Followers Aren't Customers: You Just Need 1000 True Fans

October 23, 2022

There are customers, there are fans, and then there are true fans. A loyal fan is not your average customer - and looking for people that would not only buy your service, but also purchase the upsell and refer your business to their friends.

They are the ones that subscribe to your newsletter, read every single word, click every link, and send it to twenty of their contacts. They love everything about your brand, and value it so much that they are happy to give up part of their income for it - every single time you have an offer.

How valuable is it? Kevin Kelly breaks it down:

"Here’s how the math works. You need to meet two criteria. First, you have to create enough each year that you can earn, on average, $100 profit from each true fan. That is easier to do in some arts and businesses than others, but it is a good creative challenge in every area because it is always easier and better to give your existing customers more, than it is to find new fans.

Second, you must have a direct relationship with your fans. That is, they must pay you directly. You get to keep all of their support, unlike the small percent of their fees you might get from a music label, publisher, studio, retailer, or other intermediate. If you keep the full $100 of each true fan, then you need only 1,000 of them to earn $100,000 per year. That’s a living for most folks."

Read the rest of the essay yourself below. It's going to change how you view marketing.

1,000 true fans is an alternative path to success other than stardom. Instead of trying to reach the narrow and unlikely peaks of platinum bestseller hits, blockbusters, and celebrity status, you can aim for direct connection with a thousand true fans. Continue reading →

Start with writing to one fan, over and over.

Marketing and copy writing all boils down to your willingness to do it over and over again until you finally get it right.

Don't know what to write? Create an imaginary fan.

Stuck on a page? Think of a customer's problem and relate to that.

Too tired to write? Just write.

Put words on paper. Don't worry if you think it's no good. You can always change it later.

That feeling of unworthiness and stupidity has never gone away. There are so many days when I sit down to write and everything that occurs to me to commit to the page is just sucks. Here’s what’s changed: I write anyway…

First things first: Craft a great headline

Use this 3-part formula for your next headline. Rinse and repeat.