To learn more about JOYST, go to our website.
Over the last year we have spent countless hours speaking with creators, trying to understand their needs and motivations for creating NFTs, and what makes an NFT art or collectible project successful. Through that process, we noticed a pattern: Successful projects were able to capture the essence of their unique identity, grow a community around that identity, and build trust and loyalty with that community.
A Different World
In the physical world, institutions, galleries, and individuals control the perception of popularity behind an art piece or collectible. This leads to gatekeepers and centralized, third party control over the success of a project or creator. In the digital world, we need to move away from these centralized gatekeepers, and towards an ecosystem driven by the effort of self-sovereign individuals pushing their projects forwards.
In this new world of self driven success, it is critical to understand how to grow and maintain a community who will support your work by purchasing your pieces, promoting your work to others, and validating the excitement behind your project.
Your Approach
There are infinite ways to go about growing your community, but the key is to understand what you stand for, why people should get behind you and your work, and find existing NFT and crypto communities who align with you. Once you know where to look, reach out to people and have as many genuine conversations as possible. Finally, ask people to join your community.
Understand Yourself
To find which crypto communities you align with, you have to first understand your identity. Ask yourself these questions:
- What do I create?
- Why do I create these things?
- What spirit do I bring to my work?
There are so many different answers to these questions, but there are also so many different types of creators and motivations behind creation in the NFT space. No matter what your answers are, there will be people with a similar ethos, or style to you. Once you understand the answers to these questions, go on OpenSea, SuperRare, and Twitter to look for similar creators.
Have Conversations
Even though scammers and bad actors have put a bad taste in people’s mouths, and fewer people will respond to direct messages today than six months ago, if you show people your motivations are pure, there will be people willing to talk to you. Don’t be deterred if the first couple don’t respond, but keep reaching out to people until you find someone who is willing to talk.
Next, you want to find a time to talk over the phone or via video chat. Messaging is a terrible way to connect with people, and it doesn’t build the same level of relationships or allow for the same type of expression of thoughts and ideas as live conversation does. Once you have the opportunity to talk with someone live, show them you have genuine intentions and gather their advice and feedback. Everyone is at a different stage, but there is always great feedback and advice to be gathered from everyone.
Gather Community Members
Having great conversations with people will naturally lead to more conversations with others. Don’t be afraid to ask to connect with other people, or for suggestions about who to talk with. Gather as much feedback and hear about as many people’s experiences as possible. Once you are ready to start building your community, ask these mentors to join your Discord or follow you on Twitter.
By having these first people in your community, you have people who will confirm your good intentions to others, and continue to give feedback on your project and progress. Now, you want to go to other communities and tell people about your project. Don’t just ask people to buy things, but tell people what you are working on and ask them to join your community and give feedback on your project.
Even if these people aren’t the ones buying your NFTs, they will make you a better NFT creator than you would be on your own. They will be your friends, encouragement, and inspiration in the space, and look out for other people for you to meet and learn from as you progress. Eventually, just having a strong set of people will attract others to your community. Then, when you are looking to go after NFT collectors or investors, there will be proof that your work is genuine, your intentions are pure, and validation that people stand behind you.
The Channel Matters
People can get lucky on their first try, but there are so many amazing creators out there that it can be hard to stand out. Creating a community and growing as a creator with that community is key to long term success. Additionally, having a defined individual identity is key.
At the moment, creators can show their identity and grow their community through their website and social media, but when they want to sell an NFT, they have to post a link to an open or curated marketplace, where they have no control over the presentation of the NFT, and can get lost among other creators on the marketplace.
At JOYST, the Shopify for NFTs, we are giving people a way to sell their NFTs on their own website, presented in the way they want their work presented, and through an open source protocol, governed by a community driven DAO.
