Hey there, Last week, with Cat Johnson’s expertise, I shared practical advice on what stories to tell, what mistakes to avoid, and when to hold back. If you missed it, you can read it here. Knowing what to share is only half of community storytelling. The other half is understanding who you are as a space, how you communicate that clearly, and which parts of your content should stay in your own voice. That’s where Part 2 comes in. |
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Hey Cat, looking back at your journey in coworking, how has your perspective evolved, and which stories do you feel are most urgent to tell today? |
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"When I joined coworking, it was a scrappy movement of people around the world helping and supporting each other to build spaces of connection, collaboration, and community. It captured my heart immediately and I started looking for ways to contribute to the movement." Coworking has grown into a global industry since then, with predictions of even greater growth and mainstream adoption. But for Cat, the things that matter most have not changed: Connection. Belonging. Purpose. Collaboration. "The human aspect of coworking is the best aspect of coworking." That is worth remembering, especially when marketing decisions start pulling you toward polished messaging and away from the real, human stories happening in your space every day. The takeaway: The more the industry grows, the more your human stories become your competitive advantage. Lean into them. |
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🎯 Be clear about who you are for In Part 1, Cat shared the biggest mistake spaces make: marketing a community that does not exist yet. But there is a second layer to this. Rather than alluding to a community that is not yet in place, Cat suggests it is far more powerful to be honest about where you are. Saying something like "we are working to build a community of entrepreneurs, creatives, and remote teams" builds more trust than any polished tagline. From there, the next step is communicating your vision, values, and vibe clearly and consistently. As coworking continues to evolve, independent spaces especially need a clear sense of purpose and a consistent way of expressing it to stand out. Larger brands can rely on scale, but for independent spaces, clarity is what sets you apart. Simply offering a nice environment is no longer enough. You need to define who your space is for and make that clear across everything you share. What this looks like in practice: - Your homepage says who the space is for, not just what it offers
- Your social content reflects the values of your specific community
- Your messaging stays consistent whether someone finds you on Instagram, Google, or through a referral
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🤖 AI is your assistant, not your voice |
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I also asked Cat about AI and its role in writing about community. Her answer was direct: "AI is my assistant. Not my thinker, not my writer. I use AI to format and ideate, not to think and write." This matters because as AI tools become easier to use, it is tempting to hand over more and more of your content creation. But community content is different. It needs to sound like you, not like everyone else using the same tool. Cat put it simply: "If you cannot be bothered to write it, why should anyone be bothered to read it?" Where AI helps: - Brainstorming content ideas
- Structuring and refining drafts
- Repurposing existing content into new formats
Where it does not belong: - Writing your community stories from scratch
- Crafting your values and positioning
- Replacing your voice with generated copy
The takeaway: Use AI to work faster, not to replace what makes your content worth reading in the first place. |
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💻 How Cobot helps All of this only works if you actually have the time and headspace to focus on your community. By handling memberships, bookings, invoicing, and day-to-day member communication, Cobot removes a lot of the operational noise that pulls you away from your community. Instead of juggling admin tasks, you get the space to actually observe what’s happening in your space, talk to your members, and turn those real moments into meaningful stories. Because in the end, better storytelling doesn’t come from better tools. It comes from being closer to your community. |
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💡 A quick takeaway At its core, community storytelling is about showing real moments of connection, collaboration, and belonging in your space. The more honest, clear, and human you are in how you share that, the more naturally the right people will be drawn in. That is it for this week! Thank you, Cat, for sharing your perspective across both parts of this series. Follow her on LinkedIn and at catjohnson.co. |
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The topic for next week is: "Making Your Space (and Your Marketing) More Accessible" 🤝 |
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If you missed last week's newsletter, check it out here: |
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Reply to this email if you have any questions, disagree with something I said, or have a suggestion for a collaboration/future topic. I'm always happy to stay in touch. |
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See you next Wednesday and happy coworking! 🥳 |
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Cobot Coworking Software, 2026 |
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