Streamline Your Manual Work
With Community Automations
Simplifying your daily community management by
setting up the necessary processes you need.
Optimise your workflow
to reduce your workload
Community Strategy
Designing your community to meet the needs of your members helps you eliminate unnecessary fluff.
Community Structuring
Keeping your community as simple as possible reduces confusion and increases member interactions.
Community Systems
Setting up simple automations reduces time on manual tasks, giving you more time for members.
"Working with Stephen was exactly what I was looking for. He took my vision and expanded upon it, and dreamed up an automation schedule that runs smoothly and effortlessly. He even planned for a variety of hiccups and troubles that I couldn't see, and adjusted the automations to ensure things went smoothly. He was extremely communicative, kind, and patient throughout the entire process. He took an enormous load off of my shoulders by making the on-boarding and off-boarding process for my community incredibly easy and streamlined. Highly recommend that you work with Stephen for all of your automation needs."
— Bryana @ Concious Mommy Community
IDEATION AND STRATEGY
Keeping your ideal member at the
front of your community decisions
Far too often, community builders fall into the trap of bright and shiny ideas, only to witness their hard work collapse in disappointment. The time we waste on these endeavours could be saved if we simply consulted our members before implementing new features.
That's where I come in - to help you ideate and bring your ideas to life with a focused approach. By working together, we'll analyse your target audience, comprehend their requirements, and concentrate on the essential tools and setup to deliver the greatest impact for your community.
SOFTWARE AND STRUCTURING
Ensuring your set up is simple to maximise the member experience
Joining a community should be one of the simplest journeys a new member takes, but so many communities overcomplicate their setups. From data-sucking entry forms to chaotic community spaces, your members won't stick around for long if being in your community feels like a chore.
Members are the heart of your community and as a community manager, your job is to make their journey the best it can possibly be. I'll help you cut out the fluff and build a community that's simple enough to use, but fulfils all their needs.
AUTOMATION AND SYSTEMS
Creating processes that help you efficiently scale in the long term
Many community builders are scared of adding new processes or automations to their communities. Good processes save you time and many future headaches. When you no longer have to spend hours sending direct messages or removing old community members you can focus on the real tasks that make your community better - like engaging with members.
My job is to help you build simple and seamless processes that are easy for you to take over. No overcomplicated automations - just the process you need to automate those recurring tasks.
"I booked a couple sessions with Stephen to help me get some automations up and running and it was a business game changer for me. I’m very intimidated by Zapier and Stephen demystified everything. When I went into the call, I didn’t even know what exactly I needed, but he was able to brainstorm automated solutions quickly that will save me so much time. I was deeply impressed by his knowledge, patience and problem solving. Highly recommend."
— Joy @ Sustenance Community
Guided Automation Setup*
Tailored advice or live automation walkthrough to set up your community automations and operations.
£200 per hour
Hire Me For Project Work**
Designed to help you streamline your community operations and reduce the daily manual workload.
Project rates are charged hourly
*Consultation calls are non-refundable and must be booked in advance with prior payment.
**Projects are charged on a per hour basis, including communication, planning, building, implementation and testing.
Discovery calls, final documentation and 30 days maintenance are provided for free.
For projects, you will need to provide your login details for all accounts involved and cover software charges. Automations requirements must be discussed and agreed upon during the discovery call. Additional requests will be charged accordingly.
Please note: These services only handle building automations/workflows between and insider your existing tool stack. Creating content, visual assets, copywriting, coding and css styling are not part of the service.
Frequently Asked Questions
These are a few of the questions community owners ask before working with me.
What do I help community builders with?
The areas I specialise in helping community owners with are:
- Community Strategy, Building and Automations
- Setting up communities on Circle and Discord
- Reviewing existing community setups
- Building back-end community systems
- Designing new community processes
- Creating automations with Zapier and Make
- Performing simple API requests
- Building no-code UI interfaces
- Templating and documenting processes
- Solving technical community problems
What can I not help with?
In general, I am very tech savvy and can find a solution to most technical problems.
However, the areas I do not help community owners with are:
- Creating content for communities or schedules
- Managing other communities
- Designing or producing visual assets
- Professional copywriting
- Hard coding new API connections or apps
- CSS styling for communities
Who do I enjoy working with?
My main background is in paid communities, so I enjoy working with people like:
- Influencers
- Course creators
- Public speakers
- Bootcamp/Cohort founders
- Informational product marketers
My favourite community niches to work with are:
- Skill-based/Education
- Gaming
- Creative Arts
- Entrepreneurship
What is working with me like?
I like to have a good rapport with people and work together to build your vision.
I'm always interested to hear about the project you want to build and the story behind it.
These are the practical things you can expect when working together on projects:
- A statement of work with the agreed upon workload
- A kickoff call and a pre-handover call for every project
- Frequent email communication and calls where needed
- Written Notion documentation for the handover
- 30 days of project aftercare to ensure everything works
How much does it cost to hire me?
Due to project complexity varying per person, I can only give a rough time estimate.
Automations can typically range between 30 minutes to 2 hours per automation.
Projects are billed on an hourly rate. Consultancy is charged at a flat rate.
- Flat Consultancy Rate: £200 GBP
- Hourly Project Rate: £100 GBP
These are my current rates as of August 2023 and can change at any time.
Any other questions?
If you have any questions about my services, you can always reach me via email at stephen@stephenmaddison.co. I usually respond within 1 day and I'm always happy to answer your queries.
About Stephen
From his early days in community building to his current role as an automation expert, Stephen's career has been a journey through various faces of community engagement and technology. With a keen eye for optimising workflows and a talent for automating processes, Stephen has become a go-to specialist for community builders seeking efficiency and growth. His expertise spans across diverse community sizes and types, from intimate groups to expansive memberships, ensuring that each solution he crafts is uniquely suited to the community it serves.
Among his notable accomplishments are the successful scaling of a monetised gaming community, providing guidance to info product marketers, and formulating strategies for leaders in the fintech sector. In 2024, Stephen is poised to launch a community aimed at empowering community builders with automation knowledge to boost member engagement and streamline operations.
Central to his approach is the development of tailored solutions that not only to meet but to enhance the unique perspective of each community he works with. Prioritising the use of familiar tools, Stephen ensures smooth integration and user-friendliness in all his projects. His blend of a deep understanding of community dynamics and a mastery of technological tools guarantees the success and continued growth of the communities he collaborates with.
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