Out-of-the-box ways to celebrate Leap Day — whether you’re a creator or a brand.
Life as a creator can occasionally be a little… lonely. Whether you’re growing your audience as a full-time gig or side project, a career as a creator doesn’t come with colleagues to grow with and learn from — unless you join one of these communities.
As content creation continues to blossom into a viable, lucrative career path, so too do the networks of support that can help you level up — whether you’re an influencer, personal brand builder, or just looking to get your work out into the world.
Networking with your creator peers is far from the only benefit these communities offer. Many have resources you can learn from (think podcasts, events, and workshops with industry veterans and other experts) and even channels that can help you earn from your work and land partnerships with brands (if monetization is your goal.)
Here’s a quick overview of the benefits of joining a community as a creator:
- Share learnings on trends and content performance with other creators
- Connect with other creators in your/adjacent industries for content collabs
- Access influencer marketing industry leaders
- Workshops and events to help you level up
- Find partnership opportunities
- Connect directly with brands looking for creators
- Review what it’s like to work with brands before partnering
With all that in mind, here’s our list of must-join communities that cater to all of the above (and then some!).
Adolescent Content’s Storyteller Community
Best for: Artists and UGC content creators
Cost: $0
Adolescent Content is a creative consultancy and content studio focusing on Gen Z. The agency was founded in 2013 to “create pathways into advertising and entertainment for Gen Z BIPOC and LGBTQ+ directors, photographers, and creatives.”
The Storyteller community is where they connect with these creators — and completely free. Their snappy CTA is “work with cool brands, get paid to do it, join a community of amazing artists.” According to members, it’s also a great place to find UCG (user-generated content) opportunities.
Join Adolescent Content’s Storyteller Community
#BLKCreatives
Best for: Black creators and professionals looking for inspiration and support
Cost: $0
#BLKCreatives is unique in that it not only aims to provide Black creators with resources and opportunities but support for their mental health, too. In founder Melissa Kimble’s words, “This world does not move without Black creativity.” The space is “a digital collective built to keep smart, talented, and skillful Black creatives from giving up.”
There’s no community home base for #BLKCreatives in the way others in this list have a Discord, Slack, or Circle, but its well-followed social media channels provide guidance for and help elevate the work of Black creators and a space for them to connect in the comments.
The heart of the collective is its website, where you’ll find a jobs board, resources, reading lists, and a newsletter sign-up page.
The Buffer Community in Discord
Best for: Learning from and connecting with a variety of creatives leveraging social media
Cost: $0
If your goal is building an engaged social media following across platforms, Buffer’s Discord server is a helpful, supportive place for learning and growing.
We welcome business owners and social media managers as well as creators (though we do have a dedicated space for creators in our #creator-corner). Expect to connect with like-minded folks on social media tips, tricks, and trends, discuss news and new features, and swap stories on content that’s flown and content that’s flopped.
While you don’t have to be a Buffer user to join, members have direct access to the Buffer team to suggest new features, give product feedback, and even join our Beta program (which means you get first access to new channels and functionality in Buffer before they're rolled out everywhere else!).
Canopy
Best for: Creators in beauty, fashion, and lifestyle niches looking for brand partnership and collab opportunities.
Cost: TBD
Ex-TikTok employee Ayomi Samaraweera is the brains behind Canopy, “an anonymous social app for Content Creators to network and spill the tea in a safe space.”
The app opened its virtual doors to 1,000 creators in October 2023 and already boasts a waiting list of 5,000 more eager to get in. That’s not surprising, given that the social app promises a space for creators to share ideas, advice, and brand reviews, plus a frequently updated list of partnership opportunities.
While it’s open to creators in all niches across platforms, their primary focus is beauty, fashion, and lifestyle creators because “those are the content niches that have the highest earning potential and spending power,” Samaraweera told TechCrunch. “Therefore, those types of creators are [usually] people who take it seriously and want to build a full-time career out of it.”
Clara for Creators
Best for: Creators navigating brand deals
Cost: $0
Founded by former TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest employee Christen Nino De Guzman in 2022, Clara is “the Glassdoor for creators.” Much like the company review website, Clara allows users (once they’ve applied and been verified) to share anonymous reviews of companies they’ve partnered with and how much they’ve charged.
