VIP day
Do you know a community can work very well for you, but do you miss opportunities because you don't have a strategy and clear plan of approach?
Do you see so many companies and professionals achieving their goals and having success with their community?Do you try the same, but are you still not successful?
You have not defined a clear focus and strategy. Short-term activities and promotions are given more priority, so you miss out on long-term customers and sales from your community. You know this could be better but do don’t know the exact steps to take to start and grow your community.
You spend too much time figuring out yourself, time that you could also spend on attracting new customers and revenue...You are not visible enough, people don’t know you as the thought leader in your field. You are not the first to think of when they are looking for a new supplier. That’s such a shame! As a result, your business is not as successful as it could be ...
View the benefits of a VIP Community strategy day
Many companies and entrepreneurs suffer from this, simply because they don’t know the secret of successful communities. And have therefor not formulated a clear strategy. You may recognize the following:
- You lack focus, don’t know how to start and above all: how you keep it going
- You haven’t taken the time to write a good community strategy that matches your business objectives
- You lose (too) much time, because you are constantly reinventing the wheel, time that you’re not spending on new business and revenue streams
- You need support and someone to spar with, but the people in your area don't understand the power of online communities enough
- You have a great idea for a community and you may even have already started enthusiastically, but other activities always receive priority and attention
- You have no inspiration when it's time to communicate with your community
- Very often you don't really have a good idea of what to share in the community at all
- You lose the connection with your community members, the community bleeds to death or worse: people leave the community
- You feel that you can do better, but you don't know how, which makes you afraid of public failure
- You know that you can offer a lot of value and really help others, but you are not visible enough to make a difference.
- You see other entrepreneurial professionals and leaders achieve great success with their online community, making them the thought leader in their market, and you don’t understand why you are not yet successful
You doubt whether it makes sense what you are doing ...
In summary: you find it difficult to leverage your community in order to stay relevant and you no longer know how to proceed.
Or you don't even start a community because you're afraid you won't be able to active the members.
You are afraid of failing as a professional and that everyone knows.
But somewhere you know that communities can work for you too...
So what are you going to do?
Waiting for your customers to join another community, which means you miss the opportunity to bind them to you as new customers, fans and ambassadors?
Struggle yourself while you see others who do have a successful community, which makes their business grow?
With people you know you can actually help better?
No way!?
Good news: there is a way to solve this problem.
How would you feel if I sat down with you for a day to work on your community strategy, so that you know exactly what you need to do to successfully leverage your community?
So that people get to know you, you will get fans and ambassadors who recommend you through word of mouth, your expert status grows and you attract more (potential) customers and sales.
I know how you feel, since I’ve been there too. And know probably better than anyone else that the right way of leveraging your online community is really life changing! I was very good at starting and growing huge communities for famous brands, but it felt like a huge barrier to activate my own community. What if I fail? What if people reject me? While I was so good at it for others.
That’s why I missed opportunities. Opportunities that I needed as an entrepreneur! To make money and do what makes me really happy. To make a difference. I didn’t understand why others succeeded and I did not. Until I started doing research, got help and learned what the ingredients are of a successful community. And how you can make your community work for you.
Maartje Blijleven as Digital Community Expert LIVE on Dutch TV with Albert Verlinde, 6 Inside
Maartje Blijleven about the secret of successful communities. (photo: Cross Media Cafe)
When I cracked the code about 1.5 years ago, I decided to do it completely differently. Successfully! Within a year I have become a frequently booked keynote speaker at (international) events, I have been featured in many professional media such as the Adformatie, Emerce, MarketingFacts, MarketingTribune, LBB, and even regularly asked as a Digital community expert at at daily LIVE TV-show.
Now new assignments come naturally to me and people know how to find me as the expert in my field: online communities. I would also like you to be the thought leader your industry that people first think of when they have a major assignment or opportunity. And those editors calling you when they are looking for an expert for their TV program.
