How to Find Your Community Members Without Picking a Niche - People Magic: How to Build a $1M Community

Summary5 min read

Podcast Summary: People Magic – "How to Find Your Community Members Without Picking a Niche"

Release Date: July 3, 2025
Host/Author: Mighty Networks & Pod People
Guest: Gina Bianchini, Founder and CEO of Mighty Networks

Introduction: Rethinking Community Building

In this episode of People Magic, Gina Bianchini challenges the conventional wisdom of niche selection in community building. Instead of narrowing down to a specific niche, she introduces the concept of identifying and catering to individuals undergoing transitions in their lives. This shift aims to create more dynamic and thriving communities that resonate deeply with members.

Notable Quote:
“Don't pick a niche. Identify people who are in a transition.” — Gina Bianchini [00:00]

Understanding Niches vs. Transitions

The Traditional Niche Approach

Traditionally, community builders are encouraged to define a specific niche to attract members who see themselves reflected in the community’s focus. The idea is that a clearly defined niche facilitates easier member acquisition and fosters a sense of belonging among participants.

Notable Quote:
“The more that you niche down, the easier it is for you to get members.” — Gina Bianchini [02:15]

Challenges with Niching Down

However, Gina points out a significant issue: many aspiring community leaders struggle with identifying what exactly constitutes their niche. This ambiguity can lead to confusion and hinder the initial growth of the community.

Notable Quote:
“Nobody knows what a niche means. They don't know when they have it. They don't know when they don't have it.” — Gina Bianchini [04:30]

The Transition-Based Approach

Defining Transitions

A transition, as defined by Gina, is any significant change or milestone in a person’s life. This could range from graduating college, getting married, starting a new job, moving to a new city, or launching a business. Transitions are universal experiences, making them a powerful foundation for building a community.

Notable Quote:
“A transition is a transition. It's how am I helping somebody go from point A to point B.” — Gina Bianchini [01:10]

Why Transitions Over Niches?

Focusing on transitions rather than niches broadens the potential member base while maintaining relevance. Transitions are moments when individuals are highly motivated to seek support, resources, and connections, making them more inclined to join and actively participate in a community.

Notable Quote:
“If you think in terms of transitions, you are going to be set up for success in ways that if you're just kind of fuzzy in niches, it's just going to be really, really hard to get over that first step.” — Gina Bianchini [15:45]

Implementing the Transition Strategy

Identifying the Right Transitions

Gina advises community builders to start by identifying specific transitions their target audience is experiencing. This involves a deep understanding of the member’s journey and the challenges they face during these changes.

Notable Quote:
“Start with a transition by geography or demographic psychographic behavior. Get as specific as you can and then be really clear about what that transition is.” — Gina Bianchini [08:20]

Creating Supportive Structures

Once a transition is identified, the next step is to design community structures that facilitate members’ movement from point A to point B. This includes providing resources, fostering connections, and creating spaces for sharing experiences related to the transition.

Notable Quote:
“Your role is valuable because you are the organizer. You are the host because you are introducing people who are on the same path to each other.” — Gina Bianchini [20:10]

Benefits Beyond the Initial Transition

Ongoing Member Engagement

Gina highlights that as members navigate their transitions, new transitions emerge. This creates opportunities for continuous engagement and the expansion of the community’s value.

Notable Quote:
“You now have another transition because all of those people who just made it through the first transition have another transition that they are excited to tackle next.” — Gina Bianchini [17:05]

Sustainable Community Growth

By focusing on transitions, communities can sustain growth through the natural ebb and flow of members’ life changes. This ensures that the community remains relevant and indispensable to its members over time.

Notable Quote:
“Human beings are constantly in transition. That's what makes life beautiful and vivid and interesting and fun.” — Gina Bianchini [18:30]

Practical Examples and Insights

Moving to a New City

Gina uses the example of relocating to a new city to illustrate how transitions serve as a foundation for community building. When individuals move, they seek connections and resources to help them acclimate, making them ideal candidates for a supportive community.

Notable Quote:
“When you go to a new city, I go out, I meet friends of friends. I am always trying to sort of figure out how to get the most out of that city.” — Gina Bianchini [22:00]

Applications in Various Sectors

The transition-based approach is versatile and can be applied across different sectors, including professional networks, health and wellness, new activities, and business ventures. Gina emphasizes that transitions provide a natural and motivating context for community engagement.

