“To be a successful creator, you don’t need millions. You don’t need millions of dollars or millions of customers, millions of clients or millions of fans. To make a living as a craftsperson, photographer, musician, designer, author, animator, app maker, entrepreneur or inventor, you need only thousands of true fans.”
Kevin Kelly
1000 true fans
Kevin Kelly is the founding editor of Wired magazine, a pioneer from the early days of the internet. He’s always worth listening to, but his 1000 true fans theory is particularly potent for independent creators. If you’re feeling stuck, like you’ll never make a good living from your work, this should give you hope. Because Kelly explains how you only need a 1000 committed fans to make $100,000 a year.Recently updated, Kelly’s full essay is well worth reading. But in brief, he’s talking about a phenomenon internet retailers noticed as their operations expanded.
We all know the bulk of the sales in any field now go to a few creators. An elite band of authors dominates the best-seller lists. Only a handful of living artists have work that sells for millions. The Hollywood A-list is an exclusive club that only admits a handful of newcomers every few years. A small group of fashion designers dominates the catwalks: star names that are brands in their own right, moving between different fashion houses and their own labels. A small percentage of the bands and solo artists signed to major labels dominate the charts, for years on end.
This might feel dispiriting.
Especially as there’s very little middle ground now between these dominant creators who account for the bulk of the sales, and everyone else. But here’s where it gets interesting. After these best-selling superstars, the sales graph plummets into the long tail – a long, thin line of gradual sales. This is the rest of us.
Traditional retailers, publishers, agents, galleries and record labels will only invest in creators in the long tail in the hope they will become one of the elite who turn huge profits. But for internet retailers, indie retailers and boutique organisations who can’t compete with big retailers by discounting the best-sellers, the long tail is where the profits are. With creators like us, who sell to a small group of loyal fans.
Let’s do the maths.
In his original essay, Kelly keeps it simple. He explains that small, independent creators can make $100,000 a year by nurturing 1000 true fans who are each willing to spend $100 on their work.
This means you can be totally niche. If you are an all-female death metal band who only sing in German; a photographer specialising in dog portraits; the author of a self-published comedy book series about an overweight vampire.. All you’re looking for is a relatively small number of people who love what you do. Your job is to find them, nurture them, and serve them brilliantly.
Perhaps you need less. If you can live well on £50,000 a year, you’ll only need 500 fans willing to spend £100, or 1000 who will spend £50. Or perhaps you sell more high-end products, with a profit of around £500 per item. Then you only need to find 200 or so true fans, each willing to invest in one of your pieces every couple of years.
This is simplifying hugely.
In the real world, most of us will have a more complicated ecosystem around us.
A cult band might have a loyal following who will buy 5000 copies of their album, worldwide, for £10. Maybe 500 of these will buy a T-shirt too, for £20. And the 100 super-fans might each spend £500 on a limited edition of that album in a beautiful bespoke box with autographed photos, lyrics, an exclusive new track, or tickets to a secret gig.
None of this adds up to much, if you’re signed to a record label who takes the bulk of the profits. But if you release it all independently, you keep your expenses relatively low and you add in revenue from live shows – it’s a living. In fact, it’s a business model many indie artists now thrive on.
A visual artist might sell only a few major works a year to avid collectors, for £5000 each. But what if she also sold 200 prints of those works every year for £200? This is perfectly possible with an inviting website, and by building up a network of small galleries and independent retailers. Then she might create mugs, table mats and greetings cards with her images, selling through the same network.
Maybe she also builds a following on social media and grows a mailing list of true fans through her website. Then she could add in some weekend painting workshops a year for 10 people, each paying £400 for the experience.
It works for pretty much everyone.
Even indie authors who choose the self-publishing route can do well with merchandise. Or make lavish special editions of their books for their most avid fans. And once readers discover one book, they’ll often buy more. So every new book you publish also revitalises your back catalogue.
In the long tail, work sells slowly but steadily and has a long shelf life. So there is money waiting for independent creators. You don’t need a major label, a traditional publisher, a big gallery or agency and millions of fans or followers. (Though there is nothing wrong with any of these things.) All you need, to make a good living from your work, is a few fans who love what you do.
Your job is to find those fans. Get to know them, nurture them, and serve them brilliantly. Look after them, and they’ll look after you.
What do you think?