Building Sustainable, Long Term Growth Through Online Communities

In this episode of the Seven Figures and Beyond eCommerce Marketing Podcast, Greg Shuey interviews Paige Hope, the founder of Elan Pure, a non-toxic beauty and wellness brand. Paige shares her journey of launching Elan Pure, motivated by personal experiences with hormonal challenges and her sister’s autoimmune diagnosis. Frustrated by the lack of truly toxin-free beauty products, Paige created her own, starting with a non-toxic self-tanner. She explains that her mission extends beyond the products themselves, focusing on educating consumers about the connection between wellness and beauty. From the ground up, she built her brand by leveraging communities, content creators, and affiliates without relying on paid advertising in the early stages.Paige dives into the importance of community for DTC brands, defining it as a group of loyal individuals who champion the brand, even when no ads are running. For her, community includes customers, creators, affiliates, and even employees who align with the brand’s mission. She emphasizes the need for brands to take an active approach to engage with their community, ensuring that these supporters feel valued and connected to the brand's purpose. Paige explains that many brands fail by focusing only on quick fixes like Facebook ads, while neglecting the foundational work of building long-term relationships with their community.She further outlines steps for new brands to establish and nurture a community, starting with strong branding, a clear differentiator, and authentic engagement with affiliates and customers. Paige suggests that brands should prioritize thoughtful, methodical growth by investing in brand storytelling, using affiliate programs, and creating an engaging social presence. Success, she notes, isn’t immediate and requires consistent effort, but the long-term payoff is a loyal, enthusiastic customer base that supports sustainable growth beyond paid ads.Episode LinksGreg Shuey LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-shuey/Paige Hope LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paige-jensen-hope/Elan Pure: https://elanpure.com/Pattern Creators: https://pattern.com/products/creatorshttps://www.stryde.com/building-sustainable-long-term-growth-with-communities/