Cool Article of the Week: 1,000 True Fans
March 5th, 2008If only my site had more traffic…” is a common mantra heard in the webcomics community - as if, by sheer numbers, success is virtually guaranteed.
Not so, as it turns out.
Kevin Kelly, of The Technium blog (and a fantastic one at that), counters that more traffic (or scoring a blockbuster hit) should not be the end-all, be-all goal for an independent artist. Rather - the goal should be to secure 1,000 True Fans. A True Fan, as Kelly describes - is one who will purchase everything and everything you produce.
Kelly offers some eye-opening insights - and has, as a result, forced me to rethink my approach to the goals I have set for myself as an independent, self-published cartoonist.
Go read the article - and while you’re at it, add Kelly’s blog to your RSS feed.
-Krishna
March 5th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
It is an interesting theory and I guess the biggest challenge is getting people to actually loosen their purse strings.
In spite of the optimistic tone of that article, I guess the greatest challenge would be to get people to actually pay for online content. In my 4+ years of being online, getting even one or two dedicated readers is a big achievement.
Getting 1000 people who would be willing to pay for anything you produce is not an easy task by any means.