Building a community is hard enough without watching new members vanish after signing up. If you want people to stick around, you need a smooth onboarding experience—one that feels welcoming, personal, and doesn’t annoy folks with pointless hoops to jump through. This guide is for community managers, ops folks, or anyone trying to wrangle a better member journey in Commsor.
Let’s walk through a practical, no-nonsense way to build a custom onboarding workflow in Commsor. You’ll get the steps, real-world tips, and the honest truth about what’s actually worth your time.
Why Bother With Custom Onboarding?
Here’s the thing: Most communities lose people in the first few days. Generic onboarding isn’t just boring—it’s wasted potential. A smart workflow can:
- Make people feel like they belong from day one.
- Gather useful info (without turning sign-up into a tax form).
- Set expectations and nudge the right behaviors.
- Cut down on manual work for you and your team.
Commsor gives you the tools, but it won’t magically fix a bad process. The more intentional you are, the better the experience for everyone.
Step 1: Map Out What “Onboarding” Means for Your Community
Don’t touch the software yet. First, sketch out what a successful onboarding looks like for your members.
Ask yourself: - What does “ready to participate” mean here? Is it joining a channel, filling out a profile, making an intro, or something else? - Which info do you actually need from new folks, and which parts can wait? - Are there any community norms or rules that aren’t obvious? - Is there something that helps people feel at home fast (like an intro thread or buddy system)?
Pro Tip: If your onboarding checklist has more than 3-4 steps, you’ve probably overcomplicated it.
Step 2: Set Up Your Onboarding Workflow in Commsor
Now you’re ready to get your hands dirty. Commsor’s onboarding workflow builder is flexible, but it’s easy to get lost in the weeds. Stick to what matters.
2.1 Access the Workflow Builder
- Log into your Commsor workspace.
- Navigate to Workflows (sometimes labeled as “Automations”).
- Hit Create New Workflow and pick “Onboarding” as the trigger.
2.2 Define Your Triggers
Decide when onboarding kicks in. Most communities trigger onboarding when a user joins or accepts an invite. But you might want to get fancier:
- Trigger only for certain member types (e.g., customers vs. partners).
- Skip onboarding for existing contacts you’re importing.
Honest Take: Don’t overthink this. 90% of the time, a simple “when someone new joins” trigger is all you need.
2.3 Add Onboarding Steps
You’ll see the option to add steps (emails, tasks, form fills, etc.). Here’s what works in practice:
Common Steps to Include
- Welcome Message: Automated but warm. Skip the jargon. Give people one clear thing to do next.
- Profile Completion Prompt: Ask for only what’s useful. Don’t make a bio mandatory unless it actually matters for your community.
- Intro Thread or Post: Provide a prompt or example. People freeze up if you just say “introduce yourself.”
- First Engagement Nudge: Suggest a first event, poll, or resource to check out.
Steps to Skip
- Long Surveys: You’ll get better data once people are invested.
- Multiple Required Forms: Friction kills momentum.
- Heavy-Handed Rules Quizzes: A simple code of conduct reminder is fine; don’t make it homework.
Pro Tip: Automate what you can, but keep at least one human touchpoint (like a personal reply to intros) if you want a real community vibe.
Step 3: Customize Content and Timing
Boring, generic messages feel like spam. Take a little time to edit the default copy.
- Use your community’s voice—friendly, direct, and human.
- Keep messages short. One paragraph, tops.
- Space out your onboarding steps (e.g., intro email on day 1, reminder on day 3).
- If your community is global, be mindful of time zones. Commsor lets you schedule sends based on member location.
What Doesn’t Work: Daily nags or “drip” campaigns that drag on for weeks. People tune them out. Two or three onboarding messages is usually plenty.
Step 4: Collect Useful Data (But Don’t Be Creepy)
Commsor lets you add custom fields or forms during onboarding. Be picky.
Worth Asking: - Preferred name/pronouns (if relevant) - What they hope to get from the community - Any dealbreakers (e.g., “I never want emails about events”)
Not Worth It: - Full job history (save it for LinkedIn) - Phone numbers or addresses (unless you’re shipping something) - Every possible interest (let people self-select later)
Pro Tip: You can always ask for more info as people get more involved. Don’t front-load everything.
Step 5: Set Up Automations for Follow-Up
The best onboarding flows check in, but don’t hover.
- Set an automatic reminder if someone hasn’t posted an intro after 3 days.
- Tag members who finish onboarding so you can follow up personally, if you want.
- Use Commsor’s analytics to see where people drop off—then fix the bottleneck.
What’s Overkill: Complex branching logic (“If they clicked this, send that…”) often isn’t worth the headache unless you have hundreds joining every week.
Step 6: Test the Workflow Yourself (And Ask for Feedback)
Before you unleash the workflow on real members:
- Run through it as a new member (use a test account).
- Check for typos, weird delays, or steps that feel awkward.
- Ask a couple of trusted community members to try it and give honest feedback.
- Tweak based on what you learn—not just what you think people want.
Pro Tip: People rarely complain about too little onboarding. They will bail if it’s too much.
Step 7: Monitor, Tweak, and Keep It Simple
Keep an eye on your onboarding metrics in Commsor:
- Are people completing the workflow?
- Are they getting stuck or dropping off?
- Do you see more engagement after onboarding, or just more churn?
Don’t be afraid to cut steps if they aren’t working. The best onboarding is the one people barely notice—they just feel welcomed and know what to do next.
What to Ignore (for Now)
A lot of onboarding guides will tell you to:
- Build elaborate gamification systems right away.
- Run AB tests on every email subject line.
- Create detailed onboarding for every member segment.
Here’s the truth: Unless you’re running a massive community, most of this is premature. Focus on the basics, see what works, and iterate as you grow.
Wrapping Up
A great onboarding workflow in Commsor isn’t about shiny features—it’s about making real people feel like they belong. Start simple, cut the fluff, and improve as you go. And remember: No one ever left a community because onboarding was too easy.