1. New member → Confident participant
The most important Journey for any community. Turns a passive new join into someone who has contributed, connected, and experienced value.- Best for: All communities. Run this one first before any others.
- Completion window: 30 days. Leave End Date blank if members join on a rolling basis.
Completion Award: Community Welcome Badge (see Awards section below)
Launch tips:
- Mention this Journey in your automated welcome message so members know about it on day 1
- Pin a note in
#welcome-start-here: “Complete these 4 steps to earn your Community Welcome Badge” - Send yourself a test award to preview the member experience before going live
2. Active member → Community champion
Recognizes members who have gone beyond participating by helping others, sharing knowledge, and contributing in ways that benefit the whole community.- Best for: Communities with 3+ months of activity and a visible group of regular contributors.
- Completion window: 90 days.
Completion Award: Community Champion (see Awards section below)
Launch tips:
- Announce this Journey in
#announcementsand name any members close to qualifying to create visible momentum - Enable Can be given by non-admins on the Champion Award so peers can nominate each other
- Review the Awards Log monthly and personally DM each new Champion. Automated recognition plus a personal message is more powerful than either alone
Champions become your most reliable source of content, answers, and referrals. Formalizing their status also reduces churn. Recognized contributors rarely leave quietly.
3. Prospect → Customer → Advocate
Tracks the full arc from early evaluation through to active advocacy. Designed for communities where member activity maps directly to business outcomes.- Best for: Customer communities, SaaS communities, and any community where members are also buyers or users of your product.
- Completion window: Open-ended.
Completion Award: Community Advocate (see Awards section below)
Launch tips:
- The final Milestone (Tell your story) is intentionally manual. Give the Award when a member participates in a case study, testimonial, or referral
- Customize channel names to match your actual channels
- Consider running Journey 1 and Journey 3 in parallel so new members flow naturally from welcome into advocacy
Members who complete this Journey are your highest-value source of case studies, referrals, and expansion conversations. Connect it to your CRM or customer success workflow.
Award templates
Each template below includes copy you can paste directly into Tightknit’s Create Award form. Adjust the language to match your community’s tone.How to use these templates
Every Award entry includes:- Name — What members see
- Description — Shown in the Award notification
- Default message — What the member receives (write it like you’re talking to them directly, not like a system notification)
- Award type — Badge, profile frame, credential, or combination
- LinkedIn sharing — Whether to enable it
- Journey pairing — Which Journey to attach it to, or whether to give it manually
On-ramp Awards
For newer members. Designed to be easy to earn. The goal is a quick win that signals belonging and encourages the next action. Keep thresholds low for on-ramp Awards. A first post is worth celebrating even if it’s short. Recognition at the beginning of someone’s journey has an outsized effect on whether they come back. Community Welcome Badge (Journey 1 completion award)- Name: Community Welcome Badge
- Description: Earned by completing the New Member Journey: posting, helping, and attending a first event. You’ve made your mark.
- Default message: You’ve completed every step of the New Member Journey. You introduced yourself, contributed, and showed up.
- Award type: Badge + optional profile frame
- Journey pairing: Journey 1 completion award
Consistency Awards
For members who show up regularly. These Awards recognize reliability over time. Steady Contributor- Description: Awarded for consistent participation over 90 days
- Default message: You’ve been here, month after month, making this community better. This one’s for consistency, and we appreciate every post.
- Award type: Badge
Impact Awards
For members whose contributions make the community more valuable for everyone else: quality over quantity. Product Pioneer- Description: Awarded to members who engage deeply with new features, share feedback, and help shape the product direction.
- Default message: You’ve been one of the first to try new things, share honest feedback, and push us to build better. Pioneer is the right word.
- Award type: Badge + credential
Community Awards
For members who strengthen relationships, model your values, and make the community a better place to be. Consider enabling Can be given by non-admins for Community Awards. Peer-to-peer recognition for these behaviors often feels more meaningful than admin-given recognition. Community Champion- Description: Earned by completing the Champion Journey: answering questions, sharing resources, hosting events, and sparking discussions. This is our highest recognition for sustained contribution.
- Default message: You’ve answered questions, shared what you know, and shown up consistently. Community Champion is the highest recognition we give, and you’ve earned it.
- Award type: Badge + credential
Connector
- Description: Given to members who introduce people, spark collaborations, and bring others into conversations.
- Default message: You have a gift for knowing who should know who. The introductions you make and the doors you open make this community more valuable for everyone.
- Award type: Badge
Building your library
Start with 3–4 Awards A short, clear Award library is more effective than a long one members can’t parse. Start with one on-ramp Award, one consistency or impact Award, and one top-tier completion Award. Add more only once members are actively engaging with what you’ve launched. Pair every Award with a visible path. Members should be able to answer “How do I earn this?” without asking an admin. Either attach the Award to a Journey with clear Milestones, or post an explanation in#announcements when you introduce a manually given Award.
Write the default message like you’re talking to them. The default message is the first thing a member reads when they receive an Award. First person, specific, warm, not a system notification.