22 Online Community Success Stories [2023]
Online communities bring people who share common values together. For anyone looking to start a side hustle and earn money, you need to figure out the best online communities to participate. More important, you need to figure out on how to translate your online community membership into dollars. Ideas of how to earn through online communities include:
- Selling your products
- Promoting affiliate links for a commission
- Run ads
- Sell online community membership
- Start your own online community and charge for sponsored content
Here are some real life success stories of starting a online community:
1. Frontend Mentor ($360K/year)
Matt Studdert, founder of Frontend Mentor, came up with the idea for his business while teaching a front-end web development course. He noticed that his students often struggled to find professional designs and projects to practice their skills and build their portfolios. This led him to create a platform that provides developers with challenges, designs, and optimized assets, ultimately launching Frontend Mentor.
How much they make: $360K/year
How much did it cost to start: $8K
Current team size: 0
Online learning community Frontend Mentor has over 200,000 members, with over 1,500 paid subscribers generating over $15,000 MRR, offering professionally designed challenges to improve front-end coding skills with a freemium business model and a focus on real-life experience.
2. Enter Network ($18K/year)
Jochem Gerritsen came up with the idea for Enter Network when he realized that he was having difficulty connecting with other entrepreneurs to learn from. He started hosting meetups in Utrecht and quickly saw demand for more in-depth discussions, leading him to create the peer support group and eventually launch Enter Network as an online community for early-stage entrepreneurs.
How much they make: $18K/year
How much did it cost to start: $4K
Current team size: 2
Enter Network founder Jochem Gerritsen built a community of 50+ starting entrepreneurs all over Europe, generating $1,500 MRR by running a platform that offers a Slack community, package deals for free services, access to over 20 startup mentors, weekly online meetups, mastermind groups, and more.
So... can you actually make money with a online community?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesnβt.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
3. Indie Worldwide ($24K/year)
Anthony came up with the idea for Indie Worldwide after experiencing setbacks in his career and freelancing. He leveraged his experience in running events and his desire to be like other successful founders in the indie hacking community to create a virtual meetup for indie hackers. Through organic growth and strategic launches on platforms like Product Hunt, the community has grown to over 2,000 members and has multiple revenue streams, including a successful Founders' Club with $5.5k in ARR and sponsorships.
How much they make: $24K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1.2K
Current team size: 1
4. The Design Database ($60K/year)
Courtlyn Jones, the CEO and founder of The Design Database, came up with the idea for her business after quitting her job at a design company and realizing she wanted to do more than freelance design. She wanted to create a platform that would support and connect freelancers in the creative industry, allowing them to choose their own projects and keep 100% of their earnings. Through marketing efforts on social media and strategic spending on ads, Jones was able to attract over 800 subscribers in less than 45 days.
How much they make: $60K/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
Current team size: 2
The Design Database is an online platform and community for creatives that connects them with clients who are looking to hire now, providing tools and resources for them to successfully build their careers, and has gained over 200 creatives and 25 companies since its launch in late July, as well as receiving grant funding from the HerRise Pitch Competition by HerSuiteSpot and raising over $10,000 on Kickstarter.
So... can you actually make money with a online community?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesnβt.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
5. Aucoin Analytics, LLC ($166K/year)
Kervin Aucoin, a 15-year Army veteran and 20+ year Intelligence analyst, came up with the idea for Aucoin Analytics after realizing the need for an unbiased and well-informed travel security platform. Through blogging about his travel experiences and witnessing the detrimental effects of sensationalized news, Kervin developed a subscription-based private intelligence community that focuses on defeating fake news and providing accurate information. With a low overhead, Aucoin Analytics has seen profits of $10,000/month and offers specialized risk assessments and intelligence reports tailored to customers' needs.
How much they make: $166K/year
How much did it cost to start: $25K
Current team size: 1
Aucoin Analytics, LLC is a private intelligence company that delivers highly specialized risk assessments and intelligence reports, while also offering a subscription-based private intelligence community that provides access to subject matter experts in government intelligence, with profits at $10,000/month.
6. MicroConf ($120K/year)
How much they make: $120K/year
Current team size:
MicroConf co-founder establishes largest community for bootstrapped founders with over 24 in-person events and thriving online presence.
So... can you actually make money with a online community?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesnβt.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
7. No Code Founders ($300K/year)
How much they make: $300K/year
Current team size:
Learn how Joshua built a thriving business community, No Code Founders, from scratch, attracting over 10k members and generating +$3k MRR, all without writing a single line of code.
8. Dean Bokhari ($1.44M/year)
Dean Bokhari, founder of DeanBokhari.com, was working as a marketer for a tobacco company until he had an emotional breakdown and decided to pursue meaningful work. After years of personal development and taking action, he started sharing what he had learned through writing, podcasting, and speaking, which eventually led him to start his membership platform. Now, with over half a million readers and monthly revenues exceeding $100,000, Dean is helping others improve their lives and achieve their goals.
How much they make: $1.44M/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
Current team size: 17
Founder Dean Bokhari shares how he launched a membership platform focused on self-improvement, generating over $100,000 per month in revenue, attracting customers via high-quality content, guest blogging and Facebook ads, with plans to grow to $1,000,000 per month over the next 3-5 years.
9. Ramen Club ($48K/year)
Charlie stumbled upon Product Hunt and attended indie hacker meetups. Eventually, he saw how encouraging meet ups are, leading him to start with the idea validation process.
How much they make: $48K/year
How much did it cost to start: $250
Current team size: 0
Ramen Club is a founder community that aims to help solopreneurs succeed, enjoy their journey, and feel less lonely; it currently has over 100 members and $3,800 MRR with 35% MoM revenue growth between April and May 2022.
