31 Online Community Success Stories [2024]
Online communities bring people who share common values together. For anyone looking to start a side hustle and earn money, you need to figure out the best online communities to participate. More important, you need to figure out on how to translate your online community membership into dollars. Ideas of how to earn through online communities include:
- Selling your products
- Promoting affiliate links for a commission
- Run ads
- Sell online community membership
- Start your own online community and charge for sponsored content
In this list, you'll find real-world online community success stories and very profitable examples of starting a online community that makes money.
1. COO Alliance ($2.5M/year)
Cameron grew up in an entrepreneurial family and learned early on to embrace business. His passion for entrepreneurship, coupled with his personal challenges like severe ADD, led him to carve his path by building companies rather than fitting into conventional educational molds. As COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, he experienced firsthand how crucial the COO role is for a company's success and execution of the CEO's vision.
I launched the COO Alliance because I recognized the critical role that the chief operating officer (COO) position plays for the chief executive officer (CEO). A COO will produce a powerful and positive impact on your business. [Cameron Herold]
After leaving 1-800-GOT-JUNK? and receiving feedback from others needing similar operational leadership, Cameron recognized a gap in support networks for COOs. He observed that while CEOs had various peer groups, COOs lacked a dedicated space to collaborate and grow. To validate his idea, he spoke with many industry professionals and saw a consistent need for such a platform.
From these experiences and initial validations, Cameron conceptualized the COO Alliance. Since its inception, he has refined the idea through member feedback and ongoing observations in the business environment. This purposeful approach allowed him to create a valuable resource tailored specifically for second-in-command leaders.
How much money it makes: $2.5M/year
2. Digital Procurement World (DPW) ($1.95M/year)
Matthias Gutzmann, the CEO and Founder of DPW, came up with the idea for his business when he realized that existing procurement conferences were expensive, lacked diversity, and failed to attract startups and investors. He left his job in New York, moved back to Germany, and invested his personal savings to launch DPW. Leveraging his extensive network and applying social selling techniques, Matthias successfully created a buzz and attracted sponsors, delegates, and startups to his conference, leading to exponential growth and €1.8M in revenue in 2022.
How much money it makes: $1.95M/year
How much did it cost to start: $10.8K
How many people on the team: 6
DPW (Digital Procurement World) is a fast-growing conference and community in procurement that has more than tripled in revenue since launching in 2019, capping out the year at €1.8 million, with 95% of their growth coming from inbound traffic leveraging LinkedIn and applying social selling techniques.
3. Dean Bokhari ($1.44M/year)
Dean Bokhari, founder of DeanBokhari.com, was working as a marketer for a tobacco company until he had an emotional breakdown and decided to pursue meaningful work. After years of personal development and taking action, he started sharing what he had learned through writing, podcasting, and speaking, which eventually led him to start his membership platform. Now, with over half a million readers and monthly revenues exceeding $100,000, Dean is helping others improve their lives and achieve their goals.
How much money it makes: $1.44M/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 17
Founder Dean Bokhari shares how he launched a membership platform focused on self-improvement, generating over $100,000 per month in revenue, attracting customers via high-quality content, guest blogging and Facebook ads, with plans to grow to $1,000,000 per month over the next 3-5 years.
4. FinCon ($1M/year)
Philip Taylor, a CPA and personal finance blogger, came up with the idea for FinCon after being inspired by personal finance bloggers who had achieved financial freedom. He saw a need for a conference tailored specifically for personal finance content creators and brands, and after receiving overwhelming interest from the community, he launched the first Financial Blogger Conference in Chicago in 2011.
How much money it makes: $1M/year
How much did it cost to start: $25
How many people on the team: 4
Discover how Philip Taylor built FinCon from scratch to a 3,000 attendee annual conference and achieved $1.6M in revenue in less than 10 years, by allowing customers to help build the event, fostering a sense of community, expanding offerings, pricing strategically, and surrounding himself with talented people.
6. OneHourProfessor.com ($360K/year)
Ron Stefanski, the founder of OneHourProfessor.com, came up with the idea for his online business when his step-brother asked for help finding a job with a felony record. Seeing a need for employment resources for those with criminal records, Stefanski launched a website that quickly went viral, attracting thousands of visitors in a short period of time. The business has since become highly profitable, with Stefanski making over $1 million in profit and earning $30-$40k per month.
