This is what we were expecting to see.
Knowing that many others have already joined is reassuring. Testimonials, reviews, and outcomes can also help sell the value of becoming a member.
The social proof is nice.<br /><br />It's a nitpick, but the discrepancy in numbers (Slack-specific? old data?) dings the value of it.
Yes! Early-adopters love exclusive access.
Like in the hero copy, potential other benefits are left unsaid. Holly Firestone's <a href="https://hollyfirestone.medium.com/oh-snap-d0dfad89e79f" target="_new">SNAP</a> framework can help.
Also, there's no detail about the purpose. There are many types of community (see <a href="https://www.cmxhub.com/blog/the-spaces-model">SPACES</a>). Make it clear what the focus of yours is all about.
It's nice to see them equally promoting the unofficial subreddit - go where the community goes!
Further down the page they feature their Ambassadors and Navigators. This makes the community feel authentic, hints at status as a motivation (that could be me?!) and will provide some name recognition once we're in.
And there's more of that member-created content. You can feel the passion that members have for this thing.
Alright, enough exploring, we're ready to get in there.
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We're in Slack land, there's not much to see here. Onwards!
OK, still in Slack land, but a missed opportunity here. Getting members to add descriptions is a big ask, but for staff and ambassadors? That's do-able and it would give a reason for new members to add people.
Slack defaults to #general and Tana has stuck with it. There's a lot for new people to process to orient themselves here.
Setting the channel description and linking key resources helps people to find their footing, though.
Ooh, a channel named 'start-here'<br /><br /> While you can't delete the #general channel in Slack, you can rename it. Renaming 'general' to 'start-here' would make for a better experience.
Or would it? Let's see what's in there.
Ah much better! This is what people are expecting to see, and there's a lot of good stuff here.
A clear description of what the community is for. This should be several clicks earlier on the community homepage, too.
Not everyone wants to introduce themselves right away. It can be better to help people see the value of joining first. Tana's product is invite-only right now, so lots will take them up on the incentive to add an intro in return for an invite.
It's great to see they're leading with a Code of Conduct, too. Set those expectations early!
Signposting what goes where with descriptions helps direct people to where they want to go.
While it's all useful stuff, it's getting long - folks will gloss over the crucial parts. Try keeping things to-the-point by picking only essential info. You can share the rest later.
Automated messages, especially too many of them too soon, can detract from the experience.
But, Tana didn't send any. Given the length of the welcome post, chunking parts of it up into different messages would make it more digestible. In spreading these out over several days, you're also creating a habit of coming back.
Plus, that's a lot of pressure to put on your first-run experience. It means you're only giving yourself one shot to get people to that 'aha!' moment and understand why they should come back.
Wow, lots of intros! That invite incentive is doing the trick.
It's transactional nature will result in many drive-by members. Following up with them after they've been able to try the product would work wonders to bring them back to the community.
Intro quality is varied. It can help to suggest what to include, so people don't have to over-think it.<br /><br />Either way, a response and encouraging emoji reactions from others goes a long way in making it a warm welcome.
Looking around elsewhere, this weekly round-up is pure gold. That's a great way to help people keep up with all the important goings-on, highlight the value you're providing, and keep people coming back post-onboarding.
And there you have it. That's how Tana onboards new members 🤟<br /><br />What's swipe-worthy?<br/>• Community front and center on the homepage<br />• Featuring real members and content<br />• Equal billing to their own and other platforms
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Ah, you found me. I'm not quite ready yet.

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