Interview with Nik Kalyani

I asked my fellow collector and dear friend Nik for his opinion on how to approach an NFT collector, and his reply was so thorough I thought it deserved a post with it in full.

If you approach a Collector with these four foundational guidelines, you can’t go wrong:

1. A Collector is a human, not a wallet
2. A Collector doesn’t owe you anything, not even a reply
3. A Collector’s time is theirs, respect it (your 2 mins multiplied by 10, 20, 50 artists is a lot of minutes)
4. A Collector has preferences, likes and dislikes. They don’t need to justify these to you.

I will start by telling you the things NOT to do to engage with me:

1. Don’t DM me. Especially never, ever DM me wishing gm, asking how I am, or any such superficial pleasantry
2. Don’t tag me on your announcements
3. Don’t tag me and mention your desire, wish, manifestation, prayer or any such thing to be in my collection.
4. Don’t reply to my posts with a link or image of your artwork

How to get my attention? I start with the artist.

Or the art usually, but not always, it comes second for me. But even when the art attracts me first, I will go back and research the artist before deciding to collect.

1. Engage: Reply with meaningful responses to any of my posts. Meaningful means adding value to the conversation, not just flattery, agreement, or emojis. I don’t care if you follow me or not.
2. Elevate the Community: It doesn’t have to be huge. Small actions matter. Host or speak in Spaces, provide tips or guidance, answer questions, and share resources. The more of these you do, the more interested I am in knowing about you and your art.
3. Educate: Post more about your art. What inspires you? How do you create it? Why do you create? What tools and techniques do you use?

You can achieve all of these by focusing on creating a Personal Brand. I am attracted like a magnet to artists who do the work of creating a strong Personal Brand.

My appetite for art knows no boundaries of genre, price, medium, technique, or marketplace. If I connect with you as an Artist, I will collect your work… that’s it.