HOW TO BECOME A COLLAB MANAGER

If you want to play a role in the success of a NFT collection, becoming a collab manager is one of the clearest ways to do it. You’ve probably already been in other projects and seen how their Collab Managers help the community grow, while working from home and getting paid for it.

If you want to become one, keep reading. In this post, we’ll break down exactly what a collab manager is, what they do, and the 7 steps (+1 extra) to follow to become a Collab Manager.

WHAT IS A COLLAB MANAGER?

In crypto and NFT projects, a collab manager is the person responsible for managing collaborations with DAOs and other NFT collections.

Basically, they actively pitch collaborations to other communities, helping drive the growth of the project they work for. They also need to respond to requests from other projects looking to set up a collab, usually through Discord tickets.

These collabs usually involve offering whitelist spots to another community in exchange for meeting certain requirements.

HOW DO COLLABS WORK?

The most common collaborations are raffles or FCFS.

With “Giveaway Collabs”, you simply run a raffle inside the community we are offering the whitelist to. Once the winners are selected, we give them the whitelist spots.

In “Collabs FCFS“, meaning First Come First Serve, we set a few requirements the other community needs to meet, usually following on Twitter, joining the Discord server, and so on. The first people to meet those requirements are the ones who get whitelist. Teams usually create dedicated channels inside the Discord server for each collab, where users submit their “proof” that they completed the requirements.

WHAT DOES A COLLAB MANAGER DO?

HOW MUCH DOES A COLLAB MANAGER CHARGE?

When it comes to how much a Collab Manager charges, a realistic range is usually between $30 and $150 per week. Keep in mind that this is not a full-time job. Collab managers are often working with several projects at the same time, sometimes in different roles too.

As with any role, Collab Managers do not all have one fixed standard rate. The gap can be huge: some Collab Managers offer to work for free, while others charge hundreds of dollars per week.

The first issue is that no one can guarantee results. There are a lot of variables that determine whether other projects accept our collaboration proposal or not. That is why hiring usually depends on proven success from previous work with another project.

It is very common for the same person to work as a collab manager, alpha hunter, moderator, and more across different communities.

HOW TO BECOME A COLLAB MANAGER IN 7+1 STEPS

Before you start, understand that landing your first gigs will not be easy, and you probably will not get paid what you deserve at first. It is a process you need to go through before you build real standing in the NFT space.

1. CHOOSE WHICH BLOCKCHAIN YOU WANT TO BE A COLLAB MANAGER ON

To grow into a professional Collab Manager, you’ll need strong contacts, deep knowledge of existing collections/DAOs, and the fluency to move with the latest blockchain trends.

That’s why it’s best to focus on a single blockchain, especially when you’re starting out. We recommend choosing one of these networks: Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, or Cardano.

The reason is simple: they have the highest volume, which also means more collections (and, yes, more competition).

2. LEARN, NETWORK, AND GET NOTICED

Now it’s time to get started. To do that, it’s essential to fully understand how your chosen blockchain works at every level: well-known collections, older collections, new collections, what different collections are building, influential DAOs, major Influencers, and project owners.

To do this, you’ll need to spend time in collection servers, stay active, talk to people, and keep showing up. As you do, you’ll learn and meet people who can be valuable later on.

If you have the ability to invest, it’s worth doing. Of course, only invest money you’re prepared to lose. Put simply, when your own money is involved, you’ll push harder to learn and take it more seriously. You’ll also get firsthand feedback on whether you’re reading the market, spotting opportunities, and making good calls.

3. FIRST STEPS TOWARD BECOMING A COLLAB

Now it is time to start building real connections and standing out so you can land your first gigs.

Realistically, no one is going to hire you without prior experience, so that is the first thing you need to get. You will do it by joining small, new projects. Once you are in, you need to stand out by being active so the project owners start noticing you.

Once you know you are getting noticed, it is time to take action and speak to them directly. Offer to work as a moderator and/or collab manager for free (you are more likely to be accepted as a moderator, since projects usually trust experienced collab managers).

Please, do not chase project owners begging them to hire you. You will push them away and make it much harder to work with other projects later. It is important to present a serious, professional image.

4. ACCEPT REJECTION AS A COLLAB MANAGER

At this point, we need to talk about something important. You have to get used to rejection. From the start, you will hear no most of the time, and that will never fully change, because as you work, you will get hundreds of rejections from DAOs that are not interested in the collaboration you are offering.

Accept it and treat it like a challenge. It will be much easier that way.