10. COO Alliance ($5M/year)
How much they make: $5M/year
Current team size: 7
COO Alliance, founded by successful entrepreneur Cameron Herold, provides an online support group for COOs to access helpful tools and guidance in growing their companies, with Herold's expertise leading a growth in sales from $2 million to $106 million during his time as COO for 1-800-GOT-JUNK.
11. The Holistic Enchilada ($96K/year)
Delilah Orpi started her blog, The Holistic Enchilada, in 2017 as a side project while working as a full-time teacher. After finding success with a post about her curly hair routine, she decided to focus on the curly hair niche. With the help of blogging courses and her expertise in clean beauty, Delilah has grown her blog to earn an average of $7,000 a month in revenue.
How much they make: $96K/year
How much did it cost to start: $250
Current team size: 2
Delilah Orpi's blog "The Holistic Enchilada" is making up to $7,000 a month in revenue through sales of digital products, display ads, affiliate marketing, and sponsored posts in the niche market of clean beauty and curly hair, with a focus on retaining customers through email marketing and SEO.
12. Book Club Chat ($48K/year)
Heather Caliendo, a journalist with a passion for reading, turned her love for books into a profitable business with Book Club Chat. Despite the saturation of the book blogging market, Heather stood out by creating a beautifully designed website and focusing on providing book club questions tailored to novels. With over 5,000 visitors a day and earning $4,000/month in ad revenue, Book Club Chat has become a go-to resource for book clubs around the world.
How much they make: $48K/year
How much did it cost to start: $50
Current team size: 0
Book Club Chat founder Heather Caliendo started a website dedicated to book club questions, reviews, and book lists with no upfront costs by dedicating a lot of time to reading and writing high-quality content that attracts over 5,000 daily visitors and has made $4,000 per month in ad revenue alone by focusing on organic search, SEO, and Mediavine.
13. Merrative ($24K/year)
Harshala Chavan, the founder of Merrative, came up with the idea for her business after noticing a lack of dedicated spaces for people to discuss literature. After attending a book club meetup, where she had a great discussion with others who had read the same book, she wondered if she could bring this experience online at scale. She validated her concept through participating in BPlans and growing her Instagram page, which eventually led to the launch of Merrative as a community-led marketplace for publishing talent.
How much they make: $24K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
Current team size: 0
Merrative, a community-driven marketplace for publishing talent, generates an average of $1,500 per month in marketplace transactions from their 5,000+ strong community of readers, writers, journalists, and scholars.
14. SelectSoftware Reviews ($40.5K/year)
Phil Strazzulla, founder of SelectSoftware, came up with the idea for his business after building a personal brand in the HR space through a weekly whiteboard video series. He realized that HR professionals were struggling to choose the right software for their needs, and saw the opportunity to create an online review site, similar to NerdWallet or WireCutter, for HR software. With organic search traffic growing at 30% per month and revenues hitting $1k per month, SelectSoftware has gained traction in the market.
How much they make: $40.5K/year
Current team size: 0
VC-turned-entrepreneur Phil Strazzulla, who previously built a successful b2b SaaS business, shares how he bootstrapped an online review site for HR software into a viable business with over $1k monthly revenues in just 3 months through organic search traffic growth and selling high intent leads.
15. GummySearch ($12K/year)
Fed, the founder of The Hive Index and GummySearch, originally built The Hive Index as a simple project to create a directory of online communities. Inspired by the supportive indie hacker and bootstrapper communities, Fed saw potential in helping people find online communities for their interests. This led to the creation of GummySearch, an audience research tool for startup founders, which generated $60k in revenue in its first year.
How much they make: $12K/year
Current team size: 0
Bootstrapped founder Fed shares the success of his community-focused products, The Hive Index and GummySearch, which have helped over 10k people find online communities each month and generated $60k in revenue in its first year, respectively.
16. HR.com ($21.8M/year)
How much they make: $21.8M/year
Current team size: 285
Case study of CEO and creator of HR.com, the world's largest social networking and resource site for HR professionals, which is trusted by over 110,000 HR professionals and offers 5,900+ courses and 400+ webcasts every year.
17. 52Frames ($120K/year)
Started as a personal project for Yosef's personal photography improvement, he eventually started a Facebook page for other enthusiasts to join as well, and ran it that way as a passion project for over a decade, with people participating in weekly photography contests. It was only until 2021 when Yosef launched a premium site membership that generated him enough revenue to quit his freelancing career in video production.
How much they make: $120K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
Current team size: 0
52Frames is an online photography community that started as founder Yosef Adest's passion project, which grew into a successful business with over 3,000 photo submissions weekly and 700 paying members after ten years of incremental growth and centred around community building, organic word of mouth, and delivering value to customers.
18. Una Vida Online ($216K/year)
Pau, the founder of Una Vida Online, came up with the idea for his business when he was looking for ways to make extra income online. He discovered the world of affiliate marketing and started creating affiliate websites. After achieving success and making more money from his websites than his full-time job, he decided to quit his job and focus on his online projects. He then created an online course to teach affiliate marketing and expanded his business to offer WordPress templates and plugins, as well as a tokenized private community for bloggers and affiliate marketers. With a strong focus on SEO, Una Vida Online has seen significant growth and currently generates about 18K per month in revenue.
How much they make: $216K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
Current team size: 1
Una Vida Online started as a side gig in 2018 to share knowledge on affiliate marketing and blogging, and has since grown into a business employing a full-time assistant and many freelancers with a monthly income of around 18K, offering online courses, WordPress templates and plugins, and a tokenized private community for people interested in generating income via blogging or affiliate marketing.
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