Dear Bri: Community Strategy, Fiascos, and Drama

Part 1: What’s the best all-in-one platform for building a paid community? (Solo Series)

29min | 07/29/2025

Description

In the first episode of this two-part Solo Series, we’re hearing from Studio Dreamer. Our letter today deals with a community creator who is ready to build a proper home for their paid community but is unsure which all-in-one platform best suits their community goals.

This is one of the most common questions Bri gets from clients. In fact, over the last five years, she has partnered with dozens of clients and community members to select the right community platform for them and to avoid some of the most common pitfalls related to the process.

So, tune in for the information that will help you make the right choice for you. Bri is providing a broad overview of the five most common community platforms, including her two favorites, which are the ones where she's seen the most successful communities take off.

In this episode:

(00:31) The communitea: Studio Dreamer’s letter

(02:54) What to expect from today's special solo episode

(05:08) The definition of an all-in-one community platform

(06:54) Deep dive into Mighty Networks

(08:49) Deep dive into Skool

(12:06) Deep dive into Honeycommb

(16:43) Deep dive into Circle

(23:56) Deep dive into Heartbeat, where Bri built her Ember community

(27:43) Three main differences between Circle and Heartbeat

Tune into next week's Dear Bri Episode 25 for the top three mistakes that people make when setting up their community platform.

Resources:

🔥 Build your community right. Book a discovery call with Bri

📺 Watch Bri's more detailed Community Platform Comparisons on YouTube.

🎧 Catch up with Dear Bri Episode 4 with Noele Flowers, where we talk about building on Slack versus in an all-in-one community platform.

🎙️ Listen to Dear Bri Episode 12 with Murtaza Bambot, the CEO at Heartbeat.

❤️ Sign up for Heartbeat. Bri’s recommended all-in-one community platform.

💛 Join Ember. The place for go-getter community creators building community-powered businesses.

Bri Leever

🖥️ Website

📩 Newsletter

📹 Youtube

Want your story to be next? Submit an anonymous letter about your community conundrum, fiasco, drama, or other dilemma here.

*Dear Bri is produced by Ideablossoms.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Chapters

Introduction to the Series
0sec
Viewer's Question: Choosing the Right Platform
30sec
Sponsor Message: Heartbeat
1min
Understanding Community Platforms
2min
Overview of Popular Platforms
4min
Deep Dive: Mighty Networks
6min
Deep Dive: School
8min
Deep Dive: Honeycomb
12min
Deep Dive: Circle
16min
Deep Dive: Heartbeat
23min
Conclusion and Next Episode Teaser
29min

About Dear Bri: Community Strategy, Fiascos, and Drama

Welcome to Dear Bri, an advice column for community conundrums, fiascos, and drama! In each episode, host and community strategist Bri Leever invites a guest community expert to respond to an anonymous letter from a real-life community creator in distress.

From online community-building mishaps to community engagement tactics gone awry, this podcast delivers relatable stories and sound community strategy for navigating the chaos of digital communities—all with empathy, expertise, and a touch of drama.

The mission? Helping community managers and community creators feel a little less crazy and a lot less alone while building thriving brand communities.

You're in the right place if you are...

🐣 Community Curious:

Creators or brands exploring the benefits of a community-powered business. Learn the fundamentals of community strategy for online businesses, and discover how to build an online community from scratch.

🐥 Community Hatchlings:

Newcomers to community building seeking guidance and support. Get tips on how to grow a paid community, avoid common mistakes in community building, and build trust through smart community roles and responsibilities.

🦅 Senior Community Folks:

Seasoned pros facing complex dilemmas. Explore topics like managing community drama, setting boundaries in digital communities, and advanced community retention strategies.

Dear Bri combines relatable storytelling with expert community strategy, making it a unique and valuable resource for community managers and creators. Episodes provide the most up-to-date community management practices, common mistakes to avoid in community building, the best community engagement tactics I've seen, tips on setting boundaries and building trust in online communities, and of course, a touch of community drama to keep things interesting and fun!

Community creators listening to Dear Bri will feel a little less alone in the important work of community building and a whole lot less crazy as each episode normalizes and provides strategic insights for some of the toughest online community scenarios.

Whether you're curious about building a community, just starting out, or a seasoned professional looking for advanced advice, Dear Bri has something for you. Episodes drop weekly on Tuesday. Hit the follow button so you don't miss out!

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Dear Bri: Community Strategy, Fiascos, and Drama

Welcome to Dear Bri, an advice column for community conundrums, fiascos, and drama! In each episode, host and community strategist Bri Leever invites a guest community expert to respond to an anonymous letter from a real-life community creator in distress.