Notable Quote:
“Transitions can be found in professional networks, in health, in wellness, in new activities, in businesses.” — Gina Bianchini [25:40]

Conclusion and Next Steps

Gina reiterates the importance of starting with transitions to build a robust and engaged community. She encourages community builders to embrace this approach to overcome the challenges associated with niching down and to unlock the full potential of their communities.

Notable Quote:
“I am a passionate believer in starting with transitions. ... It doesn't have to be a transition that you've been through. Your role is valuable because you are the organizer.” — Gina Bianchini [28:15]

Gina concludes by inviting listeners to engage further through her masterclass and to submit their questions for future episodes, fostering a continuous learning environment for aspiring community builders.

Key Takeaways

Transitions Over Niches: Focusing on life transitions provides a broader and more dynamic foundation for community building compared to traditional niche selection.
Member-Centric Approach: Identifying the transitions your members are experiencing ensures that the community remains relevant and deeply supportive.
Sustainable Growth: Transition-based communities naturally evolve as members progress through different phases, ensuring long-term engagement and growth.
Practical Implementation: Start by clearly defining the transitions you want to support and design your community’s resources and structures around facilitating these transitions.

For a deeper dive into building a $1M community and harnessing the power of transitions, visit the People Magic website and explore Gina Bianchini’s masterclass. Join the conversation by submitting your questions and stay tuned for more insights in upcoming episodes.