Pay transparency (something we’re also passionate about at Buffer!) is one of De Guzman’s top priorities, she wrote in an article for CNBC. “Many creators end up selling themselves short, especially women and people of color. I once saw a man get paid ten times what a woman creator was paid for the same campaign — just because he asked for more. I’ve also seen Latinx creators with triple the following of white creators be paid half as much.”
While the platform doesn’t allow for much back-and-forth discussion between creators, it’s a brilliant way to learn more about how to structure your contracts and pricing if you’re working with brands. If you’re an experienced creator, you can also pay it forward and share your learnings with those just starting out.
@christen It be like that sometimes 🥲
Creatives for Climate
Best for: Climate-conscious creators to network and learn
Cost: $0
If you create content in the realm of climate change or sustainability, joining Creatives for Climate is a no-brainer. Housed in Circle, the forum is a thriving hub of creatives working across industries to — quite literally — save the world.
While the space is not exclusively for creators, there are plenty of resources and opportunities for them, says Operations Manager Cansu Yetişgin.
“We have courses, events run by creators/influencers, or sometimes more ad-hoc opportunities to collaborate with our members as well,” she explains. “We have a section featuring the work of our members, too, to give them a space to share and network with fellow creatives.”
Creator Kitchen
Best for: Marketers looking to become trailblazers in their space and connect with other leaders
Cost: $1299 per year or $499 per quarter
Founded by author, speaker, podcaster, and creative coach Jay Acunzo, Creator Kitchen is an exclusive space for content creators and marketers. If you’re building a personal brand in this arena, Creator Kitchen is a treasure trove of resources to help you level up. Their key offering is a Slack community, but membership also includes 1-1 coaching sessions and a library of templates, prompts, and other resources.
According to their site, the community is a hybrid that goes beyond community and classes. “While the Kitchen offers both, our main value, according to members, is the live and asynchronous coaching and collaboration with the Kitchen’s cofounders and other experienced, creative peers to ensure you produce stronger work.”
#CreatorTeaTalk
Best for: Learning from movers and shakers in the creator economy
Cost: $0
Jayde I. Powell is the brains behind and host of #CreatorTeaTalk, a LinkedIn audio series that “brings together players in the creator economy to discuss all things creators, content, and culture.”
Jayde hosts conversations on LinkedIn Live on everything from the Black creator economy to talent management with guests like creator marketing pro Lindsey Gamble, Canopy founder Ayomi Samaraweera, and Women in Influencer Marketing founder, Jessy Grossman (more on WIIM below). She uploads past episodes on YouTube for creators who can’t make the live chats.
After the shows, she taps into the #creatorteatalk hashtag on LinkedIn, where listeners engage on the latest episodes.
Creator Wizard
Best for: TikTok and Instagram Reels creators looking for sponsored content opportunities
Cost: $0
Created by sponsorship coach Justin Moore, Creator Wizard is a great space to find sponsorships and brand deals. Their Paid Sponsorship Opps channel is something like a jobs board for creators. It’s updated regularly with opportunities from brands like Ergobaby, Cheez-it, and LARQ.
There’s also an actual Jobs Board channel where members can share their availability to work or more permanent opportunities in the creator space (think video or podcast editing work for big-name creators).
The community, housed in Circle, is also great for learning about pitching yourself to brands and more with templates, videos, and advice from Justin.
Colin and Samir’s Discord
Best for: YouTubers looking to improve their content quality and grow their subscribers
Cost: $0
If you’re a YouTube creator, chances are you’ve heard of Colin and Samir. The duo runs a YouTube channel with more than 1.4 million subscribers, with content aimed at helping others achieve similar success. On The Colin and Samir show, they interview other successful creators (they even have a couple of videos with YouTube superstar Mr Beast).
The pair have their own Discord community for creators across platforms (though most of their members are YouTubers). “Our vision for the Discord is to build relationships between members of our audience so that we can learn from each other and collaborate,” Colin and Samir write in their server guide.
The Discord is full of helpful threads for other creators — perhaps the best of them being a channel where you can share YouTube thumbnail designs and videos for feedback. Most files get some thoughtful, constructive feedback from other members. There’s also a channel where you can ask more general questions, and members weigh in on everything from podcast tools to agencies.