From online community-building mishaps to community engagement tactics gone awry, this podcast delivers relatable stories and sound community strategy for navigating the chaos of digital communities—all with empathy, expertise, and a touch of drama.

The mission? Helping community managers and community creators feel a little less crazy and a lot less alone while building thriving brand communities.

You're in the right place if you are...

🐣 Community Curious:

Creators or brands exploring the benefits of a community-powered business. Learn the fundamentals of community strategy for online businesses, and discover how to build an online community from scratch.

🐥 Community Hatchlings:

Newcomers to community building seeking guidance and support. Get tips on how to grow a paid community, avoid common mistakes in community building, and build trust through smart community roles and responsibilities.

🦅 Senior Community Folks:

Seasoned pros facing complex dilemmas. Explore topics like managing community drama, setting boundaries in digital communities, and advanced community retention strategies.

Dear Bri combines relatable storytelling with expert community strategy, making it a unique and valuable resource for community managers and creators. Episodes provide the most up-to-date community management practices, common mistakes to avoid in community building, the best community engagement tactics I've seen, tips on setting boundaries and building trust in online communities, and of course, a touch of community drama to keep things interesting and fun!

Community creators listening to Dear Bri will feel a little less alone in the important work of community building and a whole lot less crazy as each episode normalizes and provides strategic insights for some of the toughest online community scenarios.

Whether you're curious about building a community, just starting out, or a seasoned professional looking for advanced advice, Dear Bri has something for you. Episodes drop weekly on Tuesday. Hit the follow button so you don't miss out!

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Description

In the first episode of this two-part Solo Series, we’re hearing from Studio Dreamer. Our letter today deals with a community creator who is ready to build a proper home for their paid community but is unsure which all-in-one platform best suits their community goals.

This is one of the most common questions Bri gets from clients. In fact, over the last five years, she has partnered with dozens of clients and community members to select the right community platform for them and to avoid some of the most common pitfalls related to the process.

So, tune in for the information that will help you make the right choice for you. Bri is providing a broad overview of the five most common community platforms, including her two favorites, which are the ones where she's seen the most successful communities take off.

In this episode:

(00:31) The communitea: Studio Dreamer’s letter

(02:54) What to expect from today's special solo episode

(05:08) The definition of an all-in-one community platform

(06:54) Deep dive into Mighty Networks

(08:49) Deep dive into Skool

(12:06) Deep dive into Honeycommb

(16:43) Deep dive into Circle

(23:56) Deep dive into Heartbeat, where Bri built her Ember community

(27:43) Three main differences between Circle and Heartbeat

Tune into next week's Dear Bri Episode 25 for the top three mistakes that people make when setting up their community platform.

Resources:

🔥 Build your community right. Book a discovery call with Bri

📺 Watch Bri's more detailed Community Platform Comparisons on YouTube.

🎧 Catch up with Dear Bri Episode 4 with Noele Flowers, where we talk about building on Slack versus in an all-in-one community platform.

🎙️ Listen to Dear Bri Episode 12 with Murtaza Bambot, the CEO at Heartbeat.

❤️ Sign up for Heartbeat. Bri’s recommended all-in-one community platform.

💛 Join Ember. The place for go-getter community creators building community-powered businesses.

Bri Leever

🖥️ Website

📩 Newsletter

📹 Youtube

Want your story to be next? Submit an anonymous letter about your community conundrum, fiasco, drama, or other dilemma here.

*Dear Bri is produced by Ideablossoms.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Chapters

Introduction to the Series
0sec
Viewer's Question: Choosing the Right Platform
30sec
Sponsor Message: Heartbeat
1min
Understanding Community Platforms
2min
Overview of Popular Platforms
4min
Deep Dive: Mighty Networks
6min
Deep Dive: School
8min
Deep Dive: Honeycomb
12min
Deep Dive: Circle
16min
Deep Dive: Heartbeat
23min
Conclusion and Next Episode Teaser
29min

About Dear Bri: Community Strategy, Fiascos, and Drama

Welcome to Dear Bri, an advice column for community conundrums, fiascos, and drama! In each episode, host and community strategist Bri Leever invites a guest community expert to respond to an anonymous letter from a real-life community creator in distress.

From online community-building mishaps to community engagement tactics gone awry, this podcast delivers relatable stories and sound community strategy for navigating the chaos of digital communities—all with empathy, expertise, and a touch of drama.

The mission? Helping community managers and community creators feel a little less crazy and a lot less alone while building thriving brand communities.