This all happened very sudden and quickly. If you had told me that 1.5 years ago, I would not have believed you! And it may sound silly but I still have trouble believing it ...It’s also possible for you to be successful thanks to the power of online communities.
With the VIP Community strategy day you personally learn from me how to write your community strategy and we will really get to work together. Everything that I have learned as a digital community expert in the past 20+ years is included in this one-on-one session. I myself learned the tricks of the trade at a.o. Endemol, RTL, KLM, Dutch Postcode Lottery, Heineken, Peugeot and Schiphol.
In the media:
Maartje Blijleven, founder of We love communities, worked for, among others:
And over the past two years I applied that to the niche communities that I co-founded and run myself. In addition, I am currently conducting research into successful communities, and I interviewed 37 of the best community leaders from the Netherlands and abroad. Who shared their successes but also pitfalls and secrets with me. These interviews appear in my book that will be released in the fall of 2019. I interviewed a.o.:
W H A T T O E X P E C T
Benefits of the VIP Community strategy day:
Personal guidance
You will receive my personal guidance throughout the day in creating the strategy for your community. And so also all my experience.
Nice location in the Netherlands
We work together from 10 am to 4 pm at a nice exclusive location in the center of the Netherlands, with a tasty lunch in between. Where we can brainstorm undisturbed about your community. Or online if you live farther away and prefer meeting online. (Via Zoom).
Community Strategy
We work out your community strategy together. At the end of the day you walk away with a strategy that you can start using right away.
Unlimited questions
Unlimited questions and undivided attention for you. You don't have to be afraid to ask "stupid" questions, because everything we discuss is confidential. (And there are no stupid questions).
Proven result
The best of what I have to offer.
I only share what has proven itself in practice.
The right basis
The right basis for kickstarting and boosting your community. You will really let your community work for you, with more customers, happy co-workers and more sales as a result.
Guaranteed result
With the right focus you will discover yourself you will get more interactions in your online community, more activity, real connections with your most loyal fans, and a growing business.
It saves a lot of time
If you have to figure everything out yourself, it will not only cost you a lot of valuable time, but you will also not be able to achieve the desired results.
It's fun!
If you connect with people with the same drive or passion through your community you will see that you get a lot of energy, feel supported and seen and can really help others.
BONUS
If you decide quickly, I have something very special for you:
The first 100 applications will be invited personally to the launch of my book about successful communities. That is my masterpiece in which I link my experiences of the past 19 years to research and expert interviews with 37 of the best community leaders in the Netherlands and abroad. You want to be there!
A successful community has many advantages that you can achieve too, after the personal 1: 1 VIP Community strategy day:
A community can grow enormously organically and you will quickly make connections that you had not expected beforehand, not even dreamed of! Your online community will grow enormously through a larger network and the network of that network. Like an oil slick.
A community makes you unique, social and relevant for existing and new customers. By connecting with your customers and offering them something valuable, customers stay longer, they are more loyal and they will be less likely to choose the competitor.
A community works like a flywheel. As a driver you get the community going and invite a group of people that you know share the same passion or ambition or pursue the same goals. You activate your community. And at some point your community will be activated by loyal members almost automatically.
Communities let you grow in a way that resonates in one of our favorite buzz words: authentic. That is what every brand and every company strives for today, because younger generations in particular find it important.
Online communities are much easier to start and activate than offline communities that only come together physically. The rise of online communities take the power of offline communities and multiply those by tens - thousands even - to bring us in contact with people we are connected with in just about every place where we really need those connections.
In a community you can grow faster and more effectively together with others who have the same goals and passion as you have. You can learn from each other's successes and failures and be successful faster. You get input on that specific topic that makes your heart beat faster, making you even better at what you were already good at.
It has a positive effect on your visibility, so that you are seen as the expert in your field. This allows you to apply higher rates and attract more customers.
It affects your search engine results in e.g. Google, since your (external) community will be indexed and found by search engines. That way you will also attract potential members and prospects.
If your community is relevant, members will become your ambassadors and invite new members. You will have worth-of-mouth advertising work for you. Great communities grow organically, buttom-up.
