Welcome to The Community Code

Your key to unlocking community-led growth and engagement.

Hey there!  

Before we dive in, I just want to say: thanks for being here. Also, if you contributed to my survey about what topics and formats you’d like me to cover - thank you! 

I’m Josh Zerkel, and over the last 20 years, I’ve built and led community programs for organizations ranging from scrappy startups to global brands. I’ve spent countless hours in the trenches with teams across marketing, sales, customer success, education, support, and of course, the community team itself, digging into one of the biggest challenges facing us today:  

Community is an incredible, untapped growth engine—but the dots have to be connected for it to work.  

What do I mean by that?  

For too long, community has been seen as a “nice-to-have”—a feel-good initiative, but not a strategic driver of growth. Many GTM teams haven’t fully understood how community can directly contribute to their goals. At the same time, community teams often struggle to clearly show their value or align what they’re doing with broader business objectives.  

But here’s the secret: when you connect the dots between community and the rest of the business, the payoff is huge. Like, $94M huge.  

Community-Led Growth: It’s About Real Impact, Not Just Connection  

Community is more than feel-good connections—it’s about driving growth across the business: from retention and collaboration to acquisition and increasing ARR. It’s time to prove that. 

When community is integrated into the rest of your go-to-market strategy, the results speak for themselves: revenue grows faster, customers stick around longer, and acquisition costs drop. It’s not just about warm-and-fuzzy connection—it’s about measurable business impact.  

Here’s an example: At Asana, we found that community members were 53% more likely to be on a paid plan and saw a 40% lift in team usage and collaboration compared to non-members. Beyond that, our program drove a staggering $94M+ in pipeline.  

That’s the power of connection—aligned with strategy.  

And that’s exactly what I’m here to help you unlock with The Community Code.  

What You’ll Get Out of The Community Code 

Whether you’re a GTM pro or a community leader, this is how we’ll make it happen:

If you’re a GTM pro—whether you’re in marketing, sales, customer success, education, or support—this newsletter will demystify what community-led growth looks like in action. You’ll uncover how a thriving community can amplify your efforts and, critically, learn how to engage with your community team in ways that drive measurable results for both sides.  

If you’re a community leader or builder, this space is for you too. Together, we’ll dive into strategies, tools, and frameworks to help you design programs that clearly demonstrate value—not just to your members, but to the broader business.  

The goal? To create true, cross-functional alignment. To bridge the gap between community and other teams. To show, step by step, how to make community the engine that fuels growth for everyone.  

So, What’s in the Newsletter?  

Here’s what you can expect:  

✅ Real-world strategies to unlock the power of community-led growth across the customer journey.  

✅ Tactical advice to help you align community work with GTM teams and drive measurable impact.  

✅ Candid stories—what worked, what didn’t, and the lessons I’ve learned the hard way.  

✅ Tools, templates, and frameworks that make connecting the dots between teams easier.  

✅ Conversations with top community pros and GTM leaders who are doing this work right now.  

And yes, there will also be content that’s a bit off-the-wall, like my thoughts on the art of the perfect burger. Because even dot-connecting takes a backseat to the joys of a good meal. 🍔  

Breaking Down Silos  

The truth is, community doesn’t exist in a vacuum—it’s a team sport. The best results happen when GTM teams and community teams work together toward shared goals, each understanding how their efforts feed into the other’s success.  

But let’s be honest: this kind of collaboration doesn’t always happen naturally. GTM teams may ask, “How does community actually move the needle?” At the same time, community teams might struggle to articulate or prove how their work adds value beyond surface-level engagement.  

That’s the gap we’re here to close.  

I believe passionately that community can—and should—be a core driver of success across the customer journey. But it’s not enough to believe; we have to prove it. If you’re a community builder, my goal with The Community Code is to give you the ideas, tools, and stories that will help you make the case for community’s value, align your work with other teams, and ultimately drive the results that matter.  

Let’s Build Together  

Here’s the thing about community-led growth: it’s all about connection—and not just with customers, but between internal teams too. Growth doesn’t happen when we’re working in silos; it happens when we’re building together.  

I don’t want this newsletter to be any different. This isn’t a place to sit back and read—it’s a space to share, ask questions, challenge ideas, and grow together. Drop a comment, reply to a post, or share your own wins (and faceplants).  

The Community Code isn’t about lofty ideas or feel-good inspiration. It’s about actionable insights to help you connect the dots and make the community-led model work in practice.  

Ready to Unlock the Power of Community-Led Growth?  

If you’re ready to do the work of breaking down silos, aligning teams, and unlocking the full potential of community-led growth, then you’re in the right place. Let’s get this thing started.