Thread by @wholelottajuju

Enough grinding for WL--it’s unhealthy both for the creator and the buyer.

@zipcy8888 filled up their WL by promoting UGC. It's now up by 468%.

@pixels_online gamified WLs--the floor's increased by 2045% upon mint.

Here are 5 ways you can build a healthy WL🧵

#NFTs #NFT

1/ Whitelist: A method for securing initial funding and building the initial community for projects. On paper, it’s a perfect solution for NFT creators, the project as a whole, and early adopters.

2/ NFT creators get to secure liquidity for their hard work.

The project receives funding for future development while creating a community that will help scale the project.

Early adopters get in at the cheapest price point for their investment.

3/ Everybody gets their cake and eats it too.

But there’s been a growing issue with whitelists on all ends.

4/ For shady NFT creators, it’s a perfect chance for them to make a hefty bag then run off into deep spaces of the web.

Unfortunately, there’s virtually nothing we can do about that.

5/ For the project, although the funding can be distributed through a treasury, it often doesn’t build a strong community.

You know, the community that MAKES your project. More on this in a minute.

6/ For early adopters, it’s riskier than buying into a proven project. They’re often left with empty pockets once the dev team realizes running a project is much tougher than it seems.

7/ Either way, the web3 model should distribute risks and profits.

The problem is that at the moment, it doesn’t. The average investor is still at the bottom of the pyramid.

8/ If the creator depletes all the liquidity from the smart contract, guess who’s left holding the bag?

If the team reinvests their earnings back into a project with a weak community, then guess what? The project won’t last. The floor price will be heading straight to zero.

9/ If the project doesn’t succeed for whatever reason, then early adopters are left wondering why they put their money into the project.

The thing is, the NFT world still relies on the trust-based model. That’s why doxxing and whitelists are a requirement for most projects.

10/ And WL have been proven to work. There may come a time where we explore other opportunities for initial funding, but at the moment, WL WORK.

Now, the larger issue comes from faulty community-building strategies. WL are how projects built their Minimal Viable Community (MVC).

11/ The go-to strategy--dubbed as “grinding”--involves pushing rigorous WL requirements including sending dozens of invites and reaching a specific rank in the server through chatting.

12/ Basically, wannabe investors spend all their time mindlessly chatting with others, just to get their rank up. Quality of the messages isn’t as important as quantity.

Invites are also sent to whoever you’ve talked to prior in the NFT space. This isn’t targeted at all.

13/ As potential investors put in the time to get WL, they’re often more inclined to stay with the project... right?

Why spend so much time on a collection you’re not going to mint?

The thing is, this method is terrible for long-term prospects.

14/ It’s based on a shotgun marketing approach.

As a founder, you’re not targeting the people who same the same interests as your project. You’re not encouraging organic connections between community members.

15/ All you’re doing is building a group of people in the thousands with the same monetary goal.

If you lift the layers, one by one, you’ll uncover a “community” with no ties. Paper hands galore.

16/ I’ve written an entire thread about why a strong community is more important than anything else 👇

https://twitter.com/wholelottajuju/status/1496976368088674304

17/ Ok cool. Grinding sucks. So how can we usher in a new meta?

1) Connect with people plants
2) Keep community closed
3) Honour early supporters
4) Promote UGC
5) Be active in your discord

18/ 1) 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀: First heard this term in @TimStodz @damn_ethan's podcast. In short, these are individuals in the NFT space who have a powerful voice in the space.

19/ It’s important to note, these AREN’T ONLY INFLUENCERS. Influencers often shill projects for cash.

These are genuine people who provide some sort of value to their followers, no matter how big or small their following is.

20/ Thread writers, meme lords, thought leaders… you name it. You’re looking for people who you want to represent your brand. People who form strong connections, and who are trustworthy in the space.

21/ 2) 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱: When I see the most promising NFT projects close their Discord to the general public, I’m often disheartened at first, but grateful in the end.

Why?

An open discord curates a disconnected community.

22/ I wrote all about Minimal Viable Communities down below 👇

medium.com/cryptostars/fr…

23/ Quite simply, by keeping your Discord closed, YOU are in control of who you let in your community.

Think of it like this: If you are in control of your community, you get to decide WHO are going to be your investors.

Do you want to support flippers disguised as investors?

24/ 3) 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: I can’t emphasize this enough, but PLEASE honour your OGs. The easiest way to do this is by giving them a special title.

This not only motivates them to continue pushing out your project, but it also shows that you care.

25/ As an early supporter of projects like @TurtleTownNFT, I feel like an integral part of the community.

This isn’t just about making money anymore, it’s about building the project into something more.

26/ 4) 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗨𝗚𝗖

UGC: The pinnacle of marketing.

When customers, loyalists, and employees promote your product on media channels, it builds a certain level of authenticity and credibility for the brand that cannot be reached through the marketer's promotions.

27/ I mean, just look at the data. Consumers are 2.4x more likely to say UGC is more authentic than branded marketing.

blog.hootsuite.com/user-generated…

28/ Moreover, UGC affects all portions of the consumer journey, from need recognition to the post-purchase evaluation.

More eyes on your project from authentic sources = A growing interest in your project.

29/ I’ve seen @zipcy8888 opt for WL allocations through UGC. The dev team drew up a spreadsheet with varied content their potential investors could produce, and whenever someone finished the task, they would be rewarded.

Not a bad idea if you ask me.

30/ 5) 𝗕𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱: A founder's job is tough, especially if you want to make it in the crowded NFT space.

But it's critical you are persistent with your communication. You are the leader of your project, and people put their full faith in you.

31/ You are a role model as well. They’ll always follow in your footsteps.

Therefore, you must lead by example if you want to build a strong community in your WL.

Form genuine connections, answer questions and laugh with others.

Listen to feedback and post continuous updates.

32/ Don’t be afraid to talk about any misfortunes in the project’s development. It happens, we’re all humans anyway. As long as you’re transparent, you’ll be fine.

33/ TL;DR
- Connect with people plants
- Keep community closed
- Honour early supporters
- Promote UGC
- Be active in your discord

Follow me @wholelottajuju if you enjoyed the content.

34/ Also, follow me on my medium profile if you want to read long-form content related to crypto.

medium.com/@wholelottajuju