Perhaps the single most common question we get at CMX is "how do I get started building a community from scratch?"Since the beginning of humanity, we have formed communities to survive, evolve and thrive. It's hard-wired into our brains. So why is it that something so natural is so hard for people to figure out?Well, we don't all spend every day building community. We mostly participate in communities. And usually, we're participating without being conscious of the dynamics of the communities we're participating in.So when it comes time to actually build community, you might know how it feels to be in a community, but you have no idea how to create that feeling for others.So for those of you who have an idea for a community but don't know where to start, I hope this article will give you a starting point.I'm going to walk you through:

1. What a healthy community looks like (Sense of Community Theory)
2. A simple process to create a sense of community (5i Model)
3. 10 simple tricks for sparking engagement in a new community