It’s an exciting day when you launch a new online community to the public. But if you’ve done it correctly, a lot of work has been done before the official live launch.

Then you can “forget about your worries and your strife.”

At a bare minimum, you need to have each of the things on this list if you want to be more than a flash in the pan. (We’re assuming you’ve chosen technology that supports your mission -- cough cough Hoop.la.)

Take Care of These 5 Basic Necessities Before You Launch Your Online Community

1. People committed to participating
2. Community guidelines or terms of use
3. Logo, banner, branding
4. Permissions concept (what’s the structure, who can do what, is it private)
5. Metrics for success