Join Colin and Samir’s Discord
HeyCreator Community
Best for: Creators in professional industries looking to branch out with their own newsletter or course offering
Cost: $39 per month or $390 per year
HeyCreator is a forum-style community built on the Circle platform by Matt Ragland. This space is ideal for professionals building a personal brand in their industries who want to take steps toward monetization. Joining the community will get you access to cohort-style learning courses focused on email marketing, launches, and audience growth, as well as 1-1 time with Matt and other creator experts.
You may have to wait a little while to sign up — the community is structured around six-week ‘build sprints,’ and new members are accepted at the start of each new sprint.
Instagram Creators Broadcast channel
Best for Instagram creators
Cost: $0
It’s not quite a traditional community (there’s no way for you to reply and connect with other members, the norm for an Instagram broadcast channel). However, it’s a great way to learn about new Instagram features and trends sent straight to your Instagram inbox.
Every couple of days, the Instagram Creators (@Creators) team will share news of an Instagram Reels template, trending audio, or some new features and tests coming to the platform. It’s often the first place I spot news on the latter, so it’s a great, unobtrusive way to keep your finger on the pulse.
Join the Creators Broadcast Channel
The Lab
Best for Professional creators focused on turning their brands into a profitable business
Cost: $699 – $2999 per year for different tiers
The Lab, created by Jay Clouse, is based on the idea that “professional creators are scientists as much as they are artists. They're continuously experimenting and taking action based on results.”
The community’s goal is to help members expand their reach and increase earnings by exploring “new strategies, tactics, and collaborations” together.
The Lab is also a forum-style space based in Circle, where creators share learnings on everything from the results of social media ads to email marketing sequences. Think of it as being in a results-driven marketing team all laser-focused on their own projects, but open to weighing in on yours.
You’ll also get access to workshops, courses, playbooks, and advice from Jay.
OohhMG’s BIPOC Creator Connect
Best for: BIPOC micro-influencers on the hunt for brand partnership opportunities
Cost: $0 or $37 per month for VIP access
Digital Media Exec Morgan Iman Gadley created this Slack community exclusively for BIPOC creators in January 2024. Within just two months, the group had grown to over 300 members and helped them land partnerships with Bumble, Steve Madden, Benefit Cosmetics, Etsy, Walmart, and more.
“I started The BIPOC Creator Community because there is a huge opportunity and equity gap involving creators of color in influencer marketing and advertising,” Gadley told Buffer. “I can count all the platforms that focus on elevating Black and Brown voices in media on one hand. I wanted to see more of us building spaces that uplift, educate, and connect the voices of the unheard with amazing opportunities.”
As such, Gadley says the community is excellent for BIPOC mico-influencers and those just starting out. “We encourage those with small followings or aspiring creators to join because they will gain an array of resources: from education on how to grow their followings to learning how to elevate their content and gaining exposure to building their paid brand deal portfolios.”
In the coming months, she plans to host more workshops and events geared toward helping members grow their audiences and step up brand partnerships.
While creators and brands can join the community for free, the VIP membership comes with some perks (like first access to partnership opportunities, unlimited events, and mentorship programs).
Join oohhMG’s BIPOC Creator Connect
Women in Influencer Marketing
Best for: Female creators looking to level up and connect with talent managers and influencer marketers
Cost: $49 per month
Women in Influencer Marketing was founded by entrepreneur Jessy Grossman in 2017 as a space for (you guessed it) women working in the influencer marketing industry.
“Our goal is to network with like-minded women, share information to make our work stronger, and unite a community of leaders within this exciting industry,” according to their site.
While the community technically caters to women in talent management and marketing roles, more creators are joining, using the Slack group to network and book brand partnerships (they even have a dedicated #castings channel).
Beyond nabbing an influencer deal, WIIM offers a fascinating peek behind the curtain for new creators and influencers who want to understand what brands are looking for and how these deals usually work.
That said, membership is not free — joining will set you back $49 per month or $588 per year for their basic plan, which includes access to the Slack community, events, and resources. If this is out of budget for you, definitely keep an eye on their website. Grossman told Business Insider that she’s planning to launch a creator-focused community soon.
"Part of the goal is to teach creators how to more effectively pitch themselves and connect them with people who would be able to offer input on that," she told the outlet in February 2024. "The engagement on Slack is so high from what I've seen, so I really wanted to create a community just for them to take advantage of that."
Have we missed any essential creator communities? We’d love to hear your thoughts! Comment below or tag us @buffer on all social media platforms.
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