What is the one thing an online community builder shouldn’t do? To complicate entry processes. It sounds obvious – it’s something retailers and hoteliers have known for centuries – but the venom sits in the word ‘complicate’. The trade-offs that must be made are complex by themselves..

I raise this topic to share with you some of the experiences I’ve gained over the last couple of months in building, developing and promoting GBLCG.com. The one all-encompassing objective I worked towards was to make this site an attractive and preferred destination for Facebook Friends who want to exchange and share information that can help them advance their personal and professional objectives.

Because I work best when I can measure my performance against targets I plotted graphed the ‘where I want to be’s’ on an A3-sized sheet and stuck that above my desk. Each week I took stock of my membership and plotted results manually against a target growth line. To my surprise, the lines kept pace, which made me think that I under-rated my targets.

I solved that last weekend by posting a much more challenging graph, which now shows that I am actually under-performing in the Membership Gaining stakes.
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