What are the best ways to find a creator-friendly platform? Advice from 4 successful creators |
Every creator deserves tools that are able to meet their demands and help them grow -however, they don't always provide. This is what four successful creators are looking for in creator-friendly platforms.
"It was a nightmare," claims Em Connors of The Creative Bodega .
When Em first started the Canva course, the course's plugin she used for her WordPress site was not working. Students had signed up for the class, but at the beginning of the day, there was no way anyone was able to log in.
"We could not figure out the reason. Talk about anxiety! My heart rate has ever been as high, and there was no one in the world to speak to," she remembers. Em desperately searched for help online and in forums and forums, such as forums, including a Facebook community of users of plugins however, she found nothing.
However, it could be something that's familiar to many creators. Many platforms within the creator economy don't put creators' needs first -using questionable methods that include a insufficient transparency, misleading costs, and lack of support.
Every creator deserves creator-friendly tools, which prioritize their needs and encourage their development. To get a sense of what the concept of "creator friendliness" -- and the lack of it -is actually like, we spoke to four artists about their experiences:
Em Connors Solopreneur, marketing and branding expert teacher, 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 Despegue Musical. Despegue Musical.
Khe Hy , a.k.a. "Oprah for Millennials" is the creator of RadReads as well as a Notion pro.
What is it that makes a platform user-friendly?
There are many aspects which can make a platform friendly to creators -- but it all boils to the extent that creators feel that the platform has their back.
1. Support for accessibility
Whenever you get stuck, you should have the help you need. Although it sounds easy, the assistance isn't always readily available. For Em the term "creator friendliness" means having the ability to communicate with an actual human being in order for help with any queries or concerns.
"Creator friendly is being able to ask a question to anyone and get answers quickly. I want to speak to someone else, which is not often the case nowadays."
-- Em Connors, The Creative Bodega
Entrepreneurs are able to create experiences by creating relationships, the majority of entrepreneurs want to work this way in their own business. "I'm going to help you the best you can." Em says. "Ask me your questions -- I may not always know the answer, but I'm going to attempt. It makes me think it helps people feel very relaxed."
Becky agrees: "Knowing that the company is committed to responding to its customers' needs will ensure that you're able to count on getting the help that you require in a prompt time. If a company doesn't do this at the outset and then you're left with no choice but to run."
2. User-friendly
Creator-friendly tools also need to be easy to use regardless of backgrounds or experience levels. If a tool feels easy for a certain category of users does not mean that it is easy for all users.
"Addressing the demands of myriad generations is essential since anyone is an author at any time!"
-Becky Mollenkamp Becky Mollenkamp
Becky considers herself to be an excellent yardstick
"One method I use to gauge whether a tool can be considered a good creator tool is to see if I can intuitively figure out what I can do with it, without screaming. While I'm technically proficient however, I'm now in my forties and no an ideal target of tech firms."
She goes on to say, "Too often, tools were designed by people who grew up on the Internet, not folks like myself. If I am able to find out how to use some thing, it means that the company thought beyond the twenty-somethings and truly cares about making a tool for everyone users."
3. Provides for the creator journey to come
A platform should also serve creators at every stage of their path, according to Khe Hy -- regardless of whether the goal is to make a sales site flexible or a checkout experience extremely smooth, all the way to the use of features to manage workflows involving affiliates or upsells.
"Creator-friendly means that a product appreciates and anticipates the needs of creators."
-" Khe Hy, RadReads
The ability to create is next for the person who created it "before they know that they need to get there," he explains. "A often, people are starting with a simple product before expanding their offering."
Stress of insensitive creator platforms
It's so frustrating to feel that you're not getting assistance from a platform you rely upon to manage your business.
As Em, Becky has found herself dealing with the silent treatment. "I first began my learning experience with a platform that had terrible customer support," she shares. "When I encountered issues, I had to send an email. There was no automatic response to confirm that they had got the email. In addition, I didn't get any answers for the vast majority of the questions I asked."
Creator friendliness isn't limited to support requests. Businesses have the chance to place the needs of creators at the forefront of their user experience. Missing or disregarding these opportunities makes creators feel like they're dependent on the platforms' whims.
For Adrian, a platform's disregard of creators is evident by adding or dropping features that require him to re-learn how to use the software. Communicating with supposed experts doesn't feel supportive in the event that, as Adrian points out, "you can clearly see that they're trying to persuade you to spend more time and money inside of the platform."
The most difficult incident Adrian was through as a web developer and business owner was using an online tool. "It needed a long learning process to do very easy things, and could have unintentional errors anytime due to a plugin, upgrade, or even bad luck" he remembers. "Knowing that my websites as well as websites of my clients as well as clients may cease to function in any moment, no matter how expensive it becomes to hire all the necessary tools for a professionally designed site, is outrageous."
You can almost see his blood pressure rise as he tells us, "Just thinking of [these] platforms makes me feel very frustrated and helpless. powerless, insecure, stressed and nervous about all the bad things that can happen which I am unable to take action!"
What platforms are suitable for creators?
Like most buying decisions, creators can be lured by brands. However, according to Adrian says, they're making a decision based on their experience and learning to recognize a brand which puts the needs of creators first:
The result? The creators believe they've made the best decision but get frustrated over and over again when they must figure things out on their own with no assistance from their service provider."
What should you stay clear of? "Tools which increase the cost of their services as you grow [your database], like most marketers who use email. Service that require additional payments or hidden costs in their memberships for access to templates, training, or other information."
Beware of equipment that is expensive in the beginning, particularly as you start off. Khe cautions that "Creators want to spend money on services, but if you get started at a high cost -- whether by tiering your plans or the structure of the plans you have, it could be expensive or too early." Adrian says, "Having to pay over $100 per month upfront- just to learn how to use the platform, or to discover how to earn profits there isn't going to be the ideal solution for most creators."
What attributes do you look for? Adrian recommends seeking out tools developed by the designer of HTML0 in mind right from the start and with a reasonable price along with customer support as well as transparency from the company.
"Although it sounds cliche Ask what are the values, mission, and vision of the company? What is their plan for the future? Are they really looking to grow? Or did they develop a product or service that they're now trying to sell but have no intention of developing it?"
-- Adrian Dalsus, Despegue Musical
There are several other elements which make a platform creator-friendly, from the way transaction fees are structured to the possibility of accepting directly-paying customers . (Learn more about the ways in which's the CEO, Spencer Fry, thinks about the concept of being a creator-friendly platform and why it's an important guiding concept for the company.)
According to Becky summarizes, "There are always choices. I'll only give my money to those who truly are concerned about me and my experiences, not just about taking my money."
The Creator Friendliness Index
The Creator Friendliness Index uses 20 scoring factors to assess the degree of how accommodating a business's policies are for creators. -- Find out which platforms can help you