Why Community Engagement is Vital for Indie Creators
Hello creatives,
Today, I’ll be talking about why community engagement is vital for indie creators. In an age where media is consumed at record pace and independent authors, filmmakers, and other creatives are seeing a resurgence of interest due to a number of socioeconomic and sociopolitical factors, I thought it’d be interesting to break down the sometimes mutually beneficial, sometimes parasitic relationships between creatives and their supporters.
The concept of the starving artist is one that we’re all familiar with. Making a living from artistic endeavors is hard. Resources can be scarce, so fostering a strong, engaged audience can mean the difference between a passion project staying in the shadows or becoming a cultural moment. From fandom culture to crowdfunding platforms and social media, the tools available today have made it easier than ever for creators to connect directly with their audience, turning fans into advocates and collaborators.
The Power of Fandom Culture
I have discussed in a prior blog about the economic opportunity of intellectual property that generates a strong fandom culture around it. It’s no secret that fandom culture is a driving force behind many successful indie projects. Fans who are deeply invested in a creator's work not only provide financial support but also help spread the word. For example, cult hits like Critical Role began as niche projects but flourished thanks to passionate fanbases.
Another example is EPIC: The Musical, which has been a years long project by Jorge Rivera-Herrans to adapt The Odyssey. He talks about how he was inspired by video games and anime to create a dramatic retelling of the Greek legend through music.
These types of fan-backed projects have used Discord servers, Kickstarters, Patreons and other platforms to build their fandoms. You can find any number of fan accounts with fan-made art that has helped spread awareness and grow the community.
Crowdfunding: A Game Changer for Indie Creators
Platforms like Kickstarter and Patreon have revolutionized the way indie creators fund their work. Crowdfunding not only provides financial resources but also validates an idea before significant investment.
Not without their own pain points (high fees, all-or-nothing funding models etc), these platforms have created a level of transparency around what it takes to create artistic projects and gives both the creators and the supporters a way to engage with the the work through celebrating milestones, providing tools for consistent communication and more.
Successful campaigns on Kickstarter include Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina, which had already built a strong fanbase from years of livestreams. They mobilized this fandom to fund an animated adaptation of their weekly livestream of a tabletop role-playing game. The project garnered more than $11 million and was picked up by Amazon for a second season.
EPIC: The Musical has almost 2,000 paid members on Patreon with different tiers of content access available that are themed to the story. Jorge has shared the behind the scenes process and engaged with the community through the discord server. There’s also multiple social media accounts that are managed for the project.
Social Media and the Rise of Realistic Creative Journeys
A common thread you might notice with these examples is that these platforms that help fund the project are connected to and feed off of social media engagement. The creatives were strategic and intentional about being consistent on social media and encouraging their more passionate followers to join the community or financially support the project.
Social media, love it or hate it, is where people can learn the creative process. With recent labor strikes in artistic fields, there is a growing understanding of the labor that is involved with the stories, music, and shows we all consume. This creates a ripe environment socially, economically and politically, to build these communities around creative projects.
I know it’s scary to put yourself out there. I haven’t been the most consistent either. Not to mention in the US TikTok, one of the biggest drivers of recent successful creative projects and creative professionals, is on the chopping block and probably will have been shut down by the time this blog is posted.
We’re poised for a big shakeup in the social media landscape. For now, pick one or two platforms you are comfortable with and try to showcase your process once a week. The right people will find your work and support you.
This is a lot. I hope this was an encouraging nudge to be more comfortable with sharing your creativity with the world. Feel free to share what project you are working on and where we can find you in the comments below!
Until Next Time,
Rochele