Why rules-based utilities are the future of NFT utilities

By now you should know that utilities are the future of the NFT market - making collections engaging and exciting, and keeping communities sticky and loyal. If you’re already building or  deploying utilities - nice work! We’d love to know how it’s going.

But that’s not the end of the story. If you want to supercharge your NFTs with utility, you’ll need to know about rules-based utilities which take segmentation and targeting to a whole new level. 

And the good news is we’re here to help you make it all happen. 

Building a great post-mint strategy

Let’s start with some context. Every time your NFTs change hands, you'll get a percentage of the sales. So, after you've minted your collection, you can’t sit back and relax - your job is now to boost the floor price and the volume of sales in order to increase the money you walk away with.

When it comes to the floor price, the higher the better - and the more money you get in your pocket once you’ve worked out your royalty percentage (5% of 2ETH is better than 5% of 0.1 ETH - the maths is pretty simple!) Volume of sales is crucial too. More sales means more royalties for you - and the likelihood that your NFT collection will remain popular for the long-term. 

And the secret to working on your floor price and volume of sales? That’s where utilities come in. From great merch and exclusive content, to whitelists for future releases and even real-life and digital events, making your NFT useful (more than just a pretty picture) is vital. It will let you do two things - keep your existing holders engaged and loyal and help you attract  potential new investors too. If you harness the power of Tropee, and let your communities build utilities for you, then you’re a further step ahead too - you’re part of a new world where communities are loyal and engaged, and actively involved in the future of your collection.

You’ll also need a roadmap which detailed your NFT’s future and which outlines what you’re planning to give back to early buyers. Make sure you have a professional website, a brand voice that people recognise as ‘you’, and the commitment to creating and maintaining a community that people want to be part of.

There’s a lot to get right - but the rewards are more than worth it.

Introducing rules-based utilities

So, we know then that introducing utility to your collection will help to keep buyers interested and create more demand - which will help improve floor price, and boost the volume of sales you make. Need help getting started? Tropee is here to help.

And we can help you level up your utility strategy too - creating rules-based utilities which help you retain your customers and sell more tokens. 

But what are rules-based utilities? The good news is that it’s relatively simple to understand.  

Using on and off-chain data, creators are able to give a specific utility to specific holders depending on what they do (their attributes and behaviour). Think of it like a CRM system - you’re tracking what your customers do and what they want and delivering accordingly. By making your utilities rules-based, you’re delivering specific utilities to holders who match certain conditions (that you define as a creator).

Need to know more? We’ve got you. Here are five examples of segmentation for your utilities that will help you retain your holders and upsell too.

1. Create utilities for holders who have more than one of your NFTs

Want people to buy your tokens in bulk? Why not reward holders for owning more of your NFTs.  For example, if holders own three or more NFTs from your collection, could they get an exclusive utility which single-token holders don’t receive? Maybe they get on a whitelist for future releases? Or perhaps they could receive a piece of physical merch? The world’s your oyster!

This tactic boosts the floor price because holders are incentivised to hold their NFTs (preventing the number of NFTs available getting too high - and floor price going down) and increases the volume of sales too. Some holders will want to buy more if they don't have the right amount of NFTs from your collection in order to access the utility. Good stuff.

2. Reward holders who hold onto your NFTs for the long-term

Remember when we wrote about the NFT industry entering the bear market phase and the importance of getting holders to hang on to your digital assets? Well the good news is there’s a rule-based utility which can help make that happen.

For example, if holders have been holding your NFTs for two months, could they be rewarded for doing so? Do they get something exclusive? Or the chance to buy more at a reduced price?

This tactic is particularly helpful in preventing ‘paper hands’ (those who sell too early) from selling when there’s a slight floor price drop. They’ll want to hang on in order to get the utility.

3. Think about holders who don't list their NFTs on OpenSea

We’ve learned then that a limited supply of digital assets means a higher floor price (and more money in your wallet). Think of a rare diamond in comparison with a mass-produced synthetic stone - the fewer there are around, the more people pay for them.

So, you might want to consider rewarding holders who don’t list their NFTs on OpenSea (the primary platform for buying and selling NFTs). It will increase scarcity if there are fewer available on the market and your floor price will go up. Think about what you can do for these holders - what do they want from you? Early access to your roadmap? A meet and greet with the creator? There are plenty of ways to make loyal holders feel special.

4. Create utilities for holders who have special properties

What makes an NFT super collectable? Rare or unique traits. 

Let's take Bored Ape Yacht Club for example: each NFT has a distinct combination of traits, including differences in physical features like color, background or even the ape’s costume. The traits your token has determines how rare and valuable it is.

So when it comes to traits, the rarer the better. A great strategy is to add very rare utilities for very rare NFTs based on their properties. Providing a utility that only a handful of NFTs have access to will make them even more appealing to potential investors.

5. Layer these rules to create more complex flows

Want to reward your holders for a bunch of different stuff? Tropee is here to help! Using our platform, you can layer different rules and get even more creative with what you offer. 

For example, you can create a special utility for the most loyal and engaged customers - those who hold more than one of your NFTs, for a long period of time, and who aren’t on OpenSea. That level of loyalty deserves rewarding, right? So why not think outside the box and come up with something particularly compelling.

6. Engage your community

When you’re building rules-based utilities, there’s another important tactic to consider too - and that’s empowering your communities to create NFT utilities for your collection. That’s right - encourage and foster those creative types who want to build utilities, and let them have a hand in powering your long-term success. 

In fact, that’s the brand new world we’re powering at Tropee - where anyone has the power to create any utility for any collection. A savvy NFT fan who might not have their own collection can build their own brand (maybe they are an artist wanting to promote their newest creations), and extend the value of your collection at the same time. Clever right?

What's next?

We hope that’s enough to get you started adding rules-based utilities to your collection, and begin reaping the rewards of loyal holders, increased floor prices and more sales.

Got ideas or tips to share? We’d love to hear them. Drop us a line and let us know what you’re doing to keep your own collections alive and thriving.