3 strategies to maintain floor price during the NFT bear market

In the last few months we’ve seen more and more NFT projects underperforming, holding floor price below mint - or not minting out. Even some of the most hyped collections aren’t meeting their forecasted prices, and it seems that the NFT industry is now in a Bear Market.

But it’s not all bad news. After all, the market has been flourishing for a long time, so a dip is to be expected. And, even in the midst of this turmoil, NFTs are still doing comparatively well - nearly $8 billion worth of NFTs were traded in the first quarter of 2022 alone.

We don’t believe the bear market will last forever, and it won’t be long before collections are doubling and tripling in floor price once again. But what can creators do in the meantime? How can they protect themselves in these volatile times? 

Our three must-do tactics will help you to keep your communities loyal and ensure you can succeed in the long-term.

1. Incentivise communities to keep hold of their NFTs

We know that in bear markets, holders are tempted to sell. So creators have one job to do - and that’s to ensure holders don’t give into this compulsion. Creators should encourage people who HODL (hold onto their investment no matter how volatile the price action gets), knowing that those who do are likely to see the market bounce back stronger than ever.

But how do they do that? One route to success is to create special utilities for holders who have owned their NFT for a long time, or who don’t list their NFT on OpenSea. For example, you might want to offer loyal holders whitelist status for forthcoming mints - or exclusive bonus content/features which nobody else can get their hands on.

This tactic is particularly helpful in preventing ‘paper hands’ (those who sell too early) from selling when there’s a slight floor price drop. They’ll want to hang on in order to get the utility.

So how does this work in practice? We think there are three routes to success:

• Create a utility which is just for people who have a certain number of NFTs from your collection - encouraging people to buy more.
• Create a utility which is just for those who have held their NFT for a certain amount of time - encouraging holders to hang onto their collection for the long-term.
• Create a utility just for those who don’t list their NFTs on OpenSea or another platform - further boosting retention.

And there’s another important tactic to consider too - empower your communities to create NFT utilities for your collection. That’s right - encourage and foster those creative types who want to build utilities, and let them have a hand in powering your long-term success. 

In fact, that’s the brand new world we’re powering at Tropee - where anyone has the power to create any utility for any collection. A savvy NFT fan who might not have their own collection can build their own brand (maybe they are an artist wanting to promote their newest creations), and extend the value of your collection at the same time. Clever right?

2. Create utilities to attract new potential investors 

More on utilities then. Building and delivering utilities like merch, whitelists, meet and greets with creators and more shows that you're delivering value to your holders, and a great roadmap builds hype about what’s coming down the line.

Need inspiration to get you started? Look no further than CryptoBatz, from rock legend Ozzy Osbourne. Not only does Cryptobatz provide plenty of great utilities - including extra features and exclusive input from the man himself - the collection takes an ongoing approach to utility provision, releasing regular new stuff through two (count ‘em) roadmaps to keep users engaged and loyal.

Celebrity NFT collections are getting in on the utilities too, providing their holders with unique experiences - whether that’s early access to gigs or even a chance to meet the star in person. Supermodel Bella Hadid recently launched a collection, for example, which will see her traveling the globe to conduct meet and greets with lucky holders. And, legendary rapper Eminem also provides inspiration with his Shadycon collection - offering fans a unique digital meet-up which replicates old-school ‘convention’ events.

3. Build and maintain a hardworking community

Savvy creators know that if they want ongoing success, they must build a loyal community who will stick by them. Most already use platforms like Discord and Twitter to find their audiences and engage with them - and the good news is that there is even more you can do to shore up long-term success.

Consider involving your community in the development of your brand and collections. Not only can communities now build utilities for existing collections (check out Tropee for more on that), you can also proactively ask them what they want from you, survey them about what they find great about your collection as it is now and what they want to change. If a holder feels invested in the direction of your collection, they're much more likely to be loyal - and tell others about you. 

And reward your community too. Some collections, like the sought-after Psychokitties, run regular raffles for people in their Discord community, or ask users to share information about their collection in return for the chance to win prizes.

Give yourself a fighting chance

So, the bear market is far from over, and we know that not all collections will survive it. But if you harness utilities to reward your holders, and build a solid community so that your investors feel part of your progress, then you stand a good chance of doing well. 

Need more info? There’s plenty of advice on how to launch utilities in our blog and using Tropee, anyone can build utilities, for any collection, in just a couple of clicks. Check us out here.