For the expert creators out there who have found success, there’s one element that ties them all together, it is how they have done so by allowing their followers to feel included in their lives by creating content that engages in an authentic and consistent manner; which sometimes even extends outside of the traditional social applications. And as we are witnessing the inflection point of human history in terms of the “Great Resignation” and with 29% of US high school students selecting ‘Creator’ as their professional career option of choice (Source: Forbes), it’s clear that differentiation will be a critical success criteria in standing out amongst the crowded landscape. As of 2022, there are currently 200 million people who consider themselves creators in a professional context (Source: Creator Report 2022 by Linktree) and over 500 million people who consider themselves as passion economy users. At this scale, the creator economy is anticipated to quintuple in size this year to a whopping USD 104.2B (Source: Link).
While there are umpteen online and offline platforms that give creators the chance to explore diverse ways of monetization, building a community still remains the best-known approach to deepen relationships with the audience. While 41% creators in the USA connect with their audiences via websites or blogs, over 2/3rd have already monetized the platforms with limited success. This not only amplifies the need to build a steady distribution channel to create an audience base, but it's equally important to explore how to retain the community in a way that isn’t solely dependent on platforms you have no control over, with the likes of YouTube and Instagram where you have no control over your own subscribers/followers.
Hence, we can reasonably infer on why building community is important for any creator and should be considered right at the top of the priority list (we have all seen how community-led growth can work wonders for platforms like GrowthX and GrowthSchool). To make this actionable, we are listing down the top two reasons to make it worth your time and money, especially when it’s one and the same for a creator starting out in their journey:
Till the early 2020s, having a high follower count used to be the only way to make money on social platforms; yet the power of the micro-influencers and nano-influencers have proved that this is no longer the case. It is becoming less and less relevant, as brands, marketers, and creators alike are seeing what really matters is how much the current audience knows, likes, and trusts them, in other words, your community! At a psychological level, people tend to spend more time with those they feel they can trust and relate higher. So if the community is built correctly with time and effort, what follows is a natural “word of mouth” that allows creator efforts to go much further, similar to how the growth flywheel creates network effects for platforms like Amazon and Pinterest.
A creator or an influencer puts a lot of time and energy into the things they create or produce; and having to work around an algorithm and a fast growing hyper-competitive market can be an uphill battle. But when being in community, it fosters deep & authentic relationships with your followers, who will then always go the extra mile to find and engage with you on any platform. When you have a loyal and consistent “tribe”, it helps you ride any wave of change. And to put this in financial perspective, it’s better to have 100 true fans that will pay INR 99/month versus 5000 followers who are merely spectators. But it takes real hard work to nurture your community.
How Cheerio Helps Creators:
We make it seamless for expert creators to engage and monetize the followers across any platform. We want to create the full stack of SAAS creator tools to manage the complete community lifecycle, which is why we’ve created in-app features like Paywall, RSS Feed Integration and omni-communication DRIPs to help you deepen relationships with your followers. Here’s how you can start in less than 5 minutes!
On the Cheerio platform available across mobile and web, you can build, engage,monetize and more in a community you own. Do check out this blog on top hacks to building self-sustaining communities that help you scale.
Download Cheerio from Google Play Store today to start building your community!