Whether the Whitelist?*
How and Why to Enter, and Even Create, a proverbial Green Room within a Green Room to Drive Engagement
The discussion of using an NFT as a backstage, all-access pass to everything in the metaverse is becoming increasingly loud. More and more, NFT’s are being used to gain entry into exclusive parties, amazing discounts on products and services, and any other perk the NFT’s creator is willing and able to offer. But imagine there was a VIP list for the VIP list? That secret Green Room behind the hidden door in the Green Room? Someplace where better rewards were offered in greater numbers at even further reduced prices? That my friend, is the world of the whitelist.*
I’ve Been Whitelisted! (Is that bad?)
The genesis of the term “whitelisting’ is that it’s a cybersecurity term that means “to allow” or to be “safe,” but when it comes to NFT’s, the meaning is very specific — it is the process of providing your preferred crypto wallet address to a project so you can be pre-approved for an advanced release, or “drop,” for an opportunity to mint a new NFT or badge. To be ‘whitelisted’ means that you have successfully completed that defined process and you are now pre-approved to mint an NFT or badge.
In doing so, the whitelist becomes something not unlike the VIP list for an event. If you’re lucky enough to get on the pre-approved list, you get perks. Again, sometimes it’s early access to things. It could also mean you get to buy an NFT at a lower price. Either way, it is a way to provide preferential treatment for the earliest supporters or reward the most active members.
Why Should I Sign Up For a Whitelist and How Do I Do it?
Again, signing up for a whitelist is all about the perks. But there’s a process to get those perks.
There are generally 3 steps to get on a whitelist:
- Find a project before it is launched — this is the hardest part. Knowing of upcoming drops is the key to the whitelist and knowing where to be is half the battle. Follow popular game experts and players. Follow your favorite gaming guilds or developers. Follow Twitter.
- Join the project’s Discord group — Discord is the main communication tool (followed closely by Twitter) in the NFT world. Usually you can find information on how to get whitelisted in the “announcements” sections, but it’s entirely possible that you missed getting whitelisted or they don’t have a whitelist. You can also chat in the Discord’s general section and ask questions about the project there. This area is usually monitored by the creators who would want to answer questions about how you can join as fast as possible.
- Follow the instructions in the Discord group (or some other location) in order to be whitelisted
Another selling point with Whitelists is that they can prevent, or at the very least, mitigate ‘gas wars.’ This is a benefit to buyers AND to creators. But we’ll get to that in a moment.
Why and How to Create a Whitelist?
We can feel the excitement building and sense the potential for growth as we discussed why the whitelist is important for the community at large, we must also discuss why the whitelist is critical for the success of creators. Whitelists have the ability to amplify interest in the project. As consumers look to join, they tell their friends. Creators can start campaigns to reward those who bring the most members into the project’s Discord server or find other challenges for the community. Inevitably, in most cases, the interest drives the market and raises the value of the project and the NFT. When possible, let the would-be buyers do the work for them.
The aspect of a whitelist as it essentially regulates the minting traffic is a major boon to creators as much as it is to the consumer. This is where ‘gas prices’ come into play. The term “gas” refers to the transaction fees and the more you are willing to pay, the faster the transaction will go through. But if a large number of people are trying to make transactions at the same time, the transaction price will exponentially increase, resulting in what is referred to as a “gas war.” Some people might be willing to pay more if the NFT is worth it, but overall, high gas prices could (and would likely be) be a turn-off for prospective buyers. No buyers, no project, right? By limiting the number of people trying to mint their NFT at a set period of time, the transaction process runs more smoothly and efficiently, as does the growth of the project.
For as much as there is to gain by creating a whitelist, setting one up and developing a campaign to push is relatively uncomplicated. It’s as simple as creating some googledoc form templates and linking them once the creator decides to have a whitelist. Then create a whitelist channel in the project’s Discord that includes directions on how to access the whitelist and start promoting it through Twitter, the project’s website, Facebook, and other social media (see why I said to follow these social media outlets and others for news about upcoming NFT drops?). Continuously monitor it, but more than likely, just sit back and watch the traffic flow increase.
*There is a new and increasingly rapid movement within the industry to move away from the term ‘whitelist’ towards the term ‘allow list’ for reasons of cultural sensitivity and awareness. Results.io will work to respect and advance this idea and work with our clients and others to continue efforts toward diversity, inclusion, and equality. The metaverse is colorblind, as we should all be.
About The Booknerd.eth
The booknerd.eth is the founder of Block Capital and one of the country’s foremost digital marketers. A leader in the growth of blockchain and the NFT Space, he is a founding member of the WhalemakerDAO and has invested in top metaverse and Web3 companies, including IVC, SimWIN, YGGSEA, and HubSpot. He is also the president and co-founder of Results.io, a marketing venture focused on increasing engagement for gaming organizations entering and operating in the metaverse.
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About Results.io
Results.io is a Web3-focused growth agency specializing in marketing and community cultivation and looks to help industry-leading projects drive engagement for NFT, P2E, and IDO’s. Learn more about the company at Results.io