You're in the right place if you are...

🐣 Community Curious:

Creators or brands exploring the benefits of a community-powered business. Learn the fundamentals of community strategy for online businesses, and discover how to build an online community from scratch.

🐥 Community Hatchlings:

Newcomers to community building seeking guidance and support. Get tips on how to grow a paid community, avoid common mistakes in community building, and build trust through smart community roles and responsibilities.

🦅 Senior Community Folks:

Seasoned pros facing complex dilemmas. Explore topics like managing community drama, setting boundaries in digital communities, and advanced community retention strategies.

Dear Bri combines relatable storytelling with expert community strategy, making it a unique and valuable resource for community managers and creators. Episodes provide the most up-to-date community management practices, common mistakes to avoid in community building, the best community engagement tactics I've seen, tips on setting boundaries and building trust in online communities, and of course, a touch of community drama to keep things interesting and fun!

Community creators listening to Dear Bri will feel a little less alone in the important work of community building and a whole lot less crazy as each episode normalizes and provides strategic insights for some of the toughest online community scenarios.

Whether you're curious about building a community, just starting out, or a seasoned professional looking for advanced advice, Dear Bri has something for you. Episodes drop weekly on Tuesday. Hit the follow button so you don't miss out!

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Dear Bri: Community Strategy, Fiascos, and Drama

Welcome to Dear Bri, an advice column for community conundrums, fiascos, and drama! In each episode, host and community strategist Bri Leever invites a guest community expert to respond to an anonymous letter from a real-life community creator in distress.

From online community-building mishaps to community engagement tactics gone awry, this podcast delivers relatable stories and sound community strategy for navigating the chaos of digital communities—all with empathy, expertise, and a touch of drama.

The mission? Helping community managers and community creators feel a little less crazy and a lot less alone while building thriving brand communities.

You're in the right place if you are...

🐣 Community Curious:

Creators or brands exploring the benefits of a community-powered business. Learn the fundamentals of community strategy for online businesses, and discover how to build an online community from scratch.

🐥 Community Hatchlings:

Newcomers to community building seeking guidance and support. Get tips on how to grow a paid community, avoid common mistakes in community building, and build trust through smart community roles and responsibilities.

🦅 Senior Community Folks:

Seasoned pros facing complex dilemmas. Explore topics like managing community drama, setting boundaries in digital communities, and advanced community retention strategies.

Dear Bri combines relatable storytelling with expert community strategy, making it a unique and valuable resource for community managers and creators. Episodes provide the most up-to-date community management practices, common mistakes to avoid in community building, the best community engagement tactics I've seen, tips on setting boundaries and building trust in online communities, and of course, a touch of community drama to keep things interesting and fun!

Community creators listening to Dear Bri will feel a little less alone in the important work of community building and a whole lot less crazy as each episode normalizes and provides strategic insights for some of the toughest online community scenarios.

Whether you're curious about building a community, just starting out, or a seasoned professional looking for advanced advice, Dear Bri has something for you. Episodes drop weekly on Tuesday. Hit the follow button so you don't miss out!

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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Chapters

Introduction to the Series

Viewer's Question: Choosing the Right Platform

Sponsor Message: Heartbeat

Understanding Community Platforms

Overview of Popular Platforms

Deep Dive: Mighty Networks

Deep Dive: School

Deep Dive: Honeycomb

Deep Dive: Circle

Deep Dive: Heartbeat

Conclusion and Next Episode Teaser

Chapters

Introduction to the Series

Viewer's Question: Choosing the Right Platform

Sponsor Message: Heartbeat

Understanding Community Platforms

Overview of Popular Platforms

Deep Dive: Mighty Networks

Deep Dive: School

Deep Dive: Honeycomb

Deep Dive: Circle

Deep Dive: Heartbeat

Conclusion and Next Episode Teaser

Chapters

Introduction to the Series

Viewer's Question: Choosing the Right Platform

Sponsor Message: Heartbeat

Understanding Community Platforms

Overview of Popular Platforms

Deep Dive: Mighty Networks

Deep Dive: School

Deep Dive: Honeycomb

Deep Dive: Circle

Deep Dive: Heartbeat

Conclusion and Next Episode Teaser

Chapters

Introduction to the Series

Viewer's Question: Choosing the Right Platform

Sponsor Message: Heartbeat

Understanding Community Platforms

Overview of Popular Platforms

Deep Dive: Mighty Networks

Deep Dive: School

Deep Dive: Honeycomb

Deep Dive: Circle

Deep Dive: Heartbeat

Conclusion and Next Episode Teaser