Luminy
Designing the new way of crowdfunding for Creators
Background
Luminy is an idea to create a platform where creators could raise money and create recurring revenue for themselves. They would do so by stabilizing membership plans so that their audience could subscribe and contribute to their favorite Creator. I’m working as a freelance product designer on this project, working directly with the owners and the help of a team of developers and a product manager.
a Sneak peak
Discovery
Challenge
The owners already had an MVP, but they were struggling to acquire clients and validate their product. They needed someone to manage their idea and refine it if necessary, and that’s where I came in. The initial concept of the platform was to be a place for managing communities, where community owners could create recurring plans for their members and content that would interest them.
Even with established clients on the platform, the communities weren't thriving after being created, which meant they weren't generating profit. The main challenge when I took on this project was to understand why this was happening and to explore alternatives to solve the problem.
Research
During my research, I found several key issues that were holding back the success of communities on the platform and hurting its overall profitability. These insights led to important changes to address these problems.
Community Challenges:
Too much dependence on members for content: The platform relied heavily on members to create content, which led to inconsistent quality and irregular posting, affecting community engagement and growth.
Content quality and delivery problems: Because of this reliance, there was uncertainty about the value offered within communities, making it hard to keep members and maintain activity.
Profitability Issues:
High monthly fees for creating and managing communities: The platform initially charged users a high monthly fee to create and manage their communities. This upfront cost discouraged potential new clients from joining, limiting the platform's growth.
Unclear membership plan benefits: The membership plans offered by the platform didn’t clearly show their benefits, leading to low adoption rates among users.
Low transaction fees: The transaction fees were set too low, barely covering the costs, which limited profitability and slowed the platform's financial growth.
Conclusion
Luminy was a place where people came to consume content and were willing to pay for it. With this in mind, I decided that focusing on digital content creators would be the best strategy. Bringing in podcasters, TikTokers, and YouTubers seemed like the most promising option. They would have a platform to publish their content, knowing it would reach their followers, and could create subscription plans for premium content for those willing to pay.
Changes Made:
Post Creation Limited to Creators: Only creators can now make posts within communities. This change was made to avoid the need for advanced moderation early on and to ensure the content stays focused on the community's purpose.
Subscription to Multiple Communities: Users can now subscribe to multiple communities and contribute to different membership plans. They’ll have a personalized feed that includes all the content from the communities they’re subscribed to.
No More Monthly Fees for Creators: I proposed removing the monthly fee for creating a community, making it free. Instead, the platform slightly increased the fees on membership plans. This way, the platform's profit will grow alongside the growth of the communities.
This solution was well received by the owners, and that’s how the new Luminy was born.
Design Solution
Final Design
Each Creator have his own feed, inside their comunity
Create as many membership plans as you want.
Follow all the communities you wish and have all their content in one place.
Create and share
Created for web and Mobile
The platform was designed using a grid system that ensures all components are automatically responsive, adapting seamlessly to different screen sizes and devices.
Screens
Results
Only 1 month after the changes:
We increased client acquisition by 60%.
And the total number of users on the platform grew exponentially. By focusing on content creators, they brought a large base of followers to the platform, willing to pay for membership plans with their favorite creators.
Key Learnings and Achievements
This project has been a significant learning experience in business strategy. I had numerous opportunities to study the market and propose the best solution for the project's future. I am extremely satisfied with the progress, as the solution I suggested was well received by both the owners and the Creators who were already on the platform before the changes.