BanklessDAO Writers Genesis Cohort Proposal
BanklessDAO Writers Genesis Cohort Proposal
A copy of Taptive's proposal to run a writing cohort for BanklessDAO Members
This is essay 1 of 4 for the Great Founders Write Cohort
Last week, BanklessDAO announced the BanklessDAO Writers Genesis Cohort.
BanklessDAO and Taptive are partnering to run a writing cohort made specifically for BanklessDAO Members.
Because BanklessDAO is a DAO (decentralized autonomous organization), the organization had to vote if they wanted to spend the time and resources to run the cohort.
Working with some members of the DAO, I drafted the following proposal that the DAO voted on.
I am sharing this proposal in the spirit of “building in public.” This proposal is a real-life articulation of the value proposition I shared in previous posts like Introducing Taptive and Elevate Your Community With Taptive.
Here is the full version of the proposal including votes and comments from the DAO.
Here is an abridged version of the proposal:
Summary
This proposal is to gain approval for a partnership with Taptive. Taptive helps communities grow by running cohort-based writing programs for their members.
The goal of the partnership is to have Taptive run a cohort-based writing program for BanklessDAO that will:
Help BanklessDAO members gain the confidence to publish their writing, which will improve their writing ability and grow their online reputation
Grow and strengthen relationships between BanklessDAO members
Create member-generated content that BanklessDAO can use to elevate its own online presence and brand
Enable for greater coordination and consensus as better writing leads to clearer communication
BACKGROUND
Writing Is Important:
Writing is a fundamental skill. In Web3, it’s even more important.
We do most of our work by text, and better writing creates clearer thinking and a greater understanding of the ideas we seek to convey.
The ability to communicate your ideas benefits everyone operating in a remote, asynchronous Web3 environment. In addition, building an online presence and showcasing your skills/abilities through a writing portfolio creates opportunities for people working in a digital environment.
But, Writing Is Difficult:
Writing is lonely, intimidating, and hard to stay consistent.
Cohort-Based Writing Programs Solve This:
Cohort-based writing programs are an effective and tested way to learn, encourage writing, and connect.
Through Taptive’s cohort-based writing program, BanklessDAO members will have the opportunity to learn and hone this fundamental skill, put it to action through publishing, and connect further with members of BanklessDAO through the cohort process.
Taptive has run 9 cohort-based writing programs helping writers publish 300+ essays.
MISSION & VALUES ALIGNMENT
A BanklessDAO cohort-based writing program will help further BanklessDAO’s mission to onboard people to crypto-native ways of working while giving them the necessary skills to successfully work in Web3.
The program will also educate more people about Web3/crypto. Clear writing is clear thinking. By helping BanklessDAO members to write, they will advance their own Web3 knowledge. With peer feedback integrated into the program, writers will learn from giving/receiving feedback.
And with a focus on publishing content, the cohort will create more crypto-related content on the internet.
SPECIFICATION
🎬 Cohort Basics
Name: BanklessDAO Writers Cohort #1
BanklessDAO Writers Cohort #1 is a 4-week cohort-based writing program where each participant publishes four 1,000-word essays in four weeks. Each writer publishes their writing on their own publishing platform, with the option to submit work to the EPA for possible publishing on the BanklessDAO Medium page.
🗓️ Timeline
🚨Cohort Preparation and Marketing
Taptive will support Bankless in marketing the cohort to BanklessDAO members. Taptive will help create a landing page for the cohort with an overview of the benefits and logistics of the cohort. The landing page will include a sign-up form that Taptive will help monitor. Also, Taptive will help create a timeline and run the general logistics leading up to the cohort start.
👋 Onboarding and Cohort Start
Taptive will run its standard onboarding process to start the cohort. Onboarding is a critical part of the cohort experience as it communicates the goals, expectations, process, and logistics required to align all cohort participants. The onboarding covers:
Welcome and To-Dos (To-Dos include: complete the onboarding survey, launch your writing platform, explore the Notion Home, introduce yourself in the Discord Channel, and an introduction to The Publishing Process)
How to Make the Most of BanklessDAO Writers Cohort #1 (Tips on building confidence in publishing your writing, connecting with others, and distributing content online)
Weekly Workflow (The best way to structure your week to ensure that you publish a new post every week)
Discord Intros and Cohort Competitions (An introduction template to start the discussion in Discord along with competitions during the cohort)
Also, onboarding will include an invite to the BanklessDAO Writer’s Cohort Notion Home created by Taptive. The Notion Home includes all resources participants will use during the cohort. (Progress Log, Weekly Summary, Calendar, Weekly/Cohort/Feedback Champion Competitions, Feedback Guide, Writing Partner Guide, Feedback Form, Live Meeting Recordings, Taptive’s The Publishing Process, >20 pages of Taptive Writing Tips).
Finally, Taptive will lead a kickoff call on the Wednesday before the first essay is due. During this Kickoff event, cohort participants will have the chance to meet each other, discuss intentions for the cohort, and solidify their understanding of the cohort structure/logistics.
💬 Community Channel
Asynchronous discussion is an important part of the cohort experience. Cohort participants will chat in a separate channel in the BanklessDAO Discord (likely in the Writers Guild). Taptive will facilitate a wide range of discussion in the channel including some of the following: introductions, weekly topic proposals, smaller “bullet drafts” for feedback, published posts, feedback on posts, voting on weekly writing champions, general discussion, and logistics.
📅 Cohort Weekly Cadence
Once the cohort is launched, the cohort will run on a consistent, weekly cadence. This is intentional - the more simple the weekly cadence, the more writers can focus on writing. The general cadence of the week is as follows:
Thursday: Each writer gives feedback to their writing partner from the previous week (new writing partners are assigned every week)
Friday: Each writer sends their writing topic for the week to the Discord channel and writes a “bullet draft” of their weekly post
Tuesday: Each writer publishes their post to their publishing platform of choice (and shares it in the Discord)
Wednesday: Each writer shares their writing on social media
Taptive ensures that writers are able to follow this cadence by sending reminders throughout the week.
🤝 Live Meetups
Each week, Taptive organizes a space to meet live (preferably on Wednesdays at the same time every week) to give feedback on writing and explore ideas.
👋 Cohort Conclusion
After the four weeks of the cohort conclude, participants will have four published posts, new confidence in their writing ability, and new connections.
We will end the cohort with a Celebration Meetup to announce the Weekly/Cohort/Feedback Champions.
Finally, Taptive will send an offboarding survey.
(End of Proposal)
This is the general structure of the writing cohorts that we run. Over many iterations, we’ve found that this structure works well (though we’re always experimenting and testing new features).
Do you know of a community that might be interested in running a cohort-based writing program?
Feel free to reach out to me directly at grant@taptive.xyz.