Zora
Why
We've developed and tweaked alot websites for brands on Shopify. And as creators we thought it could be cool to do something for other creators, the content creator kind.
At the time there were alot of creator economy apps surfacing. All trying to tap into the billion dollar creator economy market. Many of the solutions did the same thing resulting in creators not having autonomy, no access to subscriber list or customers, or having a say over their work or how they got paid. Forget the countless account takeovers that left so many creators without.
So we decided to flip the script on a platform traditonally used for e-commerce. And leverage it to help creators sell their content, showcase their work and connect with their audience.
How
We started thinking about all the business models that small to big creators utilize to monetize and thrive. The next question... how can it be packaged all-in-one while serving a diverse group of multi-media creators including video creators, podcasters, writers and publishers.
It needed to be affordable, accessible, and plugin free so that any creator regardless of size could choose how they wanted to monetize and scale their business based on their growing supporters and fans. Guess you could say we had our work cut out.
What
Most would just turn to building a Shopify app. We decided to use a Shopify Theme and push Liquid to the limits. The result was a Shopify membership theme that integrated with the existing ways you could sell on Shopify with added custom features like exclusive content and products, affiliate links, rich blog categorization, and comments.
Shopify called it innovative. It was the first of it's kind. Not just for bringing memberships to Shopify but opening up an opportunity for a new type of business owners, Content Creators, and empowering them to use the platform to power their business. We decided to call it Zora, after Zora Neal Hurston, a Black multi-media content creator of her time.
It was a chance to pay tribute to the past while honoring the present bringing representation to the Shopify Theme store when at the time there wasn't much. Brands around the world should be able to see the themselves or customers in the Themes they choose and the people who build them.
Present
Today Zora has way more use cases then we imagined. From private therapy practices to publishers and everything in between. We're surprised of the growing adaptions of the theme. Despite the unique challenges that Theme Developers face thriving in the theme marketplace, Zora is here to stay even if it's not our bread and butter. A long time ago we decided no marketing no ads. Just word of mouth and letting Zora grow naturally on it's own.
If Zora is something that you think could help you or someone you know try it out and show us some love publicly or privately.
Your website, your terms ✊🏾
Creators