How much money it makes: $360K/year
How much did it cost to start: $140
How many people on the team: 3
Learn how Ron Stefanski generated over $1 million in profit from his online business, OneHourProfessor.com by obsessively measuring and following data, using SEO, and focusing on reinvesting profits into growth.
7. Frontend Mentor ($360K/year)
Matt Studdert, founder of Frontend Mentor, came up with the idea for his business while teaching a front-end web development course. He noticed that his students often struggled to find professional designs and projects to practice their skills and build their portfolios. This led him to create a platform that provides developers with challenges, designs, and optimized assets, ultimately launching Frontend Mentor.
How much money it makes: $360K/year
How much did it cost to start: $8K
How many people on the team: 0
Online learning community Frontend Mentor has over 200,000 members, with over 1,500 paid subscribers generating over $15,000 MRR, offering professionally designed challenges to improve front-end coding skills with a freemium business model and a focus on real-life experience.
9. Una Vida Online ($216K/year)
Pau, the founder of Una Vida Online, came up with the idea for his business when he was looking for ways to make extra income online. He discovered the world of affiliate marketing and started creating affiliate websites. After achieving success and making more money from his websites than his full-time job, he decided to quit his job and focus on his online projects. He then created an online course to teach affiliate marketing and expanded his business to offer WordPress templates and plugins, as well as a tokenized private community for bloggers and affiliate marketers. With a strong focus on SEO, Una Vida Online has seen significant growth and currently generates about 18K per month in revenue.
How much money it makes: $216K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 1
Una Vida Online started as a side gig in 2018 to share knowledge on affiliate marketing and blogging, and has since grown into a business employing a full-time assistant and many freelancers with a monthly income of around 18K, offering online courses, WordPress templates and plugins, and a tokenized private community for people interested in generating income via blogging or affiliate marketing.
10. Mylance ($216K/year)
Bradley Jacobs, founder of Mylance, came up with the idea for his business after experiencing the freedom and financial success of working as an independent consultant. He saw a growing market of individuals who wanted to monetize their expertise and work flexibly, so he started Mylance to provide a comprehensive platform for self-employed professionals. Through organic social media marketing and customer word of mouth, Mylance has attracted and retained customers, growing to $40k/month in revenue.
How much money it makes: $216K/year
How much did it cost to start: $10K
How many people on the team: 0
Mylance, founded by Bradley Jacobs, is an end-to-end software platform for self-employed individuals and independent consultants, growing to ~$40k/month in revenue with 3 main value-adds: actionable guides, a vetted community, and lead generation software.
11. Travel Mamas ($180K/year)
traditional methods of promotion like passing out postcards, handing out business cards, and sending press releases to traditional media outlets. However, I quickly realized that these tactics were not effective for growing an online business. Through trial and error, I learned the importance of SEO and how to optimize my content to rank higher in search engine results. I also discovered the power of social media in attracting and engaging with readers. Over time, I became more proficient in using these digital marketing strategies to grow my audience and generate revenue. Another valuable lesson I learned is the importance of persistence and perseverance. Building a successful blog takes time and consistent effort. It's easy to get discouraged in the early stages when you're not seeing immediate results, but I stuck with it and continued to create valuable content that resonated with my audience. This dedication has paid off as Travel Mamas has grown into one of the most popular travel blogs in the world. Overall, starting and growing my own business has been a tremendous learning experience. I’ve gained valuable skills in digital marketing, content creation, and business management. I've also developed a deep understanding of my audience and what they are looking for. These lessons and insights will continue to be advantageous as I navigate the future of my business and adapt to changing industry trends.
How much money it makes: $180K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1.5K
How many people on the team: 1
TravelMamas.com founder Colleen Lanin shares how she turned a family travel blog into a business that generates $15K in monthly revenue through ad network sales, affiliate sales, sponsored posts, book sales, public speaking appearances, and media campaigns.
12. Aucoin Analytics, LLC ($166K/year)
Kervin Aucoin, a 15-year Army veteran and 20+ year Intelligence analyst, came up with the idea for Aucoin Analytics after realizing the need for an unbiased and well-informed travel security platform. Through blogging about his travel experiences and witnessing the detrimental effects of sensationalized news, Kervin developed a subscription-based private intelligence community that focuses on defeating fake news and providing accurate information. With a low overhead, Aucoin Analytics has seen profits of $10,000/month and offers specialized risk assessments and intelligence reports tailored to customers' needs.
