Community as a Growth Channel
Community-led growth works because it builds trust before asking for anything. A SaaS company that hosts a thriving community around a problem space earns credibility that no amount of advertising can buy. When community members eventually need a product to solve that problem, they think of you first.
Email is the thread that keeps community members connected between visits. Not everyone checks your Discord, Slack, or forum every day. But they open their inbox. A weekly digest keeps casual members in the loop. A welcome sequence gets new members oriented. And a gentle product nudge at the right moment converts engaged members into customers.
The Digest Email Is Your Community's Heartbeat
The weekly community digest is the single most important email for community-led growth. It serves three purposes: it keeps inactive members connected by showing them what they missed, it reinforces the community's value by curating the best content, and it drives traffic back to discussions that need more participation.
A good digest is not a list of everything that happened. It is a curated selection of the most interesting discussions, resources, and member contributions. Think of it as a magazine editor's pick, not a log file. The best community digests make members feel like they are missing out if they do not visit, without making them feel overwhelmed.
From Member to Customer
The conversion from community member to paying customer should feel natural, never forced. The best community-led SaaS companies let members discover the product through other members, not through marketing emails. When someone in your community shares how they used your product to solve a problem, that endorsement carries more weight than any campaign.
Email supports this by amplifying these organic moments. When a member case study gets posted, email it to members who have been discussing similar problems. When a member achieves something notable with your product, celebrate it in the digest. The product promotion happens through community stories, not sales copy.