HOW TO START YOUR OWN NFT COMMUNITY

BUILDING YOUR NFT COMMUNITY

If you’re launching a new NFT project, chances are you will need to build a community – usually using either Discord or Telegram. Why is community so important to your NFT project?

  • Helps build organic awareness that your NFT project exists
  • Encourages people to buy your NFT collection
  • Find your “longer term” supporters who will be there for your project even after the hype and short term flippers move on to the next project
  • Receive helpful feedback from passionate community members to help your project become the most successful version of itself

As a community manager and coach, I’ve been heavily involved in the NFT space now for a few months (that’s the equivalent of years in other industries!) and have seen NFT projects that do a really great job of nurturing their community, and those that do not. I am willing to put money down that those that have a strong community will win in the long term.

Recipe For Your NFT Community

I have created a FREE GUIDE called the NFT Community Playbook as I’m really passionate about this space and want to see more GREAT NFT COMMUNITIES EXIST! There is so much potential in this industry! Here are some of the basic steps that can help you build your own NFT community with confidence! 

Identify the platform(s) you will use to "gather your people"

Some examples are Discord, Telegram, Twitter… Your community platform(s) will be where your community can interact with each other. If you are unsure which one to choose, I’d recommend the most popular choice: Discord. You can add bots to help you with community admin duties and structure conversations via channels. 

What is the mission and the vision?

What is your NFT project all about? What do you want to accomplish with your project, is it just for monetary gains or are you looking to change the world? 

Whatever it is, make sure you OWN it and communicate this clearly with your community. You want your members to become emotionally invested in it. The more invested they are, the more support you’ll get to achieve your goals. 

Organize your channels according to topic

Channels are virtual rooms in the platform. They’re categorized according to subject, interest etc… Think of the platform as the supermarket and the channels are the names of the sections (e.g. Dairy, Vegetables, Snacks…). If you enter the supermarket and you need milk, you go to the dairy section. Same logic with your platform’s channels.

Make it simple yet understandable. Community members are more engaged with channels that are well organized. 

Your channels can also be branded YOUR WAY to add your own unique spin. Check out the Animetas discord community or Cyberkongz to see how they have branded their channels.

What is your unique brand?

This flows on from my previous point. Think about your unique image. How will your community set itself apart from all the other NFT communities out there? 

Things to consider: language, tone of voice, channel names, font type, fun graphics/images, custom emojis, profile photos (pfp’s), names of admins, inside jokes…

Choose your admins and moderators carefully

The perfect person for this role is someone who is FRIENDLY, YET FIRM. In the NFT space, things can spiral out of control, and it can happen quickly. That’s why it’s important that you choose your moderators and admins as “go-to” persons who can swiftly deal with toxic/ spam/ scam messages and members, whilst at the same time being able to support and elevate the voices of passionate members who can contribute a lot to building up the community – such as lifting spirits (negating the FUD), providing helpful perspective or advice, educating new members and generally engaging with other community members in a positive way.  

Focus on on-boarding experience for new members

The community onboarding experience is incredibly important. This is the equivalent of people walking into your house party and their first impressions… How are you treating them? What’s the vibe like? Are they introduced to other people? Do they know what to expect? Same thing applies when someone joins your discord server!

If they feel like they’re being treated really well in your community and their voice is being heard (right from the beginning), there is a MUCH higher chance they will become engaged community members. If they are met with radio silence right from the start, stats show they will likely leave and rarely visit again. 

Think of this as the secret to growth hacking your community. Get the onboarding process right and you’ll find that your organic growth can benefit greatly.

Establish house rules

Keep it simple, clear and to the point, and TIE IT TO YOUR MISSION. Why are these rules important? Check out the World of Women NFT discord, they do this REALLY WELL. 

Cover all the basis: no spam, scam, toxic behaviour that is detrimental to the community etc, and don’t be afraid to update the rules as time goes on.

Engagement strategy starts with understanding your members

Most important thing you can do? LISTEN to what your community members are saying. DELIVER what they ask for. Go ABOVE AND BEYOND. Don’t ask for “favours” from them before you deliver value to them at least 3x first. 

Don’t ASSUME you know what your community members want. Back it up with what they are telling you in the server chats. Pay close attention, there are often gems of suggestions and feedback overlooked by admins or ignored. 

FAQs are important

This relates to the point of focusing on the onboarding process. The NFT space moves FAST and it’s confusing for many. Most new members who want to learn more will go to the FAQs, so make sure they are comprehensive and written clearly.

If there is confusion in the chats about some of your answers, UPDATE YOUR FAQs. I cannot stress this enough. It will save your admins/mods a LOT of time if you are updating your resources on the go.

Address FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) quickly…

It’s actually understandable that people are going to have more questions and perhaps question the authenticity of the project and the road map etc. The NFT space is like the Wild West, so people are going to feel worried they are investing in another “rug pull” (scam investment). 

Ensure your admins/mods address FUD in a calm, professional and assertive manner. It will save your community during the uncertain times.

Have a BATTLE PLAN

An extension of my point above, expect the unexpected! Even the most SOLID projects have times of FUD and you’ll need to recover from this. The incredibly successful NFT – Bored Ape Yacht Club – once sold below mint price. They had to recover from that and keep moving forward! Prepare for the worst and have some ideas as to how you can keep the positivity in your community going. 

That’s my quick overview of setting up an NFT community.  And this guide is free by the way. I didn’t want to charge because I know that there’s plenty of people out there that are really passionate about setting up their own NFT community.  

I really hope it helps. Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter @acommunitycoach

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