How much money it makes: $166K/year
How much did it cost to start: $25K
How many people on the team: 1
Aucoin Analytics, LLC is a private intelligence company that delivers highly specialized risk assessments and intelligence reports, while also offering a subscription-based private intelligence community that provides access to subject matter experts in government intelligence, with profits at $10,000/month.
13. Net Net Hunter ($144K/year)
Evan Bleker, an investor and entrepreneur, started Net Net Hunter after struggling to find enough net-nets to fill his personal portfolio. He created a membership community focused on a niche value investment strategy, offering a list of roughly 1000 international net-nets and a community forum for sharing ideas. The business has become a stable cash cow and Evan is now working on another web startup.
How much money it makes: $144K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
How many people on the team: 5
This case study is about a successful entrepreneur who created Net Net Hunter, a membership community focused on a niche investment strategy that now earns $12k per month by providing a list of roughly 1000 international net-nets and filter through them by hand to identify the top 40 or 50 to focus research efforts on, and has since moved on to creating a new start-up project.
14. 52Frames ($120K/year)
Started as a personal project for Yosef's personal photography improvement, he eventually started a Facebook page for other enthusiasts to join as well, and ran it that way as a passion project for over a decade, with people participating in weekly photography contests. It was only until 2021 when Yosef launched a premium site membership that generated him enough revenue to quit his freelancing career in video production.
How much money it makes: $120K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 0
52Frames is an online photography community that started as founder Yosef Adest's passion project, which grew into a successful business with over 3,000 photo submissions weekly and 700 paying members after ten years of incremental growth and centred around community building, organic word of mouth, and delivering value to customers.
15. Yoga Strong ($120K/year)
After retiring from a seven-season professional basketball career and struggling to land job interviews, Jason Deutchman turned a family dinner conversation about making yoga more fun into Yoga Strong, a luxe performance fitness accessory brand now raking in close to $10K monthly sales.
How much money it makes: $120K/year
How much did it cost to start: $20K
How many people on the team: 0
Yoga Strong, a performance fitness accessories company, developed the perfect quality yoga mat with "Composite Technology," sourcing materials from over 200 yoga mat tests, and uses limited drops and influencer and affiliate partnerships to attract and retain customers, all while showing close to $10,000 in monthly sales.
16. Content Intelligence Media ($120K/year)
Thomas Oppong, the founder of AllTopStartups, came up with the idea for his business while studying software entrepreneurship at Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology. He started by aggregating the best and top technology ideas on his personal platform, and after receiving interest from readers, he transformed it into a startup blog focused on sharing promising startups that were growing rapidly or changing the way we live or work on a large scale. Today, AllTopStartups collaborates with hundreds of content marketing agencies and generates approximately $10,000 per month in revenue.
How much money it makes: $120K/year
How many people on the team: 2
From blogging about the best technology ideas to earning $10K/month through paid newsletters and courses, this case study explores the journey of entrepreneur and blogger Thomas Oppong and his successful online platforms.
17. GummySearch ($120K/year)
Fed, the founder of The Hive Index and GummySearch, originally built The Hive Index as a simple project to create a directory of online communities. Inspired by the supportive indie hacker and bootstrapper communities, Fed saw potential in helping people find online communities for their interests. This led to the creation of GummySearch, an audience research tool for startup founders, which generated $60k in revenue in its first year.
How much money it makes: $120K/year
How many people on the team: 0
Bootstrapped founder Fed shares the success of his community-focused products, The Hive Index and GummySearch, which have helped over 10k people find online communities each month and generated $60k in revenue in its first year, respectively.
18. Seedscout ($108K/year)
Mat Sherman, founder of Seedscout, pivoted from being a struggling musician to a startup enthusiast, eventually creating a network that simplifies introductions for founders, investors, and job seekers. Inspired by his own challenges in raising capital, Seedscout now generates $9,000 monthly from 65 paying users.
How much money it makes: $108K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
How many people on the team: 1
Case study: Seedscout is a social network for founders, investors, and job seekers that generates $9,000 per month from 65 paying users and has attracted over 1,500 users who are open to intro requests, offering valuable networking opportunities in the startup community.
19. The Holistic Enchilada ($96K/year)
Delilah Orpi started her blog, The Holistic Enchilada, in 2017 as a side project while working as a full-time teacher.
After finding success with a post about her curly hair routine, she decided to focus on the curly hair niche.
