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The creativity of digital entrepreneur Puno knows no bounds: from vlogging to web design to cat calendars, Puno goes all-in with her creative experiments--including founding ilovecreatives, her community for creatives as eclectic and passionate as she is.
I spoke with Puno about building the resources needed by creatives, attempting to find new ways of earning money, as well as the importance of sharing knowledge among the creative communities.
SQSP: You created I Love Creatives as both the design studio you own and a digital resource for creatives with multiple hyphenates. What initially motivated you to create the website?
Punoilovecreatives is (and still is) an experiment online where I could link spreadsheets to determine your hourly rates or figure out where to meet other creatives or learn how to make websites. Or we can help build your website!
I never had a big idea. The whole thing was pretty reactive depending on the things people required help in. Actually, just having a spot on the web (a.k.a. an online website) that had a very particular name is enough to continue building on it. I've created a variety of things, but this is one with endless ideas and opportunities.
SQSP: ilovecreatives lets users to make profiles and ads for their offerings in addition to offering classes for paid users that help users improve their skills. How do you balance free resources with your premium services?
PunoThis could be an incredibly difficult problem! I'm constantly trying to figure out what the value of the balance. In general, I ask myself, is this something I'd want to purchase? How much would I buy it at? Or what does it need to resolve in order to allow me to purchase it?
If it's a one-off or something that is an element of something larger the item is free. If I'm not sure, then it's free.
It was very simple for me to opt for paid vs. free, since as a designer , I had a habit of charging for my time and buying books and other resources in order to save time. I was a fan of digital products since I had firsthand experience that they are worth the cost.
SQSP: How has your content strategy evolved over time? Do your goals have changed?
PunoFor for the initial three years ilovecreatives was only an email newsletter that was sent out weekly. There hasn't been a single week missed since we started ilovecreatives, and the content of the newsletter hasn't changed too much either.
A majority of the butter and bread comes from email and paid advertisements. Personally, I think it's because it's very straight to the point. No fluff. This is what we're selling and we're doing it in a way that is fun.
We've also dabbled in various social media channels including podcasts, digital event along with other online content. That's why the content strategy has been constantly shifting. In the beginning it was definitely a spaghetti-on-the-wall kind of strategy. Before we even begin to set goals, we need to (1) make sure we like the content we're making, (2) can afford the cost of making it as well as (3) examine how the audience reacts to it.
After several years of experiments I believe we've finally landed in a more clear direction, which is more of a community-based ecosystem. But we still have yet to implement it, which means it's only time to see consistent posts! Stay tuned. :)
SQSP: You also have an online store that sells both physical and digital goods. What advice can you offer for other creatives and entrepreneurs that are looking to establish and maintaining multiple revenue streams?
For anyone looking to have multiple revenue streams, continuously develop and test methods and develop an estimate of your budget. Even if you don't know how much it will cost, you'll know how much you can manage to. When you have a clear idea of your expenses it is worth considering hiring other businesses, freelancers, or even paying for online services and software. If it does not work take a step back.
How do you leverage to build community with your platform?
Puno: is where our website lives. I am awestruck by it as lots of us who are part of the team (specifically the TAs who teach our classes) have to upload their resources, and it's super easy for people to edit the content.
One big change for our community was that we changed to Discord. It's a significant change because Discord is truly a community-building tool. Because our online courses have been made gamified, we've used the roles to give the ability to access new "levels" within Discord. Plus, it's been fun to just casually start a coworking voice chat with people.
I believe that video is an extremely important tool for our lives. It allows us to share complex information through our personalities. Without it, I don't think ilovecreatives would have a community--or at the very least, not as large a community that we currently have.
The SQSP: What do expect your online services to evolve over the next few years?
PunoWe've been working on a few more courses, however, I'd love to create a lot more small-sized courses for our creatives within our community. I've been fortunate to be surrounded by people that open about their businesses or professional lives and willing to be able to share their knowledge. Given how quickly things are moving in the world in the present, I believe it's super important for us to communicate that knowledge.
Annd I'd like to create a virtual universe filled with adorable characters and furnishings which I'm unable to pay for IRL. It's hard to know why this would exist, but wouldn't it be so much fun! ?