The Most Controversial Thing I Said This Week

I told a room full of community builders that email is the best community platform.

Not Slack. Not Discord. Not Mighty Networks. Not whatever shiny app launched last Tuesday.

Email.

Here's why everyone got upset — and why I'm right:

Every time you add another platform to your community stack, you're creating a crack.

WhatsApp for quick chats. Slack for work stuff. Facebook for events. Your coworking software for bookings.

Before you know it, your community is scattered across seven different apps, and nobody knows where anything is happening.

The brutal truth: You're not building community. You're building confusion.

Start with email. Just email. Get a consistent rhythm going. Help members actually meet each other. Tell your community's story in one clear channel that everyone already checks.

Once you know what your people actually use (not what you hope they'll use), THEN introduce other tools. But make email your spine — everything else branches from there.

Because here's what nobody tells you: It's easier to put other channels IN your emails than to get email into those other channels.

Your members don't need another app. They need one place where they know everything important will show up.

So what? Stop fragmenting your community across platforms that make YOU feel productive but leave your members lost. Build the habit first. Add the tools later.

This is exactly the kind of strategic simplicity we dive into in The Community Builder's Email

Engine — where email becomes your most powerful community tool, not just another newsletter.

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