If you are leading and managing an online community of artists, you could benefit from using an online artist community software. Especially after the pandemic, using online measures has been proven especially useful. A community software like this will make your job much easier.
But what exactly is an artist community software, and how can it help you? Keep reading to find out how Theatre Deli, an organization focused on artist empowerment, uses Raklet to help their community thrive.
What is Theatre Deli?
Theatre Deli is a charity company mainly based in London and Sheffield. According to their official website, they have been “supporting emerging companies whose work sits outside traditional theatre” for over 10 years. In 2018 alone, they’ve helped more than 11,000 artists, as well as collaborated with over 200 partner organizations.
What does Theatre Deli do?
There are many things that go into helping support artists, which makes Theatre Deli’s efforts even more admirable. The best way to explain their efforts is that they help artists work on new things by providing them with resources, workspaces, and more chances. For example, some of their specific practices are: Acquiring unused spaces and upgrading them to make them accessible for artists, creating a tight-knit community of artists that can support each other, providing them with education and job opportunities, etc.
To help further their efforts, Theatre Deli needed a dedicated online platform for their artist community management efforts. Some of the features they needed include:
- Customizable member page for their community, with a sidebar for quick access to specific internal and external pages
- Comprehensive list of their members, partners, etc. in the form of individual membership profiles that include all relevant information
- Digital membership cards of these members with built-in QR codes
- Member-to-member communication methods, i.e., private messaging, discussion boards, etc.
- Easy online membership application & membership fee collection tools
- Event creation, promotion, and management for both in-person and online events
- A booking tool where artists can book classes or studios to work on their upcoming projects
Ultimately, they chose Raklet to use as their artist community platform. Let’s look at what led them to this decision, and how Raklet improved their management process:
How Raklet helped Theatre Deli’s artist community management
1- Customizable platform for memberships
Using Raklet, the managers of Theatre Deli have created an easily customizable platform for their artist community. Their page features their brand colors, the Theatre Deli logo, a custom title, and useful links that they’ve placed on their sidebar for easy access. Everything their members need is right at their fingertips.
2- Comprehensive contacts database (CRM)
As of right now, the Theatre Deli platform contains 176 people on their member directory. With Raklet’s powerful CRM, it’s very simple to store and manage contacts. Each member can create a custom member profile for themselves, and easily edit their membership information whenever they want. Page admins can access everyone’s profiles, tag and segment them for effective storing, as well as securely export member information for external storage. It’s also very easy to import Excel member sheets into Raklet, so you can start using it without a tiring manual transferring process.
3- Seamless membership application & fee collection
Membership applications are perhaps the most important part of the membership management process. They found a simple solution to this problem by creating an individual page for their future applicants called “Membership Plans”. This way, people can easily click on this tab on Theatre Deli’s Raklet platform, and become members by filling out the requested information. They’ve featured their two different membership tiers, so applicants can easily choose which one they want to apply to. Their membership fees will also start being collected automatically once their application is confirmed, either one-time or recurrently depending on the organization’s choice.
Theater Deli opted not to use a long membership application form, and instead has a page just for fee collection. But, with Raklet, you can also create custom membership application forms with all the information fields you want, which will automatically be transferred to applicants’ member profiles once they’re admitted. It’s a seamless process that requires no effort or extra time.
4- Digital membership cards
Another related feature is their digital membership cards, with built-in QR codes and relevant membership information. The visual look of these cards is fully customizable, which Theatre Deli has decided to implement using their logo and signature color. The QR code allows members to check in to events by having these codes scanned, instead of having to manually check them in. Accessing these cards through your branded mobile app, and the ability to add this card to your digital wallet, will be extremely useful for this process. Another benefit to digital cards is that they increase one’s sense of belonging, which Theatre Deli’s artist community also benefited from.
5- Discussion board for calls and auditions
Raklet offers a discussion boards feature that allows members to create and participate in different discussions and conversations. You can divide these boards based on subject, membership tiers that are allowed access to them, or specialized groups depending on your tags/segments.
As you can see on the screenshot above, Theatre Deli chose to create a specialized discussion board for their organization called “Call Board”. This is a dedicated place where members can share news about opportunities they’ve come across like auditions, calls for submissions, etc. It’s a great tool to encourage members to communicate with each other, as well as share their experiences and excitement. It’s a sure way to strengthen bonds within your community.
6- Private messaging
Private messages are another way to encourage member-to-member engagement, similar to discussion boards. Through the “Messages” button that members can reach from the Theatre Deli platform’s sidebar, everyone can send direct messages to whichever member they choose. Making connections and networking within a community has never been easier!
7- Event creation & management
Events are a sure way to engage your community and keep your bonds strong. Luckily, one of the biggest benefits to using Raklet is the effortless event management process. You can create individual custom pages for your in-person or online events, and even make your online events through your Raklet platform using our Zoom integration. You can track member RSVP information and attendance, collect ticket fees for different tiered tickets, and also limit the number of those tickets to create a more exclusive event. Explore Raklet’s event management software to see how it can help you thrive.
8- Studio & class booking tool
Theatre Deli also uses Raklet for studio and class bookings. There are dedicated pages for both categories, where members can see available studios/classes. With this integration, they can easily pick the venue they want and sign themselves up for a dedicated time slot. The platform also lets you look up venues by date, see hourly fees, and collect payments — all from one place.
Now it’s your turn!
You, too, can make use of Raklet’s extensive features and create an all-in-one platform for your community. Check out our website, or book a quick demo call with our team if you want to learn more details.
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