We live in the crowdsourcing era where you can post a Kickstarter for your creative project, an Indiegogo to pay for film festival application fees and a Go Fund Me to cover the cost of getting to and from Sundance, if that’s where you’re heading. There are a ton of benefits of going with the crowdsourcing model because, well, MONEY!
This is how many gems are made.
This is how many creative dreams are realized.
This is how opportunities are created.
As you build your own online presence, what you OWN is your collateral. So when do you go “solo” with building, creating and distributing your goods?
Your audience is your leverage and when you promote your goods on other people’s platform you don’t have as much leverage as you think. I’ve always been weary about cultivating an audience on platforms I don’t own and yes this includes Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. There are plenty of advantages to harnessing the power of these global platforms however there are also some meaningful advantages to leveraging your own website for audience cultivation and engagement.
When you have a website built on WordPress, there are a ton of plugins available to help you create the functionalities of these other platforms you leverage for your brand, project and/or business.
Did you know that you could…
1) Launch a crowdfunding campaign on your own website?
With plugins like Galaxy Funder you can build crowdfunding capabilities on your own platform. This can be leveraged for your projects as well as the projects of others, if you want to build your own community of crowdfunded projects.
2) Open up your own e-commerce store?
With plugins like Woocommerce you can setup your own stand-alone store or create your own marketplace, ala Etsy. Are YOU looking for tools to help with your project? Create them and then you can also sell them because chances are if there are tools and resources you’re looking for then others are looking them as well.
3) Create your own directory listing?
With plugins like Classifieds and Director you can setup your own yellow pages or castings central with opportunities specific to your niche.
4) Launch an online community?
With plugins like Buddypress you can create your own version of “Facebook” exclusive to the community you want to build. Have peers create their own profiles, setup public/private groups and share conversations from behind the walls of your own URL.
Going “solo” comes with risks and investment, just like any other endeavor. However, the long term pros totally weigh whatever short term hurdles you may face.
Change often starts within so when you want to see amazing progress within your industry, you may have to initiate the change that needs to happen. There’s power in being the platform that transform your industry, even if it’s just a small piece of the pie.