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Kat joined Discord back in 2018 as a freshman in college and immediately realized how much she loved bringing people together over similar interests. Flash forward to 2022, and she now owns and manages Art Club, an international creative community that caters to over 30k creatives (professional, hobbyist, supporters).
When creating Art Club, Kat made her community members and their connection with each other her focal point, rather than herself or even the interest based topic that brought them all together.
“Whereas audiences grow around the value of a single person or thing, in communities the members themselves are the value. I think that is really the magic of communities, and it’s something that I love about Art Club since the first day I joined. I was not just a number or a fan, I was part of a group or family so-to-speak and that meant so much more to me.”
Kat’s strategy? The more members the merrier! Art Cub uses Discord as the home for all communication and members. By setting expectations for the space, members know how to participate and therefore are more willing to do so! Engaging with Art Club feels comfortable, rather than complicated.
As a creator and now server owner, Kat has learned a lot about how to transform an audience into a community. But her biggest lesson is understanding the importance of creating value for your members.
“You need to truly know what your member base wants in order to determine that value (you can’t just assign it or guess).”
She emphasizes that value will not become clear overnight, and that “this is okay, it’s better to get it done right than to rush and have [your offerings] not be as successful as you had hoped.” She has brought that same mindset to her Server Subscription.
Art Club uses Server Subscription, a product that allows Discord creators to earn money by offering up to three tiers of pay-gated experiences. However, Art Club currently only offers one tier. Why is that?
Kat’s approach to rolling out tiers is to first research, then experiment. While more tiers are likely on the horizon, she says:
“We just want to make sure we are headed in the right direction first before we over invest in an unsuccessful offering.”
Starting with one tier gives Art Club the ability to test and learn what this paid experience could look like for their unique members in a more light-touch manner. Kat advises server owners to ask their community directly when building out a paid offering.
“[We ask] what they are willing to pay for, how much and how often. Design your tiers around their wants, keeping in mind your limitations and advertise them while speaking their lingo.”
Embracing your members with open arms and truly understanding their needs will allow you to build an even better space for community. As the server owner, you don’t need to have everything figured out from day one…testing and experimenting is a natural part of growing a community! So don’t be afraid to try new things.
If you decide Server Subscriptions is right for you, starting small is a great way to get started. Talking directly to your members can help you better understand what you could offer. If you are wanting even more inspiration on creating your own tiers, you can check out our guide here.
A big thank you to Kat for sharing this wisdom with us! If you want to join Art Club and support the community, you can join here and subscribe to their server subscription!
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