The Power of 1000 fans for Small Business Success

Kevin Kelly, who writes “The Technium” came up with the concept of 1,000 true fans. It relates to the concept of the “Long Tail” where the head and the tail meet as you can see in the image below:

(Credit: Kevin Kelly, The Technium)

Kevin Kelly defines it nicely:

“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.”

Working on getting these true fans you quickly realize that 1,000 people is something you can see in your head. You can count it (it would take a while, but it is doable) and the technology available to you today through blogs, podcasts, social network sites and web sites easily creates community and connection between your and your “fans”.

Do the Math

As you work your way to getting those 1,000 fans, the math is pretty simple. If 1,000 of those fans spend only $100 a year on your products/services that is $100,000 a year. Pretty good for an independent small business owner. The only caveat that Kevin points out and I agree with is that is a strategy for one person - the freelancer, the artist, the writer. If you have more than one person you will need to up that number.

Things that you can produce for your 1,000 fans

If you are an artist, like a musician, the goal is obvious - produce an album. If you are a freelancer or writer, you can create thought leadership in your area by writing e-books or producing templates of information people need but don’t have the skill or time to create. Take Seth Godin as a prime example. Seth is an expert in marketing and writes books, some of which he gives away for free, and blogs about marketing to the masses. He has created a great following so that when ever he publishes a new book people rush to buy it.

Andy Beal is another great example. He writes Marketing Pilgrim which is a site dedicated to “Word of Mouth Marketing” for B2B companies. He writes a blog that has become popular over the years and publishes e-books on various topics that are reasonably priced ($5.00) and because of his growth to his 1,000 fans just published a book “Radically Transparent: Monitoring and Managing Reputations Online” that you can buy through Amazon.

Your number may vary

Kevin points out that you may need less or more than a 1,000 fans depending on your space. He says:

“The actual number may vary depending on the media. Maybe it is 500 True Fans for a painter and 5,000 True Fans for a videomaker. The numbers must surely vary around the world. But in fact the actual number is not critical, because it cannot be determined except by attempting it. Once you are in that mode, the actual number will become evident. That will be the True Fan number that works for you. My formula may be off by an order of magnitude, but even so, its far less than a million.”

Get started now

You can get started immediately. Start a blog, create a podcast, launch a fan page on Facebook, create a page on MySpace and even create your own Social Network on Ning. Send e-mails to your current fans and friends to spread the word (don’t spam them) and when you are at events, create a business card with all this info so people can start to follow you and become a fan!