How do you find a creator-friendly platform? Four successful creators share their advice |
Every creator deserves tools that prioritize their needs and help them grow -however, they don't always deliver. Below are the four things successful creators are looking for in creator-friendly platforms.
"It was an absolute nightmare" says Em Connors of The Creative Bodega .
When Em first started her Canva course, a plugin she used for her WordPress website wasn't functioning. The students had registered to the course but the first day, no one could log in.
"We were unable to figure out what was wrong. Talk about anxiety! I can't imagine that my heart rate has ever been so high. And there was absolutely no one to speak to," she remembers. Em desperately searched for help through forums and on the internet, including the Facebook group of plugin customers But there was nothing.
However, it could be a familiar experience for many creators. Many platforms within the world of creators don't consider their creators' interests firstand operate with unsound practices that include a absence of transparency, false fees, and silence instead of providing support.
Every creator deserves creator-friendly tools, which prioritize their needs and support their growth. For a deeper understanding of what is considered to be a good level of creator-friendliness (and its absencereally looks as, we talked to four creatives on their experience:
Em Conners is a solopreneur who is a marketing and branding expert as well as an educator and the founder of The Creative Bodega.
Becky Mollenkamp , feminist life coach, podcaster and the founder of The Gutsy Boss Club community.
Adrian Dalsus , musician, marketer educator, founder Despegue Musical. Despegue Musical.
Khe Hy , a.k.a. "Oprah to Millennials" The founder of RadReads and a Notion pro.
What are the characteristics of a platform that make it creator-friendly?
There are many factors which create a platform that is creator-friendly -- but it boils down to whether creators feel that the platform has their back.
1. Accessible assistance
When you're stuck, you ought to be able to find the help you need. This may sound easy, but the assistance isn't always readily available. For Em the term "creator friendliness" means being able to talk to one another to work through any questions or issues.
"Creator friendly is being able to pose a question to somebody and receive quick answers. I just want to have the ability to talk to somebody, which isn't often these days."
Em Connors The Creative Bodega
As entrepreneurs crafting experiences and creating relationships, the majority of creators aim to operate like this in their businesses. "I'm trying to assist you as best as I can," Em says. "Ask me any questions you havealthough I may not have the answer, but I'm going to attempt. It makes me think it helps people feel really comfortable."
Becky is in agreement: "Knowing that the company is dedicated to being responsive to customer needs will ensure that you're able to count on getting the help you need in a timely time. If the company isn't doing this from the start and then you're left with no choice but to run."
2. Ease of use
Creator-friendly tools also need to be easy to use across backgrounds and experience levels. Just because a product feels easy for a certain category of users doesn't mean it's user-friendly for all.
"Addressing the requirements of a variety of generations is essential as anyone can be an author at any time!"
Becky believes that she is a good yardstick:
"One option for me to gauge whether a tool can be considered a good creator tool is to see if I can intuitively figure out how to use it without wanting to scream. Even though I'm extremely tech-savvy but I'm older and not longer the prime demographic for tech companies."
She elaborates, "Too often, tools are designed for those that grew up with the Internet and not for people similar to me. If I'm able to easily figure out how to use some thing, it means that the company thought beyond the twenty-somethings and truly cares about making a tool for every creators."
3. Offers support for the journey of the creator to come
Platforms should serve creators at every stage of their journey, says Khe Hy -- whether it's making a sales page flexible or a checkout experience extremely smooth, all the way to having features that handle processes involving affiliates, upsells, or other upsells.
"Creator-friendly refers to a product which appreciates and anticipates the needs of creators."
-" Khe Hy, RadReads
Creative friendliness is a way to plan for what's to come for the creator "before they know that the steps to take to reach their goal," he explains. "A often, people are starting with a simple product and then expanding their product offer."
The stress of unfriendly creator platforms
It's frustrating to feel that you're not getting assistance from the platform you depend on for running your business.
As Em, Becky has found herself dealing with the silent treatment. "I began my experience of creating courses with a platform that had poor customer service," she shares. "When I encountered issues and needed to contact them, I sent an email. There was no automatic response to acknowledge that they were aware of the issue. There was no response to most of the questions I asked."
It's not just limited to customer support. Companies have the opportunity to ensure that the needs of their creators are first throughout the entire customer experience. By ignoring or not taking advantage of these opportunities creates a feeling that creators are dependent on the platforms' wishes.
For Adrian the lack of respect a platform has towards creators can be seen in the sudden adding or deleting functions that make him learn how to operate the tool. Communication with supposed experts doesn't feel friendly even when, as Adrian states, "you can clearly see that they're just trying to convince users to invest extra time and money in the of the platform."
The worst incident Adrian experienced as a designer as well as a businessman was using a website tool. "It needed a long learning process to do very easy items, and was susceptible to errors at any moment due to a plugin upgrade, or even bad luck" the founder recalls. "Knowing that my websites as well as landing pages of my business and customers could cease functioning at any time, despite the fact that it is expensive hiring all the essential tools for a professionally designed web site is absurd."
We can practically see his blood pressure rise when he says, "Just thinking of [theseplatforms makes me feel extremely frustrated I feel deceived, helpless powerless, insecure, stressed and nervous about all the bad things that can happen the event that I don't have any control!"
How to find creator-friendly platforms
Like most buying decisions, creators can be lured by the brands. However, according to Adrian adds, they're still learning from hard-won experience how to spot a platform with a focus on the creator's needs:
And the outcome? Creators think they've made the most appropriate choice but end up frustrated over and over again because they have to figure it out on their own, with the help of their service suppliers."
And what are the things to avoid? "Tools that increase their costs as you grow [your database]. This is the case with the vast majority of companies that offer email marketing. These services have additional fees or hidden costs in the subscriptions they have to use templates, training, or information."
Additionally, be aware of equipment that is expensive in the beginning, particularly as you start out. Khe warns "Creators want to spend money on services, but if you start with a price that is too high -- whether through your tiering or through the way you structure your plan -- it can be too expensive or too early." Adrian says, "Having to pay over $100 upfront per month -in order to understand the basics of using the platform, or to figure out how to make profits there isn't going to make sense for most creators."
What attributes do you seek? Adrian recommends seeking for tools that were designed with the creator of HTML0 in mind right from the start and with a reasonable price along with customer support and complete transparency from the business.
"Although this may sound like a cliché Ask what are the core values, mission and the vision of the business? What are their future plans? Do they actually want to expand? Perhaps they've created an item or service they're currently trying to sell but have no intention of making it better?"
-- Adrian Dalsus, Despegue Musical
There are many additional factors which make the platform more user-friendly. These include how transaction fees are structured to whether you can take directly-paying customers . (Learn more about the ways in which's chief executive officer, Spencer Fry, thinks about creating a culture of friendliness for creators and why it's the guiding principle of the organization.)
According to Becky sums up, "There are always choices. My money will always go to companies who actually care about my experience, not just about making money."
The Creator Friendliness Index
The Creator Friendliness Index uses 20 rating factors to determine how friendly a company's policies are to creators. - Check out the platforms that can help you