378: Facebook Groups: Grow and Monetize a Community Around Something You Care About

Note: Click here to download Melissa’s top tips for growing and monetizing an online community from this episode.

Melissa Fassel Dunn from has built a thriving — and profitable — online community serving residents in her small town.

The interesting part is that she didn’t start her Facebook group or website with the goal of making money.

She did so to solve a pain point she was experiencing finding information about services in her town of Milton, a suburb of Boston.

“I needed information about kindergarten, I needed information about a plumber, an electrician, and I felt like there wasn’t a go-to place for any of that.

“So, I thought, I’m going to start a group, I’m going to add some of my friends and we can exchange information with one another,” Melissa told me.

She started Milton Neighbors, a Facebook group for residents of Milton to share information and recommend local services.

That was in 2013, today the group has more than 11,000 members and is almost a 6-figure business.

Tune in to hear how Melissa built up her group, how she keeps people engaged, her monetization methods, and how you can replicate her model with a Facebook group of your own in just about any niche.

Download the Free PDF Highlight Reel:

Click here to download Melissa’s top tips for growing and monetizing an online community from this episode.

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Learn:

• Why Melissa thought starting a local Facebook group was a good solution to her problem.
• What she did to grow her membership numbers.
• Why she says there is still plenty of opportunities to start local Facebook groups today.
• How she earned her first dollars and the multiple revenue streams she’s set up.
• What her day-to-day involvement in her business looks like.
• What’s next for Melissa and why she’s created a course around her business model.
• Melissa’s #1 tips for Side Hustle Nation.

Links / Next Steps

• Grouptize.com – Special offer for Side Hustle Show listeners
• Milton Neighbors Facebook Group
• MiltonScene.com
• MailChimp
• Group Leads – Google Chrome Extension

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