Mark Bullock for Ember Video Testimonials

Speaker: Mark Bullock, Videosocials.net

Mark Bullock: Really didn't have any hesitancy about um creating a community. As a matter of fact, we created the community some 6 years ago. Uh, it's viable, it's working, and but it has several missings, it has several gaps and um. We know that our heart's in the right place. We know what works much of the time, um, but we aren't as consistent as we wanted it to be and we aren't as, um. Um, scalable because of lack of systems, lack of a, uh, community platform, um, lack of a documented, you know, new member journey map as an example. And although I was working on a lot of those things and, you know, picking up parts and pieces from books and videos, including some of Bree's, uh, podcasts and things like that, um. I just knew that we needed to up our game and I know now from being in a community something I didn't know before, uh, and that is, is that whatever it is that you're working on, if you can find a community of people that are, uh, working on the same thing, uh, or working on similar things and. Have the, uh, the ability to have conversations around that with others that are going through the same or have been through the same could make a huge difference and having, um, seen a lot of uh Bree's work on YouTube, uh, as an example, I, um, took a look at the Amber community and I said, well, let me, let me give that a shot and, um. There's certainly no disappointment at this point.

Mark Bullock: I think the biggest insight or shall we say breakthrough uh that I've had since joining Ember is, is that I knew that we needed some sort of a journey map. We needed some sort of a uh structured process, um, by which we could help people, um. Pull together all the components, all of the competencies and confidence that they would need to be able to produce video as an example, which is what our community is about. And, um, but people were coming in with all different levels and all different types of experience and knowledge uh and competencies already, um, everything from beginners, you know, complete beginners to uh those who were, um, very adept at public speaking as an example, but maybe not, um, understanding how to transfer those skills onto video as an example, so. What I think the insight is, is that, that we could put together a journey map, we could put together a series of learnings, whether you call that a course or whether you call that a um um. Just components that that people needed to understand. Um, and, but really, not everybody would need everything and not necessarily in the same order or sequence. And so, um, the insight was that we need to get to know our new members and what outcomes they're seeking, they're seeking, what they're, um. What's standing in the way and what's not standing in the way, um, early on. So, uh, one of the things that I'm working on early on and I've only been with Amber for less than 3 months, is that we really need to do a new member assessment. And figure out, you know, what their strengths are, what their superpowers are, and what areas do they actually need help with, so that we can direct them on that journey a lot better and and give them a much better chance of, of uh. attaining the outcomes that they're seeking.

Mark Bullock: Well, it's early days, but you know basically I started seeing some results and and some successes as it were right from the get-go and uh not the least of which is not feeling so alone in the process of trying to design a community uh and and trying to scale a community um. Yes, there's so much that I could talk with and I have talked with membership about and have for for years. But um. That's not always the best place to, to, to do your thinking and and do your experimenting per se. Um, sometimes it's just valuable, uh, and it's certainly shown that, that, that's how it's shown up for me so far is, uh, that I can have conversations outside of the community with others that are designing, building, scaling communities and, um. Um, I've gotten some great thinking partners and some, uh, and, and some great insights of things that I was stuck on, um, that, um. Members of our community who don't have their own communities may not have been able to be uh all that helpful, although they certainly desired to be, um, but. Just being in, just being in a community with people that are, you know, they're in the trenches doing the work and um uh has really helped that has shifted a mindset and that's given me a lot more enthusiasm that's, that's been, uh, an inspiration to me that, you know, we are onto something we, we, we know that we've got something here, but what to do now is um is revealing itself. Uh, uh, every week that goes by and just in doing so, you know, down to brass tacks, you know, we, we've signed up, um. 4 times the number of members uh that we typically do in the same period of time uh since I joined Denvers than, than before I joined Denver. So, um. You know, can I trace it to specific things that we've already implemented? Not necessarily, but I can say that the mindset, um, and the feeling more prepared to take on new members is definitely, um. What's behind the fact that we're growing at a suddenly at a much faster pace than we have been in the past.