DigitalArt.io Online Magazine
- $42k USD, preferably as 25 ETH
DigitalArt.io is an online magazine with the goal to better on-board art collectors into the digital art & NFT space and connect them to the Proof ecosystem early.
About the project
DigitalArt.io is an online magazine with the goal to better on-board art collectors into the digital art & NFT space and connect them to the Proof ecosystem early.
Mission alignment
- Create experiences or products which directly benefit holders
- Promote the Moonbirds and Mythics brand beyond web3
- Elevate Moonbirds and Mythics within the web3 community
Community backers
What is it?
DigitalArt.io is an online magazine / website solving the problem of on-boarding art collectors into the digital art & NFT space and connect them to the Proof ecosystem early.
Why is it a problem right now?
I love the Proof website and the content the team produces. I think it’s the best in the space. But let’s be honest, if you are new to NFTs or curious about digital art would you sit through an hour long show of 100 proof? Would you visit proof.xyz and leave with a feeling that you are becoming part of the digital art community?
The proposed solution:
I strongly believe in order to extend our reach and get more people into the digital art space, we need to meet them where they are, not on discords, crypto twitter and .xyz websites that ask you to connect your wallet.
A traditional Web2 online magazine / website lets you explore easy-to-digest content, learn about important NFT creators, collections, platforms and tooling as well as introduce you to the Moonbirds slowly.
I already created the online magazine and I have started publishing content on it, check it out: at http://digitalart.io
The 10 year old domain has solid search engine (SEO) metrics (Domain Authority 32, Page Authority 42), which will help rank content well in search engines.
I will continue to build out the site regardless of the success of this proposal, but being a husband, a father of three beautiful girls and full-time bread earner puts a hard cap on these efforts at the moment unfortunately.
With pitching the existing site to the Lunar Society and asking for funding I want be able to cut down on my day job and focus on my mission to onboard the masses into the digital art & Web3 space as well as introduce them to Moonbirds and Proof.
How does it benefit the Moonbirds and Mythics holder community?
1. Education. A resource for Moonbirds to browse curated digital art content and revisit past 100 Proof episodes.
2. Recognition. Publicly supporting digital art will further cement Moonbirds as an "art collector's PFP” for collectors entering into web3.
3. Launchpad for your Moonbird. Become a contributor & help curate the site’s content.
4. Promotion. Do you have your own digital art project? As a Moonbird you will get a feature on the site if your project meets our quality guidelines.
About the team
I am a day one Moonbird holder with 20 years of web & design experience - the last 15 years focussed on Product & UX.
In the past 10 years I have run a few successful online magazines. Last year I sold two projects: a WordPress magazine about minimalism and one about music production.
I am still running things at http://brooklynradio.com for almost 12 years now. It's an online radio station which is very much like an online magazine but with audio content ;)
I can assure you that I have the experience and background to successfully manage this project and am committed to stick to it.
Product strategy
Phase 1 is to simply increase content production to build a solid base of content (feature the biggest names in the space right now and the past). Search engines love sites that churn out quality content. In addition to this, the social media channels need to be revived - I simply didn’t have the time to add this to my plate for now. This will likely consume the first 2-3 months with my head down in content production but is obviously a continued effort moving forward.
In month 3 - 4 (phase 2) I will focus on creating a comprehensive, but easy to understand email-based introduction to digital art and NFTs for non-web3 series. Having a strong email list is at the core of most online businesses and with it I can easily direct the subscribers to worthwhile content from Proof and Moonbirds consistently.
In month 5 after funding the site should have a clear direction and voice as well as a solid body of content, so I want to approach artists for long-form interviews and I already have more ideas on how to present original content in an accessible way.
I am also planning to open the site for select Moonbirds to be guest editors for even more quality content! If you are keen to get involved, please reach out!
What are the risks?
Since the site is already built, the main risk is simply product market fit. Do people really care to read about digital art and dive deeper into it’s creation process? I strongly believe they do, but the current bear market suggests that web3 mostly doesn’t care right now and is only interested in the floor price.
What will the money actually be spent on? Do you expect any other money to come in related to this project, e.g. revenues?
Primarily the funding would allow me to focus on the content production and strategy for the site for a period of 12 months and cut down hours at my day job significantly, while still being able to support my family (wife + 3 daughters). Unfortunately I am not in a position to live on ramen noodles and work out of my van anymore :)
In addition the funds would allow me to pay a part-time marketing person to promote the site better as well as pay for more robust hosting infrastructure once the site gains momentum.
I will do everything I can to turn this magazine into a profitable venture to support digital art and the Proof ecosystem. Potential revenue sources that I have experience with and will explore early on are:
- selling advertising packages & sponsored posts on the site
- getting allowlist spots and raffling them off to Moonbirds
- offering high quality digital products like design elements, generative art code or courses in an online shop section of the site (Moonbirds can submit products and earn through a revenue share deal)
If I get the chance to speed up the process of making the website a valuable resource for digital art collectors with the support of the Lunar Society I am willing to funnel my initial profits back to the society.
I would consider the funding a loan rather than a handout.