In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new kid on the block in the world of social media — and this is one cool kid. Its name is Clubhouse. And more good news for influencers: You may have the opportunity to take part in the Clubhouse Accelerator Program.
In December 2020, Clubhouse had 600K users. Nothing to scoff at — but by late February 2021, Clubhouse had 10M+ active users. The numbers continue to climb. And Clubhouse isn’t technically available to the public yet — you need an invite-only code to get access. Or, you can sign up and wait to get invited by a current Clubhouse user. And Clubhouse isn’t available on Android yet — roughly 72 percent of mobile devices, according to Statista.
Clearly, Clubhouse is in its development stage, but just as clearly is that it’s the breakout social media app of 2021 to keep your eyes on. As an influencer, you undoubtedly want to know more, so here’s the details on the Clubhouse Creator First. It’s a one-of-a-kind program that aims to get creators more heavily invested in the platform.
Clubhouse Creator First: The Rundown
The goal of Clubhouse Creator First is to provide additional support for influencers and get them invested in the emerging platform. The benefits can be broken down into three categories: content creation, content promotion, and financial incentives.
Content Creation
The first benefit offered in this category relates to content development and execution. Clubhouse provides little detail on what this benefit might entail yet, but we have a hunch it will revolve around helping creators make use of the completely unique Clubhouse format.
For the uninitiated, Clubhouse functions similarly to a real-time podcast. When you open the app, you can listen to a particular influencer or group of influencers. But nothing is recorded, so if you miss it, you miss it. Thinking of unique ideas that will appeal to Clubhouse users might seem daunting at first, but this service ideally hopes to solve that. Clubhouse will help influencers think outside the box.
Clubhouse also offers to match influencers with other talent. This approach makes a whole lot of sense. Since influencers will often need to team up with other guests to create active rooms, Clubhouse itself benefits from making these connections happen. If creators aren’t connected to one another, you may get a bunch of inactive rooms, which doesn’t lead to a great user experience.
Overall, Clubhouse connects influencers to one another, which helps all of the influencers gain larger Clubhouse followings. That, in turn, makes Clubhouse more popular.
Content Promotion
Clubhouse offers influencers “design services for creative assets.” Considering Clubhouse is an audio-based app, we wouldn’t imagine that influencers will be investing a lot of time or money into the graphics used in conjunction with the app. Still — it’s nice to offer.
Much more importantly, Clubhouse Creator First offers free promotion both on and off Clubhouse. This is huge — since Clubhouse is private, it’s tricky to cross-promote yourself on other social media platforms. If Clubhouse is offering to take care of promotion (or at least some of it), the influencer has that much more time to invest in actually using the app. The appeal of free promotion might also entice influencers on other platforms to join Clubhouse too.
Clubhouse Creator First also offers additional support to help creators build their audiences. This service will likely revolve around converting one-time listeners into followers who consistently come back for more. Getting direct support in building your fan base on this uniquely formatted app will likely appeal to many influencers who might not have a marketing background.
Financial Incentive
Clubhouse Creator First goes so far as to offer direct financial incentive for influencers in two ways.
- A monthly stipend. Once you get approved to Clubhouse Creator First, there is potential for you to receive a monthly check—just for using the platform. No details are provided regarding how large the monthly stipends might be, but common sense dictates that the larger your follower base both on and off Clubhouse, the larger potential stipend.
- Equipment. Clubhouse offers to send influencers whatever they need to make efficient use of the platform. In their words: If you need a new iPhone, iRig or AirPod Pros, we’ll send them to you.
At first glance, these two benefits might seem a bit gratuitous—paying influencers directly, and sending them free stuff? But if you think about it, the approach makes sense.
- For the monthly stipends, consider the ecosystem of an alternative social media platform like YouTube. A YouTube partner will receive a monthly “stipend” of sorts just for uploading videos and being successful on the platform. Clubhouse has no in-app monetization system in place, so offering a stipend is an alternate way of providing revenue for influencers who use and promote the app. Without the ability to make money, Clubhouse will inevitably not appeal to established influencers as much, and appealing to that group is vital to establishing a strong foothold in the market.
- For the equipment, most of the established influencers who Clubhouse cares about will already have everything they need. If they don’t—it’s not like a free pair of AirPods here and there will break the bank.
Overall, by offering financial incentive to influencers, Clubhouse is making it fiscally attractive for influencers to try out and use the platform. That, combined with the fact that Clubhouse has been steadily going viral for months on end, could make a big impact on how many influencers are using the platform.
How to Join Clubhouse Creator First
The deadline to apply was March 31, 2021. So if you are an influencer reading this article right now, the deadline has passed. Still, it doesn’t hurt to send an email asking for acceptance. If you have a substantial follower base on at least one other social media platform, they may very well make an exception.
Otherwise, just get on Clubhouse and start creating. You won’t be able to access Clubhouse Creator First perks, so you’ll have to think of content ideas yourself, and wheel and deal to make connections all on your own. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing—if you can do it by yourself, you’ll have an edge over other influencers who are relying on the Clubhouse team for promotion and creativity. And you’ll likely be first in line when the next round of influencers get the opportunity to join Clubhouse Creator First.
The deadline to apply was March 31, 2021. So if you are an influencer reading this article right now, the deadline has passed. Still, it doesn’t hurt to send an email expressing your interest. If you have a substantial follower base on at least one other social media platform, its developers may consider you for the next round past the beta stage.
Otherwise, just get on Clubhouse and start creating. You won’t be able to access Clubhouse Creator First perks, so you’ll have to think of content ideas yourself, and wheel and deal to make connections all on your own. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing — if you can do it by yourself, you’ll have an edge over other influencers who are relying on the Clubhouse team for promotion and creativity. And you’ll likely be first in line when the next round of influencers get the opportunity to join Clubhouse Creator First.
To join Clubhouse and start creating, you will of course need invite code. Ask your friends or followers to send you one. Or, go ahead and sign up for the app, and someone will let you in eventually.
Overall, Clubhouse Creator First is an interesting offering that merges the marketing department of the social media platform with influencers in a way that has never been done before. Whether or not it ends up working well for the majority of influencers remains to be seen — but in the eyes of Clubhouse, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where Clubhouse Creator First doesn’t help the platform continue to grow.
