I have to say it.

Even if it hurts your feelings. Even if it makes you want to throw in the towel.

Even if it makes you cry.

Scrap your roadmap. In a community buying environment like NFTs, it’s better to build the roadmap together with your early supporters.

When you build an NFT community, you need many ways to make early members feel involved. This is vital to get the engine of your community firing on all boosters.

Don’t forget that your early community members are also your first promoters. Their involvement determines whether or not you lift off!

The easiest way to get people involved is to leave a lot of decisions undecided. And ask for their help.

When your amazing art attracts the first interested people, make them your partners. Connect with them on and offline and ask for their opinions on everything that matters.

One of the powerful aspects of the blockchain is that it allows investors to have skin in the game. They can have an effect on the outcome of their own investment. That’s dope! Don’t TELL them how it’s going to be, ask them. Build a roadmap together.

Committed leaders can’t just be order-givers; nor can they just be facilitators, communicators, strategists, or motivators. They must possess a greater range than the average leader to ensure execution. — Mike Leavitt

If you throw up a website with sneak peek NFTs and a roadmap and then try to sell, you’re not giving people anything they can sink their teeth into.

Today everyone is a consumer and a creator. And NFTs are sold by communities NOT by advertising.

If you treat your very first followers like they are important contributors, they will feel empowered. Then, their empowerment will give them the mojo to recruit the next group of community members.

As the community leader, you give the first group the tools and training to empower the second group. When you get 20–50 empowered and active community members, your community will grow exponentially. Put another way: it will be GO TIME!

In the classic movie Quest For Fire, a group of Neanderthals are in charge of keeping the community fire from going out after it was gifted to them when lightning struck a nearby tree.

After several days of trekking through swamps, a man carrying the fire slips and drops it into the water. The tribe is furious.

Your first community members are carrying the fire with you. Make sure to give them something rare from your collection. They deserve it. They’re participating for free and supporting before there’s any hype.

Those initial believers in your vision are the most important of all. They’re the OG’s of your community and should be treated as such.

This is the native and effective way to start an NFT community.

Think of those first CryptoPunk owners back in the day. Do you think they collected to speculate? No, they acquired them because they were supergeeks! And they loved the technology.

The people who join a community just for a whitelist — so they can earn arbitrage money — are less valuable to the creator than the involved community member investor.

So why do so many projects focus their budget on giveaways? Because they don't know how to build a community. They’re just trying to get numbers. Spray and pray.

For your project to succeed and grow just like a business, you need to design and nurture a self-empowered community.

Also, like with a business, you don’t want to go through all the work involved and then just close up shop a few months later.

You should want your NFT to outlive you. So you can pass down your “creator wallet” to your children and they can collect royalties on all those amazing projects you made in the 2020s.

Your first step starts now. Think about who you know that would be down to support your project and be partners with you on it. The more people you can think of the better.

Don’t try and get one of your giveaway winners to be a tight community member. He’s not interested because he cares about your vision. He just wants a lambo.

If you can’t think of anyone, or if you’re lost on how to empower your community members, hit me up and I’ll join your community. @pump_nft

Don’t forget to make me feel like a VIP and an indispensable part of the team. Give to me more than you ask, and look upon me as a trusted advisor.

Then we can build something badass.

I have to say it.

Even if it hurts your feelings. Even if it makes you want to throw in the towel.

Even if it makes you cry.

Scrap your roadmap. In a community buying environment like NFTs, it’s better to build the roadmap together with your early supporters.

When you build an NFT community, you need many ways to make early members feel involved. This is vital to get the engine of your community firing on all boosters.

Don’t forget that your early community members are also your first promoters. Their involvement determines whether or not you lift off!

The easiest way to get people involved is to leave a lot of decisions undecided. And ask for their help.

When your amazing art attracts the first interested people, make them your partners. Connect with them on and offline and ask for their opinions on everything that matters.

One of the powerful aspects of the blockchain is that it allows investors to have skin in the game. They can have an effect on the outcome of their own investment. That’s dope! Don’t TELL them how it’s going to be, ask them. Build a roadmap together.

Committed leaders can’t just be order-givers; nor can they just be facilitators, communicators, strategists, or motivators. They must possess a greater range than the average leader to ensure execution. — Mike Leavitt

If you throw up a website with sneak peek NFTs and a roadmap and then try to sell, you’re not giving people anything they can sink their teeth into.

Today everyone is a consumer and a creator. And NFTs are sold by communities NOT by advertising.

If you treat your very first followers like they are important contributors, they will feel empowered. Then, their empowerment will give them the mojo to recruit the next group of community members.

As the community leader, you give the first group the tools and training to empower the second group. When you get 20–50 empowered and active community members, your community will grow exponentially. Put another way: it will be GO TIME!

In the classic movie Quest For Fire, a group of Neanderthals are in charge of keeping the community fire from going out after it was gifted to them when lightning struck a nearby tree.

After several days of trekking through swamps, a man carrying the fire slips and drops it into the water. The tribe is furious.

Your first community members are carrying the fire with you. Make sure to give them something rare from your collection. They deserve it. They’re participating for free and supporting before there’s any hype.

Those initial believers in your vision are the most important of all. They’re the OG’s of your community and should be treated as such.

This is the native and effective way to start an NFT community.

Think of those first CryptoPunk owners back in the day. Do you think they collected to speculate? No, they acquired them because they were supergeeks! And they loved the technology.

The people who join a community just for a whitelist — so they can earn arbitrage money — are less valuable to the creator than the involved community member investor.

So why do so many projects focus their budget on giveaways? Because they don't know how to build a community. They’re just trying to get numbers. Spray and pray.

For your project to succeed and grow just like a business, you need to design and nurture a self-empowered community.

Also, like with a business, you don’t want to go through all the work involved and then just close up shop a few months later.

You should want your NFT to outlive you. So you can pass down your “creator wallet” to your children and they can collect royalties on all those amazing projects you made in the 2020s.

Your first step starts now. Think about who you know that would be down to support your project and be partners with you on it. The more people you can think of the better.

Don’t try and get one of your giveaway winners to be a tight community member. He’s not interested because he cares about your vision. He just wants a lambo.

If you can’t think of anyone, or if you’re lost on how to empower your community members, hit me up and I’ll join your community. @pump_nft

Don’t forget to make me feel like a VIP and an indispensable part of the team. Give to me more than you ask, and look upon me as a trusted advisor.

Then we can build something badass.