1000 True Fans Is All It Takes

If you’re struggling to crack 100 fans or even 1,000 on your Facebook or fan page, or Twitter account, or RSS subscribers, then you’ll be glad to know that sometimes 1,000 TRUE Fans is all it takes to make it. I’d like to ask what all of Assault‘s RSS subscribers and newsletter subscribers are up to then because Mr. 51% and I should be rich!

A memorable quote from the same 1,000 TRUE Fans article:

I’ve been scouring the literature for any references to the True Fan number. Suck.com co-founder Carl Steadman had theory about microcelebrities. By his count, a microcelebrity was someone famous to 1,500 people. So those fifteen hundred would rave about you. As quoted by Danny O’Brien, “One person in every town in Britain likes your dumb online comic. That’s enough to keep you in beers (or T-shirt sales) all year.”

The article touches upon something I discuss with freelance clients and friends trying to monetize their startup businesses is the success of the micro payments, or “micro-patronage” business model where the payment is small enough where it’s as if it’s a stick of Wrigley’s gum at the super market, and more of an impulse buy than a thought-through purchase.

Another business model that’s briefly discussed is another one now popularized by the somewhat mainstream company Topspin. Unlike the limited choice of chunky spaghetti vs. the non-chunky spaghetti sauce, it’s well known that having 40 different options of sauce is way better than just having two styles is better for the average consumer–hence the, “endless options of chunky spaghetti” method where you offer endless choices of a product all the way up to getting a guest mention in the liner notes of a song or a guest appearance on the next album.

One other inspiring tidbit:

In 2004 author Lawrence Watt-Evans used this model to publish his newest novel. He asked his True Fans to collectively pay $100 per month. When he got $100 he posted the next chapter of the novel. The entire book was published online for his True Fans, and then later in paper for all his fans. He is now writing a second novel this way. He gets by on an estimated 200 True Fans because he also publishes in the traditional manner — with advances from a publisher supported by thousands of Lesser Fans.  Other authors who use fans to directly support their work are Diane Duane, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, and Don Sakers. Game designer Greg Stolze employed a similar True Fan model to launch two pre-financed games. Fifty of his True Fans contributed seed money for his development costs.

Read the rest of the 1,000 True Fans article here.

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About the Author

Tim is the co-owner of Assault, and tends to think he can party twice as hard as anyone. Follow him on twitter @assault
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