07th Apr 2008
1000 true fans
After reading flashflavor and seeing our work day in and day out, do you ever wonder what it is that we do to get the business that we get walking in the door week after week? Well, In this FF post, I am going to give you my true secrets. I’m telling you this because letting this secret out isnt going to diminish my “true fan” base. Hopefully, this post can be about some inspiration for you. For the last 5 years, we have been very client driven and have done all or everything to build a fan base. We have been doing everything we can to go ALL out do deliver the most amazing imagery, delivering tip top customer service, and separating ourselves from the rest!
The secret to success for the creative artist is finding 1000 true fans. The content of this article is 100% copyright Kevin Kelly Genius, Blog Author, Book Author, Wired Magazine Co Founder amongst other affiliations… Kevin writes about obtaining 1000 true fans:
…the gist of 1,000 True Fans can be stated simply:
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.
One thousand is a feasible number. You could count to 1,000. If you added one fan a day, it would take only three years. True Fanship is doable. Pleasing a True Fan is pleasurable, and invigorating. It rewards the artist to remain true, to focus on the unique aspects of their work, the qualities that True Fans appreciate.
The key challenge is that you have to maintain direct contact with your 1,000 True Fans. They are giving you their support directly. Maybe they come to your house concerts, or they are buying your DVDs from your website, or they order your prints from Pictopia. As much as possible you retain the full amount of their support. You also benefit from the direct feedback and love.
To read the rest of this amazing eye opening and career starting article, please go read Kevin’s Kelly’s article about 1000 true fans…
Kevin nailed it here folks. This has been the key for my survival and the motivation behind all of our development since day 1. This article is only 1 month old however, it is the answer to any artists search in life to find clients.
Flash flavor’s motivation has been nothing short of a straight line down the path of finding 1000 true fans… My motivation with Flashflavor has the Karma approach in mind. If I give and give and give, if I’m lucky , on of these days what goes around comes around… I’m not selling anything (yet) on FF… However, I guess one of these days I’ll be offering a workshop or selling some sort of software and hopefully, my “true” fans will shine for me 
I must be getting somewhere because as I write this post, we are receiving 1000 unique visits every day Hey!! thats a start!
Now take some time, and bookmark Kevin’s blog on your RSS feed or write about him on your blog. While you are at it, bookmarking Flashflavor would help me out in many many ways, por favor!
Cheers & start finding your true 1000 fans!
mateo
After reading flashflavor and seeing our work day in and day out, do you ever wonder what it is that we do to get the business that we get walking in the door week after week? Well, In this FF post, I am going to give you my true secrets. I’m telling you this because letting this secret out isnt going to diminish my “true fan” base. Hopefully, this post can be about some inspiration for you. For the last 5 years, we have been very client driven and have done all or everything to build a fan base. We have been doing everything we can to go ALL out do deliver the most amazing imagery, delivering tip top customer service, and separating ourselves from the rest!
The secret to success for the creative artist is finding 1000 true fans. The content of this article is 100% copyright Kevin Kelly Genius, Blog Author, Book Author, Wired Magazine Co Founder amongst other affiliations… Kevin writes about obtaining 1000 true fans:
…the gist of 1,000 True Fans can be stated simply:
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.
One thousand is a feasible number. You could count to 1,000. If you added one fan a day, it would take only three years. True Fanship is doable. Pleasing a True Fan is pleasurable, and invigorating. It rewards the artist to remain true, to focus on the unique aspects of their work, the qualities that True Fans appreciate.
The key challenge is that you have to maintain direct contact with your 1,000 True Fans. They are giving you their support directly. Maybe they come to your house concerts, or they are buying your DVDs from your website, or they order your prints from Pictopia. As much as possible you retain the full amount of their support. You also benefit from the direct feedback and love.
To read the rest of this amazing eye opening and career starting article, please go read Kevin’s Kelly’s article about 1000 true fans…
Kevin nailed it here folks. This has been the key for my survival and the motivation behind all of our development since day 1. This article is only 1 month old however, it is the answer to any artists search in life to find clients.
Flash flavor’s motivation has been nothing short of a straight line down the path of finding 1000 true fans… My motivation with Flashflavor has the Karma approach in mind. If I give and give and give, if I’m lucky , on of these days what goes around comes around… I’m not selling anything (yet) on FF… However, I guess one of these days I’ll be offering a workshop or selling some sort of software and hopefully, my “true” fans will shine for me I must be getting somewhere because as I write this post, we are receiving 1000 unique visits every day Hey!! thats a start!
Now take some time, and bookmark Kevin’s blog on your RSS feed or write about him on your blog. While you are at it, bookmarking Flashflavor would help me out in many many ways, por favor!
Cheers & start finding your true 1000 fans!
mateo
Posted by matt under 
Matt Adcock, Kevin Kelly 
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