Who are True Fans?
I read a post by Kevin Kelly at “The Technium” called 1,000 True Fans. He makes the assertion that an artist needs to only find 1,000 “true fans” to make a living. Curious, I read his description of a true fan:
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.
That makes me think of my friend Nora. She’s a true Stargate fan. She goes to conventions (some outside the United States), she knows the release dates of all the DVD sets, she knows what actor is negotiating their contract, and who is successful and who isn’t. She is a “true fan.”
You can make a living with 1,000 true fans. (for a solo artist)
By Kevin’s definition, Rod would be considered a “lesser fan.” He buys DVDs of television series, but doesn’t attend as many events as Nora. He knows a lot about the series and its actors, but doesn’t dig down to the level Nora does.
I’m somewhere in an outer ring from both Nora and Rod. I enjoy the series, I’ll watch the series when I think of it, borrow Nora’s DVDs, and even host a “Sci-Fi Friday” event at my home, but that’s about the extent of it.
The good news, and the point of his post is, you can make a living by attracting and nurturing 1,000 True Fans, and you don’t have to have a hit to do so. In the world of long-tail, there’s a place between the peak (the mega-hits) and the long tail (the items that sell once or twice a year) for many that have “1,000 True Fans.”
There is a cautionary word: If you decide to try for 1,000 True Fans, you must be prepared to nurture those fans. They won’t come just because you throw out any old thing, but really want to connect with you.
This is something worth studying, especially for filmmakers. What could you do with 1,000 True Fans? And where will you find them?
Much harder to do with filmmaking..your not on the road touring and you don’t have music they can pop into their cd player or i pod…I guess it’s not impossible, but those are some “true fans”..
March 18th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Then this maybe something that we as filmmakers may have to discover - building a dedicated fan base over a period of time. I think it is very possible if you know truly what kind of people group you want to represent and serve your film products to consistently until you can grow into other people group spheres. Writer/Film directors that have done this very well is Tyler Perry and The Kendrick Brothers ( I am so looking forward to their next film) to name a few. It is very hard work but with prayer, faith in God, wisdom & knowledge of your calling it can be done. If you can produce at least one movie a year and tour with that movie (chart a circuit) and then do another one and rerun that circuit until you establish a dedicated fan base, then expand that circuit just a little bit. Somebody will always like your brand of entertainment. Honour the fans you have no matter how small they are and before you know it they will reproduce other fans. Other factors that help with this is have consistent themes that the fans you have recognised like and identify you for e.g. consistent story themes, consistent cast & crew, consistent locations e.g. after a season diversify but keep the foundational themes in place.Hey I need to do this myself much more!!!
March 19th, 2008 at 2:46 am
My friend John Moore (HeuMoore Productions) is well on his way to creating this fan base of 1000 True Fans. At the 2007 SAICFF, his movie “Heartstrings” received the Audience Choice Award. Many of his fans traveled down to San Antonio just to support him. When we released his DVD on a major Christian website, a bunch of fans came and wrote an extremely positive review. Oh yeah, and his DVD has also sold a couple thousand copies.
March 19th, 2008 at 7:42 am
Great Scott. Very good work from your friend John Moore. I think another thing that we need to overcome is the idea that you have to be famous before you are successful and that is not true at all. It is just being faithful with little things that give rise to the big things, but we sometimes fall into the world’s idea that unless you are selling multi thousands of units you are not successful and that is not true. We don’t get our self worth by the dollar amount that we make but by the impact and transformation of lives we touch by the grace of God (please this is not an excuse for slack work either). We must be excellent, diligent and prepared to persevere especially as a filmmaker (and as believers in any field of work and life), and you will know by the leading of the Lord when it is your time to release a project and how long for. We do the work and obey His instructions thoroughly and all the results are up to Him. We leave the consequences of obedience to the Lord. As I heard recently: it don’t take much to make a lot but you got to know how much it takes to make a lot and that takes a lot of time with much effort.
March 19th, 2008 at 9:05 am
The sci/fi films and comic book genres have a built in audience a lot of times. That’s why Indiana Jones will do very well at the box office even if it gets bad reviews. It was a huge worldwide event for Indiana Jones 4 to debut their preview on Good Morning America — now think about that — The film was shot over the summer and there wasn’t even a teaser trailer until recently - and there was such a hype on the Internet for it. I had read that Spielberg had watched his film all the way through a bunch of times and none of the fans got a chance until recently to see any footage from that film until that trailer hit. George Lucas has been one of the innovators to take movies to the level of building franchises out of them - book spinoffs, games, action figures, etc… - We can learn a lot from his wise business choices.
March 19th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
The term fan turns me off. It means fanatic, someone who will spend the rent money in order to stalk their idol. Not good! no matter how famous a person is or isn’t. I feel that if you have a solid plot that people can identify with, and you execute it well, you will gain a following that respects your skill,talent or art. Lesile is correct in saying you should play to your dedicated base, they are your repeat customers. Overtime they will bring you more folks who appreciate your art. Word of mouth is the best form of advertisement. So do what you love and follow your heart, and the Lord will provide the rest.
March 19th, 2008 at 2:26 pm