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Why I Use Circle for My Community, Courses, and Membership Business

Doug

Tech Stack Integrator

Video Summary

After nearly six years of running my business on Circle, I still consider it the best home for my community, courses, and events. While there are cheaper or more customizable tools out there, Circle wins for me because of its polished posting experience, intuitive content organization, and tight integration of features.

  • The community spaces make discussions smooth, engaging, and visually appealing.
  • The resource library and course layouts make it easy for members to find exactly what they need, whether it’s a tutorial, framework, or workshop replay.
  • The events feature is a game-changer, letting me host office hours, workshops, and masterminds directly inside the platform—no clunky Zoom links required.
  • The automation workflows and DM tools allow me to engage members more personally and at the right time.
  • With Circle Paywalls, payment and access control are fully integrated, saving me from complicated Zapier setups and making onboarding seamless.

Circle may not be the cheapest or the most customizable option, but for me, the simplicity, integration, and polished experience make it invaluable. It keeps my business running smoothly and my members engaged—and that’s worth every penny.

Key Takeaways

  • Longevity & Trust: Using Circle since 2020, upgraded across multiple plans, and still running my business on it nearly 6 years later.
  • Community-Centered Design: Clean, polished posting and discussion spaces make it easy for members to engage—far better than clunky alternatives.
  • Content Discoverability: Circle makes it simple to organize and present courses, workshops, tutorials, and frameworks so members can quickly find what they need.
  • Courses & Frameworks: Flexible setup allows courses, frameworks, and curated roadmaps to fit seamlessly into the community experience.
  • Events Feature: Circle’s built-in live events (workshops, office hours, masterminds) integrate directly with the community—no Zoom links or disconnection.
  • Automations (Workflows): Circle’s automation builder makes it easy to send DMs, add members to groups, and re-engage inactive users.
  • Payments & Paywalls: Fully integrated Stripe + Circle checkout with access groups tied directly to membership areas; worth the extra processing fee for simplicity.
  • Personal Preference: Clean design, ease of publishing, and seamless integration outweigh more customizable but clunkier platforms like HighLevel.