Are you a creator or small business owner with a stellar social media presence, wondering how to take your brand to the next level? Look no further. Luma is “The Best Homepage for Creators (You)”, positioning itself among other platforms like it as somewhere in between Instagram and Patreon.
From the moment his household upgraded from dial up in the 1990s, Luma founder Victor Pontis says that he was “addicted to the internet.” From Myspace, to Facebook, to Instagram, to TikTok, Pontis – like most millennials – has had his fair share of social media accounts. Luma, he states, is the latest advancement in the tradition of social media pit stops; it’s a home.
For small businesses – especially those which are experience-based rather than product-based – Luma can help you bring home some serious bacon. On the app, users can link all their social media accounts, manage members, create events, send out newsletters, and connect bank accounts. I personally love the analytics feature – Luma is an all-in-one!
Luma’s site includes happy testimonials from a fitness instructor, a podcaster, and many more who have used the app to create subscriber-only Zoom events. During the pandemic – which has, for many of us, been a difficult financial moment – monetizing whatever you can has been a necessary move. If you’re a creative, or a small business owner, making your content more lucrative is probably at the top of your list.
As of now, Luma’s pricing is as such: You can host free events for free and paid events for free (until March 2021). Luma also takes 5% off the top of your subscription transactions.
Here’s my hot take: While I love the idea of individuals using tech to turn what they do into cash, this concept is hardly groundbreaking. While the platform has a beautiful, smooth user experience, many existing apps and platforms do almost exactly what Luma does – some social media apps, like Clubhouse, are even promoting subscriptions via the app itself.
I think that for users with a preexisting fanbase/clientele, an app like Luma is perfect for streamlining efforts and monetizing your content. For those who are perhaps entering the small business sector for the first time (let’s face it, COVID has a lot of us reconsidering our career paths), trying to secure a paycheck through an app like Luma might prove to be a little more complicated. Remember: The current financial moment has the market extremely flooded. Plan accordingly, y’all.
Anaïs DerSimonian is a writer, filmmaker, and educator interested in media, culture and the arts. She is Clark University Alumni with a degree in Culture Studies and Screen Studies. She has produced various documentary and narrative projects, including a profile on an NGO in Yerevan, Armenia that provides micro-loans to cottage industries and entrepreneurs based in rural regions to help create jobs, self-sufficiency, and to stimulate the post-Soviet economy. She is currently based in Boston. Besides filmmaking, Anaïs enjoys reading good fiction and watching sketch and stand-up comedy.
