Article: Your creative Community is an Asset – Unachi Sunny

An asset is something you can rightly claim ownership of. This ownership may come through birthright, inheritance, or through the conscious and deliberate effort to build something that becomes valuable over time.

An asset can become so valuable that it becomes a legacy, something the next generation can inherit, improve upon, or even destroy. 

Community, in its simplest form, is a group of people connected by shared interests, values, culture or a common purpose. But for a creative, community can become much more than that. It can become an asset.

Over the years, I have noticed that one of the most difficult things many creatives struggle to build is a community of people who genuinely love and appreciate what they do. It does not come as easily as it sounds. Imagine trying to convince people to love, believe in and support your craft when you are still building it yourself.

This is why I am writing this. I am not claiming to have the perfect formula for building a community. I am simply sharing what I have observed and what I believe can help a creative think differently about the people around their work.

Having a strong community as an artiste or creative is a huge asset. But the question is, are you ready to build your own community, or are you only looking for ways to tap into an existing one? Starting is not easy. Being accepted is another hurdle altogether. You may have the talent, the idea, the music, the camera, the designs or the words, but people still need a reason to care.

For an artiste, it starts with the work. You have to create good music. Invest in your sound, your vocals, songwriting, production and overall presentation. Your branding also matters. So does publicity. You cannot expect people to gather around something they have not discovered or connected with.

But community building should not begin after the release. Your release itself can be the beginning.The period before a song, film, book or creative project comes out gives you an opportunity to bring people into the process. You can create a simple form to collect contacts, offer early access, share behind-the-scenes content, organise a private listening session or give your early supporters something that makes them feel involved.

It does not have to be complicated. Sometimes, it can simply be a WhatsApp community, an email list, a small group of people who receive updates before everyone else, or a few people you consistently communicate with. 

The idea of having a small group of people who genuinely care about what you create is not new. Kevin Kelly’s well-known idea of “1,000 True Fans” captures  that a creator does not necessarily need millions of people to build a sustainable creative career. A smaller group of people who genuinely value the work can make a significant difference.

I think this is something many African creatives, especially independent creatives, need to pay more attention to.

We are often obsessed with numbers, like How many followers? How many views? How many streams? How many people attended? These numbers are important, but they are not the whole story. 

You can have 100,000 followers and still struggle to get 100 people to show up for something you have organised. This is where community becomes different from an audience. An audience watches you. A community participates with you.

That participation can start in very simple ways. Host a small meet and greet. Organise an intimate live session. Invite a few people to a listening party. Have conversations with your audience. Ask them questions. Allow them to see parts of your creative process. Celebrate the people who consistently support your work.

You don’t always need a massive event. Twenty people who genuinely believe in what you are building can sometimes be more valuable than 20,000 people who barely know who you are.

Seth Godin has written extensively about tribes and the power of people coming together around shared ideas and values. For creatives, I think the lesson is simple: people want to feel that they belong somewhere.

Your community should not only know your name. They should understand what you represent.

If your music is about worship, what does that worship community look like? If your art is about culture, what kind of people are you bringing together around that culture? If your content is about fashion, film, photography, business or storytelling, what common interest connects the people following your work? That is where the real work begins. And please, don’t build a community only because you want people to buy something from you.

People are not numbers on a spreadsheet. If the only time your audience hears from you is when you have a song to promote, tickets to sell or merchandise to push, they will eventually notice.

Community requires giving as well. Give people something to enjoy. Give them information. Give them access. Give them an experience. Give them a reason to stay connected even when you don’t have anything to sell.

Over time, these people become your first audience. They stream your songs. They buy your merchandise. They attend your shows. They share your work. They recommend you to their friends. They introduce new people to what you do. 

They can also give you something money cannot always buy: honest feedback. They can tell you what they like. They can tell you what is not working. They can help you understand what connects with people and what doesn’t. And when you have another project coming, you are not starting from zero.

You already have people to tell. That is an asset.  I think every creative should ask themselves a simple question: if Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or whatever platform I currently depend on disappeared tomorrow, how many people could I still reach directly?

That question should make us think. Because social media gives you access to people, but it does not necessarily mean you own the relationship. Algorithms change. Platforms change. Reach goes up and down.

But when you have built genuine relationships with people, you have something deeper than followers. You have a community.

So, don’t spend all your energy trying to find somebody else’s audience. Build yours.

Start with five people if that is what you have. Then ten. Then twenty. Take care of them. Communicate with them. Give them something worth staying for. 

Your music is an asset. Your intellectual property is an asset. Your catalogue is an asset. Your brand is an asset.  But the people who believe in what you are building can become an asset too. Do the work, build relationships. build the community.

Because when the noise dies down, the people who genuinely believe in what you do may be the ones still standing with you. 

Building a community requires intentionality, consistency and all the needed work. Get to work fam.