HOW TO BECOME A COLLAB MANAGER?

If you would like to be part of the success of an NFT collection, becoming a collab manager is definitely a way to do it. I imagine that you have already been in other projects and seen how the Collab Managers of such projects help the community grow, working from home and getting paid for it.

If you want to be one of them, read on, in this post, we will explain what exactly is a Collab manager, what are their functions and 7 steps (+1 extra) to follow to become a Collab Manager.

WHAT IS A COLLAB MANAGER?

A collab manager in crypto and NFT projects manages collaborations with DAOs and other NFT collections.

Basically, he is in charge of actively offering collaboration to other communities, thus enhancing the growth of the project he is working on. He must also answer to requests made by other projects to get a collab (usually discord tickets).

These collabs are usually by offering a whitelist for another community in exchange for meeting certain imposed requirements.

HOW DO COLLABS WORK?

The most common collaborations are by giveaway or FCFS.

In the "Giveaway Collabs", we simply make a raffle in the community to which we are offering the whitelist, once we have the winners, we will give them the whitelist.

In the "FCFS Collabs", i.e. First Come First Serve, we establish some requirements to be met by the other community (usually follow on twitter, join the discord server, etc.) and the first to meet these requirements are the ones who will receive whitelist. Normally channels are created within the discord server for each of the collabs where they send their "proof" of having met the requirements.

WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF A COLLAB MANAGER?

HOW MUCH DOES A COLLAB MANAGER CHARGE?

Regarding how much a Collab Manager charges, we can establish a range between $30 and $150 per week. We have to take into account that it is not a full-time job, but that collab managers are usually working on several projects at the same time, even with different roles.

Collab Managers do not have a fixed and generalized salary for everyone as in any other job. There is a total difference, as we can find Collab Managers who offer to work for free and others who ask for hundreds of dollars a week.

The first problem is that it is impossible to ensure any result since there are a lot of variables that will make other projects accept or not our collaboration proposal. Therefore, the hiring is usually based on previous success working on another project.

It is very common for the same person to develop the role of collab manager, alpha hunter, moderator, etc. in differentcommunities.

HOW TO BECOME A COLLAB MANAGER IN 7+1 STEPS?

Before you start, you should be aware that it is not going to be easy to get your first job or get paid as much as you deserve. You will have to go through this process to get to a good place in the NFT industry.

1. CHOOSE IN WHICH blockchain YOU ARE GOING TO BE A COLLAB MANAGER

To develop as a professional Collab Manager, you will need contacts, extensive knowledge of existing collections/DAOs and fluency in moving between blockchain trends.

For this reason, it is recommended that you focus on a single blockchain, especially to get started. We recommend that you choose one of the following networks: Ethereum, Polygon, Solana or Cardano.

The reason is simple: they have the highest volume and, therefore, the most collections (but also the most competition).

2. LEARN, COMMUNICATE AND GET NOTICED.

It is time to start your journey. For this, it is essential that you understand perfectly how the chosen blockchain works at all levels; known collections, old collections, new collections, what the different collections do, influential DAOs, most recognized Influencers, and project owners.

To do this, you will have to move around the collection servers, be active, talk to people, etc. While doing this you will learn and meet people that will help you in the future.

If you have the capacity to invest, it is recommended that you do so. Of course, only invest money that you are willing to lose. If money is involved, you will work even harder to learn and take it more seriously. In addition, you will be able to see firsthand if you analyze the market, opportunities, etc., well.

3. FIRST EXPERIENCES TO BECOME A COLLAB MANAGER

It's time to start making real contacts and stand out to get your first jobs.

Realistically no one is going to hire you without previous experience, so that's the first thing to get. You are going to do this by getting into small and new projects, once there you need to stand out by being active so that the owners of those projects notice you.

Once you know that you are standing out , it's time to take action and talk directly with them. Make them the proposal of being a moderator and/or collab manager for free (it is more likely that they will accept you as a moderator, after all, projects trust collab managers with experience).

Please do not go chasing project owners begging to be hired, you will generate rejection and you will make it very difficult to work on other projects. You must give a serious and professional image.

4. ACCEPT REJECTION AS COLLAB MANAGER

At this point, it is time to talk about something very important. You have to get used to rejection. From the beginning, you are going to receive a no for an answer on most occasions and this will never change, since while you work, you will receive hundreds of rejections from DAOs who are not interested in the collaboration you are offering.

Accept it and take it as a challenge, it will be much easier this way.