With the help of blogging courses and her expertise in clean beauty, Delilah has grown her blog to earn an average of $7,000 a month in revenue.
How much money it makes: $96K/year
How much did it cost to start: $250
How many people on the team: 2
Delilah Orpi's blog "The Holistic Enchilada" is making up to $7,000 a month in revenue through sales of digital products, display ads, affiliate marketing, and sponsored posts in the niche market of clean beauty and curly hair, with a focus on retaining customers through email marketing and SEO.
20. The Design Database ($60K/year)
Courtlyn Jones, the CEO and founder of The Design Database, came up with the idea for her business after quitting her job at a design company and realizing she wanted to do more than freelance design. She wanted to create a platform that would support and connect freelancers in the creative industry, allowing them to choose their own projects and keep 100% of their earnings. Through marketing efforts on social media and strategic spending on ads, Jones was able to attract over 800 subscribers in less than 45 days.
How much money it makes: $60K/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 2
The Design Database is an online platform and community for creatives that connects them with clients who are looking to hire now, providing tools and resources for them to successfully build their careers, and has gained over 200 creatives and 25 companies since its launch in late July, as well as receiving grant funding from the HerRise Pitch Competition by HerSuiteSpot and raising over $10,000 on Kickstarter.
21. Ramen Club ($48K/year)
Charlie stumbled upon Product Hunt and attended indie hacker meetups. Eventually, he saw how encouraging meet ups are, leading him to start with the idea validation process.
How much money it makes: $48K/year
How much did it cost to start: $250
How many people on the team: 0
Ramen Club is a founder community that aims to help solopreneurs succeed, enjoy their journey, and feel less lonely; it currently has over 100 members and $3,800 MRR with 35% MoM revenue growth between April and May 2022.
22. Book Club Chat ($48K/year)
Heather Caliendo, a journalist with a passion for reading, turned her love for books into a profitable business with Book Club Chat. Despite the saturation of the book blogging market, Heather stood out by creating a beautifully designed website and focusing on providing book club questions tailored to novels. With over 5,000 visitors a day and earning $4,000/month in ad revenue, Book Club Chat has become a go-to resource for book clubs around the world.
How much money it makes: $48K/year
How much did it cost to start: $50
How many people on the team: 0
Book Club Chat founder Heather Caliendo started a website dedicated to book club questions, reviews, and book lists with no upfront costs by dedicating a lot of time to reading and writing high-quality content that attracts over 5,000 daily visitors and has made $4,000 per month in ad revenue alone by focusing on organic search, SEO, and Mediavine.
23. SelectSoftware Reviews ($40.5K/year)
Phil Strazzulla, founder of SelectSoftware, came up with the idea for his business after building a personal brand in the HR space through a weekly whiteboard video series. He realized that HR professionals were struggling to choose the right software for their needs, and saw the opportunity to create an online review site, similar to NerdWallet or WireCutter, for HR software. With organic search traffic growing at 30% per month and revenues hitting $1k per month, SelectSoftware has gained traction in the market.
How much money it makes: $40.5K/year
How much did it cost to start: $50
How many people on the team: 0
VC-turned-entrepreneur Phil Strazzulla, who previously built a successful b2b SaaS business, shares how he bootstrapped an online review site for HR software into a viable business with over $1k monthly revenues in just 3 months through organic search traffic growth and selling high intent leads.
24. VUES ($40.2K/year)
Jaxx, the founder of VUES, came up with the idea for his e-commerce eyewear retailer after noticing a lack of innovation in the eyewear industry. Despite his lack of expertise in the area, Jaxx saw an opportunity to offer unique, striking designs that cater to daring individuals. By leveraging online platforms and offering customized services, VUES has been able to capture the attention of the South African eyewear market and achieve impressive growth.
How much money it makes: $40.2K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
How many people on the team: 4
VUES, an African e-commerce eyewear retailer that primarily operates in South Africa, has grown its customer base ratio to 1:7361 compared to the private Optometrist’s customer base ratio of 1:4500, through its organic online community-building strategy, and plans to pivot to a more technologically-inclined product.
25. Merrative ($24K/year)
Harshala Chavan, the founder of Merrative, came up with the idea for her business after noticing a lack of dedicated spaces for people to discuss literature. After attending a book club meetup, where she had a great discussion with others who had read the same book, she wondered if she could bring this experience online at scale. She validated her concept through participating in BPlans and growing her Instagram page, which eventually led to the launch of Merrative as a community-led marketplace for publishing talent.