Loading summary

Transcript1 lines

[00:00]
Gina Bianchini
Don't pick a niche. Identify people who are in a transition. So what's a transition? We've all been through transitions. It might be when we graduate from college and have our first job. It might be getting married, opening a store, or launching a community. All of these are transitions in people's lives. And, you know, a transition is a transition. If it's, how am I helping somebody go from point A to point B. Foreign. Hey, I'm Gina Bianchini, and this is People Magic, where I show you the most interesting and easiest ways to create a $1 million community. Let's go ahead and dive in. Hey, Gina. I feel like I'm always being told that I've got a niche down, but you're saying to do something different, find a transition. Why should I pivot and do what you're saying? How is finding a transition going to help me? It's a great question. So just a little backstory. So I started teaching community design, and I've taught it at this point to over 10,000 people, all with that same goal of, like, figure out who your ideal member is. This is the person who wants and needs your community the most right now. And that it's so super important that you find a niche. In part because what I was seeing was that too many people were showing up and. And for all the right reasons, wanted to be welcoming and inclusive and really think about, oh, my gosh, how does my community serve all of the people that. That. This idea around, you know, industriousness or around operating with integrity or around how to achieve your goals, to set up and do masterminds with people who are on the same path. As we think about all of those opportunities, what tends to happen is that the first cut that you make at launching a community, your ideal member, the people that you. You want to attract to your community up front, it feels too narrow. What you see from me and from other people was you've got to, like, pick a niche. Why? Because when you do, people see themselves in what you are offering. And if they don't see themselves in what you are offering, that's okay. Because when you are specific enough with a niche, they see people that they know. So they're like, oh, wait a second. I'm not a person in this niche, but I know somebody who is. So the. The more that you niche down, the easier it is for you to get members. So here's the problem with niching down. Nobody knows what it means. Nobody knows what it means. So I would see all of these Incredibly smart people, incredibly motivated, aspiring community builders. And they would get stuck on the first step. And the first step being like, who is your community for? It's made a huge difference for hosts, or what we call our customers at Mighty Networks, the people who are creating communities that then are monetized with memberships or courses or challenges or events, and members. Because if members can more clearly see that a community is for them, they're more likely to join. Or if they see that it's for somebody that they know, who they know is like in that particular niche, they're more likely to recommend your community works out great, except for the fact that nobody knows what's a niche. They don't know when they have it. They don't know when they don't have it. And so I figured out something that has worked extraordinarily well. I'm not blowing smoke here when I say that the concept's gone viral, because it kind of has, which is don't pick a niche. Identify people who are in a transition. So what's a transition? We've all been through transitions. It might be when we graduate from, from college and have our first job, it might be getting married, it might be having your first kid, it might be moving to a new town, it might be picking up an instrument, opening a, a store, or launching a community. All of these are transitions in people's lives. And you know, a transition is a transition. If it's, how am I helping somebody go from, from point A to point B before they can do this, after they can do this. And what I've found is that if you are trying to figure out how to make your life really easy when you're creating a community and monetizing it through those four ways that I mentioned a moment ago, you really want to just start with a transition by geography or demographic psychographic behavior. Get as specific as you can and then be really clear about what that transition is. If you think in terms of transitions, you are going to be set up for success in ways that if you're just kind of fuzzy and niches, it's just going to be really, really hard to get over that first step. It's the first step. It's the most important step. And I have just found and gotten tremendous feedback from people that when you start with a transition, everything gets easier. But what about once people are through that first transition? Aha. I'm so glad you didn't ask that question, but I'm going to answer it anyways, which is it's a Beautiful thing when you have somebody who started in one place is now through that transition in another place because you now have two interesting opportunities. Opportunity one is getting more people into the first transition. You now know it works, you know, and you feel much more confident in terms of, okay, how do I get people from point A to point B? And by the way, we have a step by step process for doing that. It's in the masterclass. Go ahead and grab it. See it in the beginning of this podcast, but just go back and have a look. We'll put it in the show notes. But then also you've got a another transition because all of those people who just made it through the first transition have another transition that they are excited to tackle next. Human beings are constantly in transition. That's what makes life beautiful and vivid and interesting and, and fun. Even when it's tackling tough challenges or things that have happened that are really bad. It is easier and better and much more meaningful to go through those things together with other people. It is what gives this energy. It's what helps us power through and ultimately get to the other side of a transition. I am a passionate believer in starting with transitions. And as much as a niche is an amazing thing and if you nail it the first time, it's wonderful. If you're starting from scratch or you know you're struggling and your business isn't exactly working the way you want it to, it typically is because your niche is not clear enough. Your ideal member, that person who wants or needs your community the most right now, where right now is all caps, is just not clear enough. And the single easiest way of making something clear is by choosing a transition. This is also a place that you start narrow and you can always go broad later. If you try to go broad too early, no one's going to show up because they don't know if your community is for them or not. The number of people who do not like that answer is very high because there's something that feels like to some kind of icky and being exclusive. The flip side is you don't want to have a party and have no one show up. So this is super important to get right and you are so much better off choosing a transition. It doesn't even have to be a transition that you've been through. That certainly makes it more natural and easier to get your head around. But it doesn't have to be a transition that you you have been through. Your role is valuable because you are the organizer. You are the host because you are introducing people who are on the same path to each other. You don't have to be an expert. You just have to raise your hand and say, I'm putting this together so that you are able to effectively navigate a transition that you're probably pretty motivated to navigate. When we are embarking on transitions, we are the most motivated. We are the most motivated to meet people. We are the most motivated to try new things. We are the most motivated to dive in headfirst and navigate it effectively. Like that is what we are trying to do. That is the whole point. So the example I love to use is, you know, when you go to a new city or when you move to a new city, whether it's temporarily or whether it's for the long term. I don't know about you guys, but whenever I've spent time in a new place, I go out, I meet friends of friends. I am like, always trying to sort of figure out how to get the most out of that city. And then I come home or I'm in a place that I'm really comfortable, and I'm like, I could go out or I could meet this new person, or I could do exactly what I did last night and the night before and the night before that. So that's the way you want to think about finding motivation. You find it through people who are embarking on or hungry or ambitious for transitions. And you see this really, really concentrated way in professional networks, in health, in wellness, in new activities, in businesses, which is a variation of professional networks. Those are some of the places if you're curious where to start, where you can start. But it's really a transition that you feel excited about bringing people together, excited to talk to people about it, excited to go deep with other people about it. That's really where you can find that sweet spot and really just make it super easy for you to get started. I'm Gina Bianchini. Thanks for tuning in to People Magic and I'll see you next time. Thank you for being a part of People Magic. If you want more of a deep dive in any of these topics, but certainly having the framework of People Magic profit, head on over to the website. The link is in the show notes. Have your own burning question about creating People Magic? Well, I want to answer it. So here's what you're going to do. You're going to just drop your question in the review section, wherever you're listening to this podcast, and keep tuning in.