How to engage your NFT holders by building a great roadmap

We say it a lot - if you want to be a success in the NFT world, you have to engage your community and keep them involved with your collection. You’ve heard from us about secondary sales and the importance of doing what you say you’re going to do for your holders. You’ve also heard us talking about the all important roadmap:  the secret to your long-term success.

But what is a roadmap exactly? And what makes a good one? Who’s doing it right and what lessons can we learn? Let’s take a look.

Understanding the basics

Simply put, an NFT roadmap maps out the goals and strategies of a project. It usually includes key project milestones, short and long-term goals, plans for marketing and your intended growth. And the good news is that putting one together isn’t rocket science. Elements usually included in a roadmap range from when new batches might mint, utilities you’re planning to drop, exclusive merchandise which you might have in the works, in-person or virtual events and more.

But while a roadmap is relatively straightforward to put together it’s also crucial to your success - so getting it right is vital. A great roadmap is your contract with your communities - here’s what you’re going to get if you invest in my collection - and it’s often what potential investors often look at first. It’s also a great way for creators to build hype on their collection, helping to keep the project alive and attractive for the long-term (for more on keeping your community engaged, check out our blog post on the topic).

How to get it right

So, what makes a great roadmap? We think that there are a number of golden rules which you need to know - including making your roadmap:

• Visual (show not tell wherever you can) and make it readable and digestible throughout
• Achievable - you’ll need to deliver on what you offer, so keep it realistic 
• Exciting - what can you drop that’s going to get your communities really engaged?

And crucially we think your roadmap has to demonstrate utility - clearly showing the real world value of your NFT project and what it will deliver for holders in the long-term. 

People who get it wrong usually fall at some pretty standard hurdles. They over-promise (and then don’t meet deadlines), make something which is too complex so it loses the audience - or they aren’t inventive enough in how they keep audiences engaged. Don’t get caught in this trap with your own collection -  if you’re stuck for ideas on how to keep your communities sticky, we’ve got plenty - check out our blog post here.

The best of the best  

So, who’s getting it right? Let’s take a look at five NFT heroes who have built great roadmaps and delivered on them to keep their communities engaged.

Gary Vaynerchuk - or Gary Vee to his friends - not only launched a great collection which keeps evolving and growing, but combined it with a super compelling roadmap which includes a series of conferences to foster in-person communities (the NFT is your ticket to get in), physical and digital giveaways and much more.

Everyone’s favourite rock Legend Ozzy Osbourne got in on the NFT act last year when he co-created CryptoBatz, a collection of 9,666 (of course) mutant digi-bats. Not only is the CryproBatz roadmap comprehensive and exciting (holders have the chance to own a limited edition piece of Ozzy’s art) but it also looks great, with a dark comic book style, and an easy to navigate scroll function. Check it out.

Restaurant Flyfish Club (FFC) is the world's first member's only dining club where membership is purchased as an NFT. Holders gain access to their restaurants and various culinary, cultural, and social experiences - and they also benefit from a great roadmap jam packed of events (a Miami yacht party anyone?) and exclusive treats. Gary Vee is behind this one too - showing once again he’s a virtuoso of the NFT roadmap. Great stuff!

The Bored Ape Yacht Club community is quite possibly the strongest that the digital world has ever seen. With three collections and thousands of unique members, the BAYC is one of the most widely distributed collections of its kind. And the BAYC roadmap has been extensive right from day one. It has included surprise launches (such as last summer’s reveal that everyone with an Ape in their wallet could grab a fury companion through the Bored Ape Kennel Club reward), and even treasure hunts for holders.

The Cool Cats collection comprises 10,000 digital kitties - with various color, face and costume combinations at varying levels of rarity. The Kittie Kommunity (see what we did there?) are able to breed, swap and sell kitties to add to their collections, and the good news is they benefit from a great roadmap too -  with online festivals and charity events publicized as well as an abundance of new creature releases.‍

Tell us what you think!

So, not only is a great roadmap key to your success, it can also be your downfall if you don’t deliver on the promises you make. And, we believe that utility is crucial for ongoing engagement - creators like Gary Vee and even rock icon Ozzy Osbourne are leading the way by creating comprehensive roadmaps packed with exciting utilities.

We’d love to hear your stories of the best (and worst) roadmaps you have seen, and what you’re doing to keep audiences engaged post-mint. Get in touch and we’ll share the best stories in our next post!