What is a Year in the Life?

The purpose of the Year in the Life in an online community is to think through where your members will be one year from now (because they took your course or are involved in your community). This helps creators map out where their members are today and where they’re going.

Ultimately, this ties back to great Community Design™, being clear on the journey your members will go on — what they’ll accomplish and the reason your community exists in the first place, your Big Purpose. It’s also about why being a part of your community will help them get there (clear roadmap for your content and how it will help them on the path towards success).

How to map out a Year in the Life

When thinking about a Year in the Life, there will be member results and there will also be the creator’s results.

Here are some questions to ask to help you get started:

Member results

• What are your members able to do in a year that they can’t do today?


• What have they learned from you?


• What have they learned from each other?


• What are they doing together? Weekly calls? Smaller groups?


• How are they transformed and how are they transforming others?

Your results

• How are YOU able to structure your life in a year in a way that you can’t today?


• Are you able to invest more time in your mission?


• What does it look like to control your own schedule?


• Have you achieved specific goals that you can share with your members?

Who is your brand for and what does it represent in the world?

Example:

Member result: Develop a successful painting practice with new skills and expert guidance to improve.

Creator result: To double the number of members who join their Mastermind Group at $200/month.

Building up to the Year in the Life will also require getting clear on your Big Purpose (the motivation and reason for your community) and of course figuring out who your Ideal Member is (someone who would benefit the most from your community).

You can use the following to help you conceptualize a Year in the Life (the final three elements of Community Design™):

• Monthly Themes are themes you can set that will benefit your members’ journeys and help you focus on your efforts.


• Weekly calendars are set activities members can do every week that will move them towards their goals.


• Daily actions help break it all down into daily actionable steps, helping members stay on track and accountable.

If you need assistance on all of this, we run a Community Design™ Accelerator that will give you the foundations!

Now Read: Your 5 Step Plan for Mastering Community Design