Thread by @russellnohelty

Most creators will complain about not having a community, and then do nothing about building one for themselves.

Here are a couple ways you can take the reigns of building your own creative community.

People often talk about giving of yourself & put in a lot of work in the background unnoticed, but these are ways that are beneficial to both you and them, and can scale from one to many.

-Edit an anthology: No matter how big or small, it will bring a group of like-minded creators together and give you a network of professional contacts you can build with for the long haul.

-Start some sort of themed month/prompt/etc that you can use to build excitement.

-Plan some sort of group promotion with several creators (giveaway, free book, art jam, etc) where you can all help each other grow your networks with a specific focus.

-Host a podcast where you interview creators about their work. Make sure to read their work and have pointed questions to help bond with them.

-Share the things that have worked for you in an educational way so that other creators can stand on your shoulders.

-Host a Discord server/Facebook Group/Mighty Network community where you are the admin. Giving people a safe space to create and talk about a specific topic is something most people don't have.

The end goal, of course, is to help other creators:

-Get noticed
-Have fun
-Build a fandom
-Make new friends
-Make money
-Show up

The more of those you can help people do, the more they will like you.

You probably won't get asked, but EVERYONE likes to be asked.

It seems weird, but if you can connect people with other people, even if you aren't involved, you will get credit in their eyes because they got the connection through your efforts.

The more you can connect people in your network with each other, the better your network with be, and the happier you will all be, even if you aren't directly responsible.

The network being strong is the most important part, and you will be happier for it.

If you build a safe community dedicated to growth, people will come, but you have to do it consistently and without ulterior motives.

That sounds like going in with an agenda and not having ulterior motives are diametrically opposed.

They aren't.

You are trying to make genuine connections for the sole purpose of making the connection. The ways you are doing that include helping others, etc, but the connection is genuine.

You aren't trying to use these connections to get ahead. The connection is its own goal.

By simply doing that for long enough, you will get ahead.

You might only get 10 people to join, but 10 is better than none, and it will grow from there in time.