Why Your Lurking Community Members Matter More Than You Think with Paul Gowder
Description
"A community-first mindset means showing up for your people—even when they're just quietly watching." That’s how Paul Gowder, founder of PowWows.com, defines decades-long success in the online space. What started as a college hobby has blossomed into a vibrant, multimillion-follower platform celebrating Native American culture and proving that niche communities can not only survive but thrive in today’s noisy digital world.
Paul’s journey is a masterclass in staying true to your values, listening to your audience, and building engagement through heart, strategy, and the occasional well-placed email sequence.
We Also Talked About:
- How Paul turned a college web project into a thriving, sustainable business
- The surprising power of "lurkers" in online communities
- Why email is still king (and how Paul uses Kit (was ConvertKit) to dominate it)
- The moment social media nearly killed his forums—and how he pivoted
- Using Group Leads to bridge Facebook groups and email sequences
- What a “community-first mindset” really looks like in action
- Hiring from your own community to build a rock-solid team
- How a mastermind and a coach helped him 10x his email marketing results
- Why the medium (Facebook, email, TikTok) is less important than the mindset
RESOURCES MENTIONED
- Find a PowWow near you: https://www.powwows.com/powwowsnearme
- Paul’s personal site: https://www.paulgowder.com
- Behind-the-scenes look at his email toolkit: https://www.paulgowder.com/emailtools
- ConvertKit (now branded as Kit) – Paul’s go-to email platform (affiliate link)
- Tool to sync Facebook group signups with email sequences -https://groupleads.net/
- Mediavine – Advertising partner for monetizing traffic - https://www.mediavine.com/
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