The Pros and Cons of Partnerships
This article has been crafted by Loyal for Discord Project!
It's common for community owners on Discord to have partnerships in their server. Not to be confused with the official Discord Partners Program, this works by posting a servers ad in exchange for them doing the same thing for you. Sounds great, right? Not always... In this article, I'll be talking about the pros and cons of a partnership and what a mutually benefitable partnership really is. Let's get started
What do we think a partnership actually is?
In my eyes, partnerships are sometimes broken (and somewhat lazy) attempts to grow a community. From my own experience after managing multiple Discord communities over the past few years, partnerships are one of the hardest ways to actually see exponential growth. Trust me, partner channels get flooded with other servers trying to grow all the time. You might end up with 1 or 2 new members, but you won't see the sort of growth you might expect.
What are some of the pros?
Here, we're going to start talking about some of the reasons why partnering with other communities can benefit you. After we've discussed some of the pros and some of the cons, we'll talk about what a partnership should and can be.
1) You can still gain some exposure:
Even though you might not experience exponential growth with partnerships, you're going to tap into a different member base, which could still potentially bring in a few happy faces. But, there are things you should do for better results.
2) Build relationships with server owners:
Sometimes, you can find people to partner with that also want to build a relationship with you and not just your community. When partnering like this, you are finding time to network with people that are like you. Not only can building a relationship with other server owners lead to better mutual collaboration, it can help you exchange ideas and even make friendships beyond your servers.
3) You'll be able to exchange & share resources:
Like we previously mentioned about building relationships so that you can exchange ideas, the same goes for over resources like guides, tools and yet again knowledge. The exchange that takes place here can boost your community and therefore create a better experience for all.
4) You can also get inspiration to help you innovate:
Partnering with other communities can open you up to different server management styles, event ideas and moderation techniques, etc. Being able to exchange & share resources, adds to what you'll be able to innovate with.
What do I think a partnership should be?
There are two things that come to mind when I hear people talking about "partnerships" - collaboration & communication. Although, with the minds some people have, this isn't the case. I'll tell you something, partnerships don't add value to your communities. As server owners, we want people to find our server and see a boost in growth and retention. If you want to form a real partnership, try to find a level ground where your server gains value from partners and so does the other server. Keep this with you - don't fear to collaborate if there's a goal.
What are some of the cons?
Now that we've discussed some of the reasons why partnerships are benefitable, we'll be talking about some of the reasons why you should avoid partnering with other communities.
1) It can result in low engagement in your server:
You should never go into partnerships thinking that you will get exponential growth. The biggest mistake I still see server owners make is partnering with servers then wondering why they aren't getting much engagement. You might get people joining to just "check it out" then leaving, because they aren't interested in your niche.
2) Your niche might end up creating a mismatched audience:
If you don't take care when picking who to partner with and just accept every partner, you might end up attracting users that aren't interested in your servers niche or culture. This could mean that you have to increase your moderation efforts and you'll also have a diluted community experience.
3) People might think you're in it just for the growth:
If you are doing loads of partnerships and flooding them in every server you come across, then you might end up creating a transactional feel rather than a fostering environment that fosters genuine conversations. This can be very off putting to both new and existing members, which could lower your retention too.
Thanks for reading!
What's your opinion on having partnerships in your server? You've got to let us know! That's all we've got for now, make sure to come back if you're interested in more posts like this one.