Some corners of the blogosphere are buzzing about a blog post written by Kevin Kelly, an editor at Wired magazine. The idea behind his post, “1,000 True Fans,” isn’t new, but it’s timely.
Background: The Long Tail
You’ve probably heard of the “long tail,” an idea popularized by Chris Anderson, Wired magazine’s editor-in-chief. Anderson argued in The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More that the era of the “hit” or “blockbuster” was driven by artificial scarcity. Because of limited physical shelf space, air time, etc., only those products that sold well were given precious space and air time. Owners could not afford to stock items that sold only a few units a year.
The Internet has eliminated this artificial scarcity by opening up a seemingly infinite supply of niche goods and services to consumers. Technology has made producing, storing, and distributing products cheaper. At the head of the demand curve are best-selling products, or hits. In the long tail of the curve are non-hits, products that sell in smaller quantities. Anderson argued that the future of business is in the long tail.
Foreground: 1,000 True Fans
Kevin Kelly calls the long tail a “mixed blessing” for product creators. While products at the far end of the curve still sell, these sales are “minuscule” and hardly enough for individual creators to make a living.
Creators can escape the long tail “doldrums” by finding 1,000 True Fans, which Kelly argues is sufficient for an artist to earn a decent living. An excerpt (emphasis added):
A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author - in other words, anyone producing works of art - needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.
A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can’t wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.
…
Assume conservatively that your True Fans will each spend one day’s wages per year in support of what you do. That “one-day-wage” is an average, because of course your truest fans will spend a lot more than that. Let’s peg that per diem each True Fan spends at $100 per year. If you have 1,000 fans that sums up to $100,000 per year, which minus some modest expenses, is a living for most folks.
As usual, I started analyzing before I finished reading the post. “How can the 1,000 True Fans theory apply to bands?” I asked myself. Can a band make a living from 1,000 people when they have to divide the wad between band members and crew? And the manager? And accountant? And…
Kelly answers at least one of my questions. As the number of people in the group increases, you’ll have to increase the number of True Fans. “[I]f you increase your group size by 33%, you need add only 33% more fans,” Kelly writes.
The 1,000 True Fans idea is a cool one for anybody, whether you’re a blogger trying to make money from your blog or an author trying to make a living writing books. If you’re a blogger or author lucky enough to have 1,000 True Fans – people who’ll buy just about anything you offer - think of the possibilities. In addition to a “main product” (blog or book), you can create and sell other “merch” like T-shirts, mugs, and bags with your logo. You can offer online courses and seminars and hire yourself out for speaking engagements.
Plenty of bloggers and authors already do this, of course, and make a decent living at it.
Fandom Tell Me True
As a writer and professional blogger trying to make a decent living doing what I love, I have a certain affinity for obscure and/or struggling bands. No doubt many of them love making music, but I’m sure a large number dream of making it big, playing arenas, and selling millions of albums.
But the “platinum hits, bestseller blockbusters, and celebrity status” probably won’t happen.
The most they can hope for is to make a decent living from their craft and get up every morning doing what they love. Believe me, that is a blessing. From my perspective, it’s something to strive for, not settle for.
Digital technology has made it easier and cheaper for artists to connect directly with fans. Based on the short time I’ve spent learning about various fandoms, I can tell you this: there are passionate people out there fiercely loyal to their favorite bands and authors. They’ll buy everything you care to sell. They will attend several shows in a single tour. They’re on street teams. They call radio stations and ask DJs to play your music (the non-hits). They call book stores and ask managers to stock your books. I’m talking about diehard fans, not stalkers.
If you don’t have a blog or at least a discussion board on your web site, shame on you. If you don’t have a web site, off to the dungeons! There’s no better way to stay connected to fans, and more importantly, give fans access to you. Find a way to directly connect with fans, and they’ll reward you 1,000 times over.
If you’re a band interested in starting a blog on your web site, connect with me for more info.
If you create and market music and related products and want to learn how to help consumers discover your products online, I recommend Net, Blogs and Rock ‘n’ Roll: How Digital Discovery Works and What it Means for Consumers, Creators and Culture. I also recommend the book for consumers looking for easier ways to find good music and other products online. Read my review.
(Hat tip: Evangelical Outpost)
Update: I followed another blogger’s “reaction” to Kevin Kelly’s post and found a link to LBC on the first page of results: Google juice! And I only posted this morning.
If you’re a professional or hobby blogger trying to market your blog or business, getting on the first page of a Google search is important. Reporters and radio show hosts have contacted me for interviews and quoted my blog in news stories (mostly political) because they found me while researching a particular topic. And I wasn’t even trying. That’s how Google works. The older and more widely linked the blog, the more Google juice it has (though there are exceptions). That’s more than enough reason to add a blog to your business web site if you don’t have one and to keep blogging if you do. Blogging is one of the best ways to build expertise (and Google juice) in a niche topic.
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