Studies show that the number of followers someone has is directly proportional the number of IQ points they don’t have.
… and if you believe that statement, it probably is because it validates your lack of fans. Well, don’t worry, I’m going to continue to validate that, but with true, actual, real information. This isn’t about being brainy, this is about making brainy use of your fanbase and expanding your impact with force.
I’ve written about fans a little bit here.
- https://www.scot.fun/damentals/how-to-get-all-the-fans/
- https://www.scot.fun/damentals/gather-your-fans-now/
- https://www.scot.fun/damentals/1-crowdfunding-mistake/
You want a queen instead of 8 pawns
In chess, according to wikipedia, a queen is worth 9 pawns.
A pawn in fandom might buy a ticket. Might download your game. Might watch a movie you made once. The pawn will be looking for the lowest price way to experience your creations. The pawn will not fly across the country to go to your concert.
A queen in fandom will get a tattoo, will gush to everyone, will bring in other queens… or at least bishops and stuff. A queen wants to pay for the ultimate experience with your work. The queen sticks around for life and gobbles up everything.
My point is…
- Fans are not all the same
- It is worth it for you to spend 8x effort on queens as opposed to pawns.
A backstage pass is not a money maker
Smart bands don’t sell expensive backstage passes to their biggest fans to get rich off the ticket price. A backstage pass gives an opportunity to someone who wants to buy in for more experience. The queen spends more money, gets higher value, and gets the treatment a queen deserves.
That queen then, gets to tell all their friends (and strangers that can’t escape) about how special they are, about how kind the band is, about why they love that band’s music, about a special experience, a special story.
Serving the queen might not be your dream
The things queens want are not necessarily in line with what you’d like to do. For example there are many bands who are introverted, so backstage meet-and-greets are not really what they got in the biz to do.
You might want to make youtube videos: coming up with creative scripts, shooting great footage, being a genius editor, but the queens want to spend all day talking to you in the comments.
Queens are inbred
Queens are amazing people. They get on board with your mission and they want you to succeed. They really get what you’re doing and they love it just like you hoped someone would… but they’re all individuals and not all of them show up the way you might hope.
Let’s say you get into fashion to be a big success and be surrounded by beautiful people who love you. Who will be your bread-and-butter fans? Fashion nerds, reporters, people with their fingers on the trends. Super models will hopefully make up a few of your pawns, but your queens will be people who want to be a part of the beauty you create and they might not be that fancy themselves.
Find the gushers and give them more to gush about
Really cherish and protect your queens. You will find more about who you are and what you’re creating by focusing on the queen and serving the queen more of what she wants.