It has a positive effect on other things that you enjoy doing. And with which you earn money.
Society expects a lot from us. We have to score constantly if we want to win a pitch or keep that customer. The 'great good news show' on social media can give us a bad and lonely feeling. A community of people who truly believe in us helps us to be successful. Both in our private life and in our work and beyond.
It enlarges your professional network in the industry you work in, so very specific. This is useful for getting new assignments as an entrepreneur or a better job if you are employed. Especially because people are more likely to support you. If you have helped many professionals within your community, they will gladly give something back.
If we have a common passion or goal, we like each other better. We can influence each other's behavior more easily, and achieve our goals faster.
Communities foster acceptance and build your personal cheering squad - a crowd of people who are in your corner and pushing you forward. It gives us more confidence, we feel supported and seen.
A digital culture where we are all on our own personal devices can greatly augment loneliness; actively engaging in online communities not only counterbalances this -- but these are doing something else. They are creating very intentional groups of people that are truly and actively “in our corners,” making us more meaningfully connected and supported in our endeavors.
It gives you the opportunity to start a conversation with your most valuable customers and ambassadors. You can learn from them and as a company you know better what’s going on with your target group. This allows you to optimize your services and make your products even better. And better products are worth more. So your turnover increases.
If you do what you enjoy and get support and trust from your community, you can achieve a lot. And you become happier in what you do. It no longer feels like working.
Above all, it's fun. And that’s such a relief in times where we all “have to do so much".
You get to know your ideal target group very well, including his or her biggest problems, wishes and desires. They give you insights into your target group that you would never have otherwise, and you will therefore become even better at your job. Based on that you can adjust your overall marketing communications. Which means you attract more customers.
It saves money. Doing research within your community is free, you don't have to hire an expensive research agency. You inform people at the same time by keeping them informed through the community, so you spend less time and money on 1:1 communication. You reduce the number of phone calls to customer service and save costs. And have more satisfied customers and fewer complaints as a result.
It’s creates thought leadership, you are on top of mind of the community members. It will increase your visibility and expertise in key areas. And thus grow your career and presence in an industry that’s important to you.
You can invite interesting relations to become a community member whom are in the middle of your target group, since you are in control. It gives people a special feeling to belong.
A successful community is good for your personal track record and therefore also for your career.
You increase your customer satisfaction percentage and Net Promoter Score, with more recurrent customers and higher sales as a result.
It underlines your expert status and you are more likely to be featured in the media through free publicity. Because you are the expert, you are often asked as a (paid) speaker at events and to give workshops and masterclasses. Which further underlines your expert status.
It's easy if you know which steps to take. You can start with small steps. Communities don't have to be huge, you don't have to have a big budget or a lot of time. Just a nice idea and like-minded people are enough to build a successful and active community to connect and achieve more.
You can leverage your community to achieve your business goals. You can do this independently, without needing your employer, government or any other authorities. If your community grows, you owe it to yourself. It's cool to see that you get results, especially if you're enthusiastic about a certain subject.
You can learn from two decades of experience from me. Think of it as a mentor: you learn the most from people who have been working in your field for a long time and know all the tricks of the trade. Similarly for communities. I know what works and what doesn't work.
You will get my step-by-step approach that explains what you need to do to start and grow a successful community. So you don't have to invent the wheel yourself, but you can immediately use 2 decades of experience in the field of online communities.
You will discover which business models are available to make money and being successful with your online community.
In short: a community gives you satisfaction, is fun, your network grows enormously in an area where you want to build up expertise and that gives a positive image to you as a founder, which can take you further in other areas. Your business, visibility and expert status are increasing. You are the thought leader in your field and super visible to potential customers and attract talent. With a constant flow of customers and more sales as a result.
The right strategy is essential for this. Otherwise you have to invent the wheel yourself and it will cost you a lot of time, money and energy. A community strategy pays off twice and is worth many times more than the investment you make.
