I wasn’t going to post today because I’m feeling a bit blah, but then I came across an excellent article on Boing Boing and had to share it with all you creative types.
The article, titled 1,000 True Fans, is written by Kevin Kelly and speaks to the importance of building a fan base to writers and artists and other creative type.
Rather than me try to explain what is in the article, here is an excerpt:
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…
It all makes a tremendous amount of sense and is one of the reasons why I keep a blog in the first place. I figure by me writing here every day, sharing my work and making friends with all of you, maybe someday when the impossible happens, you all might be interested in picking up what I create. Hey, don’t laugh. It could happen.
Kevin Kelly says if you add one “True Fan” a day, that would take three years, which isn’t that long really. The key is that the art you produce needs to be good, to earn those “True Fans”, but I think something like a blog goes a long way in keeping those “True Fans” interested, and maybe earning a few more.
What do you all think?
The Struggling Writer 