5. MAKE CONTACTS

Having your first experiences without being paid is important because of the doors it will open for you. Your priority in this process will be to meetpeople and above all to makecontacts with other collab managers.

Keep in mind that the projects to which you are going to offer a collaboration also have collab managers in their team, so it is time to get in touch with them and make a list of contacts with whom to exchange collabs.

6. CREATE YOUR PORTFOLIO

Experience is fine but useless if you don't show it to others. That's why you should create your portfolio as an artist.

Platforms such as Galaxie.co and similar are commonly used.

Be detailed and try to be original in the best possible way. It is also important to have a presence on Twitter and other networks, as it is a showcase of your work, you can take example of other collabs managers with influence.

7. STRIVE TO BE THE BEST

Being a collab manager is hard, especially when you are not recognized. Also, it is a low paid job in the beginning, so you have to be aware and strive to be the best. You have to stand out for your good work, so you can be recommended by the clients you work for or even other collab managers.

If you work hard and do a good job, you will improve your situation until you have permanent positions in different collections and many more interested clients. All this while your time is much better paid.

7+1. DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF FROM OTHER COLLAB MANAGERS

This extra step is for the daring ones who want to go a step further and not be just another collab manager.

Innovate and differentiate yourself from the rest. If you do, you won't need to beg anyone to hire you, they will come wanting to hire you.

A very good example is Cloudz. Thanks to creating valuable content HE is automatically known, therefore you are getting more potential contacts and more potential customers in your networks.

HOW TO FIND PROJECTS WHERE TO BE A COLLAB MANAGER?

As we have already mentioned, it is important to get into projects in the early stages since this is the point where they may need a collab manager the most. So let's see what methods we have to find projects where we can offer our work as collab manager.

Keep in mind that the best way to contact the projects is through Discord, it is difficult to get Twitter DMs answered because there are hundreds of spammers.

HASHTAGS ON TWITTER

Normally projects when they are starting up usually make a first post looking for the first interactions where they use hashtags such as: #NFT, #Solana, #Ethereum, etc.

If you make a daily visit to these hashtags, you will be able to find opportunities to offer yourself as a collab manager.

REFERRED BY ANOTHER COLLAB MANAGER

We stress again the importance of making contacts and networking with other collab managers, also applicable to moderators, alpha hunters, etc.

Basically, an NFT collection will need new staff very commonly, so in many cases, they ask for recommendations from the staff they already have. If you make those contacts and take care of them, they will bring you job.

INFLUENCERS ON TWITTER

Start-up projects usually make promotions with influencer accounts from different networks. Follow them and take advantage of the projects that are starting up to look for a position in it.

HOW TO FIND DAOs TO OFFER COLLABS?

It is very important that once you get the jobs, you perform well, so that they continue to count on you. That's why you will need to knock on the door of many DAOs to get the precious "yes, we are interested in the collab". We explain ways to find these communities.

Keep in mind that the best way to contact the projects is through Discord, it is difficult to get Twitter DMs answered because there are hundreds of spammers.

TOP COLLECTIONS MAGIC EDEN

You can find 1000 collections by accessing magic eden's "popular collections". This is applicable to Solana, Polygon, Ethereum and Bitcoin, as these are the networks currently supported by Magic Eden.

It's hard work, but we recommend you start with the smallest minted projects and work your way up as the community grows. Keep in mind that it is difficult for a medium-sized DAO to accept a collaboration if your collection does not have decent numbers and a decent value proposition.

COLLABS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE IN OTHER PROJECTS

You can find many DAOs by joining the discord of growing projects. There you will often see the channels they have created for members of other DAOs participating in FCFS collabs to send in their evidence. They have the DAOs' names, so you can go to Twitter, search for them and make a list of interesting DAOs that you can offer them.

GO TO YOUR CONTACTS FOR THE FIRST COLLABS

Again we talk about the importance of contacts. It is very common that collab managers become Alpha Hunters once the project mines; that is to say, if you have contacts that are Alpha Hunters, you can exchange collabs (they accept a collab that normally they would not do for the DAO they work on and you do the same with them) in the early stages where the project is small.

CONCLUSION: HOW TO BECOME A COLLAB MANAGER'?

In short, to be a collab manager you need desire, knowledge, effort and sacrifice. Of course, all this is worth it if it is what you really want.

Have clearideas, study the market and plan your own strategy in a clear way. Best of luck, we hope to see you soon closing your first collabs!