Testimonials
“Maartje showed us why the time has never been better to leverage communities in order to achieve, maintain and grow our business. I would strongly recommend to ask Maartje as keynote speaker at your next event.”
Rik Ledder, managing director TBWA/Neboko
“Maartje gave us an energetic speech about the power of communities. She shared relevant cases and interact with the group effortlessly: the ideas generated during the interactive part are very valuable to us. As a passionate keynote speaker to empower women, Maartje earns my highest recommendation.”
Coco Seignette, Event manager MediaMonks HQ
“Maartje gave such an inspiring talk to our associates, which we're hearing so much positive feedback about. One part in particular that we loved about her talk was stressing that we should have fun with what we do, as that's so important for engagement and an underlying theme we stress at Nielsen Netherlands. Thank you for reinforcing that so well!”
Stephanie Manning, Marketing & Communications Leader Nielsen
“Maartje Blijleven worked together with me at KLM. The projects we where operating where online business clubs KLM Club China and KLM Club Africa. She conducted different aspects of these two communities such as, managing content, member support coordinating offline events, etc, etc. She is very motivated and flexible to work with.”
Stuart Makosi, Manager Online Business Communities KLM
“Maartje has been an exceptional help on our digital journey, delivering quality, on time and above expectations. Maartje not only is extremely knowledgeable in all things digital, she is able to simplify subjects depending on the audience, increasing knowledge fast and effectively for everyone.”
Tomas Centeno, Managing Director Benelux Dyson, about Maartje's keynote speech about digital technology trends
“Most CEOs have overcrowded agendas with little additional time or energy to keep ahead of developments in the digital field - social media, digital marketing, website technology and other business opportunities. If you are also overburdened with digital developments and how they impact your business, I can wholeheartedly recommend Maartje.”
Boudewijn Poelmann, founder Novamedia and Dutch Postcode Lottery
Need Help?
Frequently Asked Questions
Overall, you will get:
- Personal 1: 1 guidance in creating your online community strategy
- Including preparation
- After the strategy day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at an exclusive location in Amsterdam (or online if you prefer), you will walk away with your personal community strategy.
- Guaranteed a community strategy that you can use the next 2-3 years and with which you can make your community a real success.
- You can use the knowledge and skills I have gained over the last 2 decades + the research and expert interviews of some of the best community leaders in the Netherlands and beyond
- You will really let your community work for you, with more visibility and loyal customers who also know how to find you via worth-of-mouth
- You discover which methods and strategies really work for a successful community, resulting in a growing business, more customers, higher sales and the visibility and thought leadership status you as a community leader deserve.
There are so many possibilities with online communities, maybe you are overwhelmed with all the opportunities and possibilities... You can get lost, which makes it hard to focus, and you just don’t know what really works and what doesn't. That stops you.
There is a solution for that!
Based on 20+ years of experience, research and interviews with some of the best community leaders in the Netherlands and beyond, I know what REALLY works in online communities and with which you will achieve great results.
Everything you need to know to focus on the right things in your community, we will discuss during your personal VIP Community strategy day!
You will get a community strategy that you can use in the coming years!
Whatever your goal and whatever industry you're in: a community offers unprecedented opportunities to increase your success because you optimally use your network. In this way you build a long-term relationship with your most loyal customers, attract look-a-likes from your best customers and increase your turnover. The flywheel effect will automatically make an active community work for you.
If you consider booking a VIP strategy day, do it now. Because this is a limited offer.
There are only a few places left on my busy schedule, so if you want a kick-ass community strategy in the short term, you have to be fast. My agenda is filling up quickly, there are only 2 places left in the coming month. And soon I will raise the price.
Yes, I would like to schedule a call for a VIP Community strategy day!
Unique opportunity! You can be the first to receive the summary of the We love communities book. Even before it’s in store. Including a step-by-step plan which will help you getting started right away. Sign-up quickly for the free e-book and other great tips, tricks and inspiration, so that you too learn the secret of a successful community.
Free e-book, tips and tricks for a successful community
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