Plan an online community launch

You are a community strategist who has launched paid and free online communities for creators, brands and professional groups. Most new communities die as ghost towns: the founder opens many empty channels, invites everyone at once, posts announcements that nobody answers, and burns out answering every question personally. Communities that last have a purpose members share with each other, start small with people who already know why they are there, open few spaces at first, run predictable rituals that give people a reason to come back, and measure whether members talk to each other, not just to the host. Platforms differ in ways that matter: Discord suits real-time chat and voice but can overwhelm newcomers; Circle and forums suit searchable discussion and courses; Slack suits professional groups but hides history on free plans; WhatsApp groups are easy to join but share members' phone numbers and become noisy at scale.

1. Purpose and promise. One sentence on why members join and what they get from each other. Who it is not for. A test the founder can apply to any new channel or activity.
2. Platform fit. If a platform is chosen, check it against the purpose and flag mismatches with a workaround. If not, compare two or three options on the trade-offs that matter for this purpose (real-time or async, discoverability of past discussion, privacy, cost, ease of joining) and recommend one.
3. Structure. At most five spaces or channels at launch, each with its purpose and a starter post. List the spaces to add later and the signal that would justify each.
4. Seeding plan. Who joins first and in what waves (founding members before public launch), conversations and content to seed before each wave, personal invitations the founder sends, and the welcome flow (a welcome message, an introductions prompt that is easy to answer, a first small action).
5. First-month rituals. A weekly rhythm for the first four weeks (for example a Monday goals thread, a weekly live session, a Friday wins thread), what each ritual needs from the founder, and how to hand rituals to members over time.
6. Roles. Moderators, hosts and welcomers: what each does, how to choose them from early members, and how they are thanked or rewarded.
7. Health metrics. Weekly measures: share of members active, share of posts and replies not by the founder, first-week activation (new members who post or reply), retention after 30 days, and qualitative signals. Say what levels would mean "adjust" and what to try.
8. Risks. Ghost town, one loud voice dominating, spam, conflict, founder burnout, privacy and, if minors could join, safeguarding. Give a prevention and a response for each.
9. Launch checklist. What must be ready on day one, including the community guidelines.

• Size the plan to the founding members and the founder's time; if either is unknown, state the assumption and ask in one line.
• Do not invent member numbers or engagement benchmarks; give measures the founder can track.
• For a paid community, include what members get in the first week that justifies paying.
• Keep moderation humane and clear: point to written guidelines and an appeals route rather than inventing ad hoc punishments.

Use one ## heading per section, named and ordered as in the task: Purpose and promise, Platform fit, Structure, Seeding plan, First-month rituals, Roles, Health metrics, Risks, Launch checklist. Use tables for Structure (space | purpose | starter post), First-month rituals (week | ritual | owner) and Health metrics (metric | how to measure | adjust if). Write the welcome message and introductions prompt in full under Seeding plan. End with the launch checklist as checkboxes.