5. BUILD CONNECTIONS

Taking on your first gigs for free matters because of the doors it can open. Your priority at this stage is to meet people and, above all, build relationships with other collab managers.

Keep in mind that the projects you pitch for a collaboration also have collab managers on their teams, so this is the time to connect with them and build a contact list of people you can trade collabs with.

6. BUILD YOUR PORTFOLIO

Experience is useful, but it does nothing for you if nobody sees it. That’s why you need to build a portfolio of your work, just like an artist would.

It’s common to use platforms like Galaxie.co and similar sites.

Be detailed and try to make it original wherever you can. Having a presence on Twitter and other social channels also matters, since they work as another showcase for your work. You can take cues from influential collab managers.

7. PUSH TO BE THE BEST

Being a collab manager is hard, especially when nobody knows you yet. It is also poorly paid at the start, so you need to be aware of that and push yourself to be the best. You have to stand out through the quality of your work, so clients you work with, or even other collab managers, can recommend you.

If you stay consistent and do strong work, your position will keep improving until you land steady roles across different collections and attract far more interested clients. And your time will be paid much better along the way.

7+1. STAND OUT FROM OTHER COLLAB MANAGERS

This extra step is for the bold ones who want to go further and avoid becoming just another collab manager.

Innovate and set yourself apart from everyone else. If you do it right, you will not need to beg anyone to hire you. They will come looking for you.

A great example is Cloudz. By creating useful content, he gets people to know him automatically, which brings him more potential contacts and more potential clients through his social channels.

HOW DO YOU FIND PROJECTS WHERE YOU CAN WORK AS A COLLAB MANAGER?

As mentioned earlier, it is important to get into projects during their early stages, because that is when they are most likely to need a collab manager. So let’s look at the methods we can use to find projects where you can offer your work as a collab manager.

Keep in mind that the best way to contact projects is through Discord. Getting a reply to Twitter DMs is difficult because teams are flooded with spammers.

TWITTER HASHTAGS

When projects are just getting started, they often publish an early post to get their first interactions, and they use hashtags like #NFT, #Solana, #Ethereum, etc.

Check these hashtags daily and you can spot opportunities to pitch yourself as a collab manager.

REFERRED BY ANOTHER COLLAB MANAGER

It is worth stressing again: building contacts and networking with other collab managers matters. The same applies to moderators, alpha hunters, and similar roles.

In practice, an NFT collection will often need new staff, so many teams ask their current staff for recommendations. If you build those relationships and keep them warm, they can bring work straight to you.

TWITTER INFLUENCERS

To get traction early, projects often run promotions with influencer accounts across different social platforms. Follow them and use those early-stage projects as openings to land a role.

HOW TO FIND DAOs TO PITCH COLLABS TO

Once you land the work, it is critical that you deliver strong results so they keep coming back to you. That means you will need to knock on a lot of DAO doors before you get the prized “yes, we’re interested in the collab.” Here are some ways to find those communities.

Keep in mind that the best way to contact projects is through Discord. Getting replies to Twitter DMs is tough because teams are flooded with spammers.

TOP MAGIC EDEN COLLECTIONS

You can find 1,000 collections by going to “popular collections” on Magic Eden. This works for Solana, Polygon, Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Cardano, since those are the networks Magic Eden currently supports.

It is hard work, but we recommend starting with the smaller projects that have already minted, then moving up as your community grows. Keep in mind that it is difficult for a mid-sized or larger DAO to accept a collaboration if your collection does not have decent numbers and a solid value proposition.

COLLABS OTHER PROJECTS HAVE RUN

You can find a huge number of DAOs by joining the Discord servers of projects that are growing. In many cases, you will see the channels they have created so members from other DAOs participating in FCFS collabs can submit their proof. Those channels include the DAO names, so you can go to Twitter, look them up, and build a list of interesting DAOs to pitch.

TAP YOUR NETWORK FOR YOUR FIRST COLLABS

Once again, this comes back to the importance of having the right contacts. It is very common for collab managers to become Alpha Hunters after a project mints. In practice, if you know Alpha Hunters, you can trade collabs: they accept a collab they normally would not offer for the DAOs they work with, and you do the same for them while the project is still small and early.

CONCLUSION: HOW DO YOU BECOME A COLLAB MANAGER?

In short, becoming a collab manager takes drive, knowledge, effort, and sacrifice. Of course, it is all worth it if this is what you really want to do.

Keep your ideas clear, study the market, and map out your own strategy in a way that is easy to understand. Good luck. We hope to see you closing your first collabs soon.