How do you find a creator-friendly platform? Four successful creators share their advice |
Every artist deserves tools that prioritize their needs and support their growth -- but platforms don't always meet their promises. Here's what 4 successful creators look for in platforms that are supportive of creators.
"It was a complete nightmare" declares Em Connors of The Creative Bodega .
When Em first began the Canva course, a plugin she had installed for her WordPress site wasn't working. The students had registered to the course but the first day, no one could log in.
"We couldn't figure out why. It was a case of anxiety! I can't imagine that my heart rate was ever so high. And there was no one I could chat with," she remembers. Em was searching for answers online and in forums, including the Facebook group of plugin customers however, she found nothing.
However, it could be an experience that is familiar to the majority of creators. A lot of platforms in the market for creators do not put the needs of creators firstand operate with unsound practices which include insufficient transparency, misleading charges, and a lack of support.
Each creator should have tools that are creator-friendly that prioritize their needs and encourage their development. For a deeper understanding of the concept of "creator friendliness" (and the absence of itreally looks as, we talked to four artists about their experiences:
Em Daniel Connors Solopreneur, expert in branding and marketing teacher, the founder of The Creative Bodega.
Becky Mollenkamp Feminist life coach, podcaster and creator of the Gutsy Boss Club community.
Adrian Dalsus , musician, marketer educator, creator of Despegue Musical.
Khe Hy , a.k.a. "Oprah for Millennials" The founder of RadReads and a Notion pro.
What are the characteristics of a platform that make it creator-friendly?
There are a myriad of factors which create a platform that is user-friendly and user-friendly, but it comes to the extent that creators are confident that the platform has their back.
1. Accessible assistance
When you're stuck, you must be able to find the assistance you require. This may sound easy, but there are times when it's not always. For Em the term "creator friendliness" means being able to talk to an actual human being in order to discuss any concerns or problems.
"Creator friendliness is being able to ask a question to somebody and receive quick answers. I want to have the ability to talk with someone, something that is rare in the present."
-- Em Connors, The Creative Bodega
Entrepreneurs are able to create experiences by cultivating relationships, most creators aim to operate this way in their own businesses. "I'm willing to assist you the best I can," Em says. "Ask me questionsalthough I may not know the answer, but I'm going to try. It makes me think it helps people feel really comfortable."
Becky agrees: "Knowing that the company will be responsive to customer needs means you can always have the support you need in a timely way. If a business doesn't accomplish this at the outset and then you're left with no choice but to run."
2. User-friendly
Tools that support creators also have to be user-friendly regardless of backgrounds or experience levels. If a tool feels easy for a certain category of users isn't a guarantee that it will be easy for all users.
"Addressing the demands of all different age groups is crucial as anyone can be an author at any time!"
--- Becky Mollenkamp
Becky believes that she is a good yardstick:
"One way for me to gauge whether a tool has been designed by a creator is if I'm able to easily figure out what I can do with it, without wanting to scream. Although I'm pretty tech-savvy but I'm in my forties and no an ideal target for companies that work in tech."
She elaborates, "Too often, tools are made for people who grew up on the Internet and not for people like myself. If I'm able to easily figure out how to use an item, then it was designed by a company that thinks beyond twenty-somethings and really cares about creating a tool that is accessible to every creators."
3. The creator's journey is in the future.
The platform must also be able to work for creators all along their process, says Khe Hy -- regardless of whether you're making your sales pages responsive or a checkout experience really smooth, down to having features that handle processes involving affiliates, upsells, or other upsells.
"Creator-friendly is a term used to describe a product that is aware of and anticipating the needs of a creator."
-- Khe Hy, RadReads
Creator friendliness provides for whatever's coming next for the creator "before they know that they need to get there," he explains. "A often it's the case that people start with something very simple and later expanding their offer."
The anxiety of creating unfriendly platforms
It's frustrating to feel that you're not getting assistance from a system you count on to run your company.
Like Em, Becky has found herself receiving the silent treatment. "I began my experience of creating courses on a platform that offered horrible customer service," she shares. "When I ran into issues and needed to contact them, I sent an email. There was no automatic response to acknowledge that they got the email. And I never got answers to the majority of questions I submitted."
The importance of being a good friend to creators doesn't stop at support requests. Companies have the opportunity to ensure that the needs of their creators are at the forefront of their user experience. Missing or disregarding these opportunities leaves creators feeling like they're in the hands of platforms' whims.
For Adrian an online platform, the disdain of creators is evident by adding or dropping options that force him to be re-taught how to use the application. And communicating with supposed experts doesn't feel friendly in the event that, as Adrian states, "you can clearly see that they're just trying to convince that you spend additional time and money within of the tool."
The most difficult experience Adrian had as a creator and entrepreneur was with a website tool. "It needed a long learning curve to achieve very simple items, and was susceptible to unintentional errors anytime due to a plugin, upgrade, or even bad luck," he remembers. "Knowing that websites and the landing pages for my company as well as clients may cease to function at any time, despite how expensive it becomes to hire all the necessary tools to have a professional website, is a travesty."
You can almost see his blood pressure rise when he says, "Just thinking of [theseplatforms makes me very angry I feel deceived, helpless overwhelmed, confident, and anxious for every bad thing which could happen in the event that I don't have any control!"
Where can you find platforms that are creator-friendly?
As with most purchasing decisions, creators can be lured by companies. But according to Adrian explains, they're learning from hard-won experience how to recognize a brand that puts creator needs first:
The result? The creators believe they've made the right choice, but are frustrated over and over again by having to figure things out on their own, without help from their service provider."
And what are the things to avoid? "Tools with higher costs when you expand your database]. This is the case with the vast majority of email marketing providers. Service that require additional payments or hidden fees within their memberships for access to templates, courses, or information."
Also, watch out for equipment that is expensive in the beginning, particularly as you start with. Khe warns "Creators want to pay money for services, but if you get started too expensive -- either through your tiering or through the structure of your plan -- the cost could become too high or too early." Adrian says, "Having to pay over $100 upfront per month -for the sole purpose of learning how to use a platform or try to find out how you can make profits there isn't going to work for the majority of creators."
What are the attributes you look for? Adrian recommends seeking for tools that were designed to be designed with the user in mind from the start that are affordable in price along with customer support and transparency from the company.
"Although it may sound cliche, ask what are the values, mission, and mission of the organization? What are their plans for the future? Do they truly want to expand? Or did they develop a product or service that they're trying to market, with no interest in developing it?"
-- Adrian Dalsus, Despegue Musical
There are many additional factors that go into making a platform creator-friendly, from the way transaction fees are structured to whether you can take direct payment . (Learn more about how 's CEO, Spencer Fry, thinks about creator friendliness and why it's a founding principle for the organization.)
According to Becky puts it, "There are always choices. I'll only give my money to the companies that actually take care of my experience rather than just taking my money."
The Creator Friendliness Index
The Creator Friendliness Index uses 20 scoring factors to assess how friendly a company's policies are to creators. -- Check out the platforms that have your back