Dipping our toes into Web3 at Linktree

Democratizing tools

At Linktree, our mission is creator empowerment. We’re continuously innovating to serve the diverse needs of our growing user base. While our solution, as it exists today, solves the most critical creator problems – monetization, visibility, and community building – we also have our eyes fixed firmly on the future of the creator economy. We want to be active agents in shaping and realizing this future, where creators are rewarded more fully for their hardwork.  

Web3 excites us because of its potential for creator empowerment. It promises to change the power dynamics of the content ecosystem by restoring the pricing power and distribution to creators, allowing them to accrue more of the value they generate. Its core ethos of an internet where creators own the relationships with their audience is already something we’re building towards. 

The ‘link-in-bio’ category that Linktree invented has matured. Link-in-bio solutions are seeping into other categories and increasingly blurring the lines. Many creators now use their Linktrees as a substitute to a website, citing the ease of setup, low cost, and low maintenance required. 

And while we don’t intend or expect to replace websites, we do aim to continue creating entry-level access to tools that serve creators but are otherwise too expensive, complex, or time-consuming to use. Building sophisticated and specialized tools doesn’t always have to result in a complex experience. Our product philosophy is grounded in simplicity. We maintain fidelity to simplicity by synthesizing the core value of purpose-built tools and bringing them to our platform in an easy-to-use way. We’re not only democratizing reach; we’re also democratizing tools.

What we built

To begin, we focused on an existing unmet need for the Web3 creators already on Linktree. Bored Ape Yacht Club, Cryptopunks, and the Sandbox have trusted Linktree to curate their projects. Like them, thousands of other creators are already using Linktree to get the word out on their NFT projects. But unlike these big players, smaller creators don’t have the time or resources, to grow their NFT projects. We spoke to creators big and small, and distilled the key ingredients for a successful NFT project. And then, we productized them.

NFT profile image and background

NFT projects need to, first and foremost, build trust. But how do they do this on a platform? By building a brand. We created a verified NFT profile image and background that creators could use to display their NFTs, get them verified, and let their visitors find out more about the NFTs by simply clicking on them.

To make these profile images stand out, we displayed them in a hexagonal frame and backgrounds with a verification badge. Beyond creators, the feature also gives collectors a way of proving NFT ownership, thereby signaling patronage, and showing community affiliation.

NFT gallery

Beyond NFT marketplaces, creators have limited avenues to showcase their NFTs in context and in collection. NFTs are primarily a visual medium (though music NFTs are also becoming popular), so seeing is believing. A Linktree already serves as the common destination for creators’ audiences coming from different platforms, and we wanted to give creators a way to share their NFTs right on their Linktree. We created the NFT gallery to solve the problem of discoverability, so creators could get more eyes on their collection.

As an extension of the NFT Gallery, we wanted to provide creators a way to showcase the NFTs that they might be passionate about, or want to show support for. We partnered with OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace in the world to create an OpenSea link, that was built using their technology. Because discoverability at its core is about driving a purchase, both features carry a CTA button that leads visitors to the OpenSea marketplace where they can find out more about the NFTs and purchase available ones.

NFT lock

The cryptocurrency market is especially volatile. As recently as May 2022, the shockwaves from the cryptocurrency plummet were felt acutely in the NFT world. While commentators on the fringes of the NFT world lamented the end of a fad, the community itself saw it as a moment to reflect and rebuild. The latest crash served to hasten a shift from ‘greed-based’ to ‘value-based’ NFT projects. While the former focuses on NFTs as speculative assets, the latter focuses on the use of NFTs to participate in a community based on one’s genuine interests. Communities built on access have always been at the core of successful NFT projects, but the logistics can be difficult to handle. We built the NFT Lock to solve this. The feature allows creators to lock any link (a music video, a merch drop form, a tokenized link, etc.) and provide exclusive access to holders of the NFT – making owning an NFT much more enticing.

Instead of developing a robust, complete solution, we wanted to start small, hear from our community, and evolve our features in the direction of maximum utility for our creators. To begin, we started by providing support for NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain, on the Metamask wallet, and on the OpenSea marketplace. Like Linktree, all three command the lion’s share in their respective domains. As we continue to expand beyond these features, we wanted to be deliberate and thoughtful in our expansion.

This is just the beginning of our exploration.