How much money it makes: $24K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 0
Merrative, a community-driven marketplace for publishing talent, generates an average of $1,500 per month in marketplace transactions from their 5,000+ strong community of readers, writers, journalists, and scholars.
26. Indie Worldwide ($24K/year)
Anthony came up with the idea for Indie Worldwide after experiencing setbacks in his career and freelancing. He leveraged his experience in running events and his desire to be like other successful founders in the indie hacking community to create a virtual meetup for indie hackers. Through organic growth and strategic launches on platforms like Product Hunt, the community has grown to over 2,000 members and has multiple revenue streams, including a successful Founders' Club with $5.5k in ARR and sponsorships.
How much money it makes: $24K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1.2K
How many people on the team: 1
Indie Worldwide has scaled to 2,000 members with revenue streams generating $5.5k ARR and $3k in sponsorships, offering aspiring founders a blueprint for creating profitable virtual communities.
27. Enter Network ($18K/year)
Jochem Gerritsen came up with the idea for Enter Network when he realized that he was having difficulty connecting with other entrepreneurs to learn from. He started hosting meetups in Utrecht and quickly saw demand for more in-depth discussions, leading him to create the peer support group and eventually launch Enter Network as an online community for early-stage entrepreneurs.
How much money it makes: $18K/year
How much did it cost to start: $4K
How many people on the team: 2
Enter Network founder Jochem Gerritsen built a community of 50+ starting entrepreneurs all over Europe, generating $1,500 MRR by running a platform that offers a Slack community, package deals for free services, access to over 20 startup mentors, weekly online meetups, mastermind groups, and more.
28. Pause Box LLC ($12K/year)
Meredith Vaish, the founder of Pause Box, came up with the idea after leaving her corporate job due to a repetitive stress injury. During her year-long break, she discovered the power of intentional pauses and wanted to make spiritual retreats accessible to modern, non-religious individuals. With over 20 years of experience in brand and email marketing, she launched Pause Box in September 2019 and has been generating nearly $1k in monthly revenue.
How much money it makes: $12K/year
How many people on the team: 0
Founder of Pause Box, Meredith Vaish, shares how she launched a business helping people take intentional breaks, with her revenue in the first year almost hitting $1k per month through virtual retreats, personalized pause day designs and a new Pause Box containing retreat essentials.
29. Get Out Alive Podcast ($4.8K/year)
Ashley Bray, host of the Get Out Alive Podcast, came up with the idea after working in wildlife biology and experiencing frustrations with not being able to be honest about wildlife conflicts. She and her high school friend, Nick, decided to create a podcast about animal attacks that provided honest advice on how to coexist peacefully with wild animals. They invested in equipment, reached out to other podcasters for guidance, and launched the podcast, attracting initial listeners through social media.
How much money it makes: $4.8K/year
How many people on the team: 0
Get Out Alive LLC's success story of how they grew to making a nearly $400/month profit on Patreon in just over a year, without spending any money on ads, through producing an animal attack podcast and selling merchandise.
30. Fueler ($4.2K/year)
While hustling as a freelancer and juggling multiple client requests, Riten Debnath saw the inefficiency of managing customized portfolios. Realizing others faced the same challenge, he launched Fueler—a seamless, user-friendly platform that has since attracted over 7,000 members and paid out $12,000+ to freelancers.
How much money it makes: $4.2K/year
How much did it cost to start: $3K
How many people on the team: 4
Fueler is an online portfolio platform for knowledge workers that has grown to 7000+ members worldwide, paid out over $12,000 to verified members, and gained most of its traffic through Twitter, offering a simple and easy-to-use platform to showcase proof of work, enabling skilled individuals to land better opportunities without credentials and certificates.
31. Foundation for a Human Internet ($1.2K/year)
In 2019, Bastian, leveraging his decade-long experience in digital marketing, witnessed rampant bot-generated misinformation during Indonesia's presidential elections, inspiring him to create humanID—an anonymous Single Sign-On solution, now supported by Harvard Business School and Mozilla.
How much money it makes: $1.2K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 0
HumanID, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting online privacy and fighting fake news, has created an anonymous online and anonymous Single Sign-On (SSO) service to block spam and automated accounts, charging just 1 cent to run it, and has already attracted hundreds of users across various sites.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
