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This again. > Every thing made, or thought of, can interest at least one person in a million — it’s a low bar. Yet if even only one out of million people were

This again. > Every thing made, or thought of, can interest at least one person in a million — it’s a low bar. Yet if even only one out of million people were interested, that’s potentially 7,000 people on the planet. That means that any 1-in-a-million appeal can find 1,000 true fans. The trick is to practically find those fans, or more accurately, to have them find you. No. This is not how anything works, as almost anyone attempting to work in the art world implicitly understands. If there are 7,000 people globally who might be interested in your work, it would take a massive global campaign to find them. Which most people can't afford, especially not for a "this appeals to 7,000 people" idea. > Now here’s the thing; the big corporations, the intermediates, the commercial producers, are all under-equipped and ill suited to connect with these thousand true fans. No, they are the ones most empowered to connect with those thousand true fans. They have resources and global reach. For normal people without those resources, "true fans" generally come from personal connections, in my experience. And even if one gathers up thousands of personal connections, it can be really hard to convince even close friends to be interested in spending their time or money on what you're doing. > The takeaway: 1,000 true fans is an alternative path to success other than stardom. No, it is stardom. you don't have 1,000 true fans without having 10,000 or 100,000 casual fans. Argh. Anyway, I'm not saying passionate people can't support themselves on their art or personal project or whatever -- obviously it's completely possible and people do it all the time. But this "1000 true fans" thing is not a useful tool for getting there, in my very humble opinion.

jcytong 7y ago
>No. This is not how anything works, as almost anyone attempting to work in the art world implicitly understands. If there are 7,000 people globally who might be interested in your work, it would take a massive global campaign to find them. Which most people can't afford, especially not for a "this appeals to 7,000 people" idea. It used to be hard to find those 7,000 people but it's now much easier with the internet. Niche forums, long tail Google search, FB groups, local meetup groups, Twitter, etc... Seth Godin talks about showing up every day and share your (niche) ideas. The internet is full of niche topics/interests. It takes time but it's possible. >No, they are the ones most empowered to connect with those thousand true fans. They have resources and global reach. Global brands definitely have the reach but are people really listening. Are those really true fans? If they need to cater to not just those 1,000 but the rest of the 999, 000, the message gets diluted. It's not just about reaching those people but to create resonance with them. >For normal people without those resources, "true fans" generally come from personal connections, in my experience. And even if one gathers up thousands of personal connections, it can be really hard to convince even close friends to be interested in spending their time or money on what you're doing. Go after people who'd like to BOTH give you their attention AND are interested in what you're offering. You can do that on the internet if you keep showing up and provide value to them. That personal relationship can be built on the internet even if you never meet them in person.
orasis 7y ago
Agree 100%. When this essay first came out I was totally on board and created some excellent hyper-niche products...that were too difficult to find an audience for. After that I went for huge market and everything became SO MUCH easier.
- drchiu 7y ago
  I’ve noticed this myself. Going niche makes it hard to find the right market fit. Ive found that it’s easier to find users/customers in a broad market and positioning as an option instead.
andyidsinga 7y ago
disagree with some points here. I watch many youtube channels with 100Ks of subscribers. Those creators are not out there spending resources getting an audience and those audiences are not coming from personal connections - the platforms are facilitating the connection. Re : how "attempting to work in the art world" works : this is a very interesting subject/discussion - at what point is someone regularly publishing entertaining youtube videos about small engine repair "working in the art world"? When they get enough income to quit their day job or some lower bar - I dunno - both ? neither / never? Re stardom: what you're saying is 1000 true fans != total number of fans/casual followers. Agreed.
- chasing 7y ago
  Thoughtful reply! The very first paragraph of his article says: > 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. So, I would argue that creating a successful YouTube channel is almost the opposite of taking the "make 1000 true fans" path to success. YouTube promotes content in ways that causes a massive block of users -- millions, often -- to be casually exposed to a given video or channel. And hopefully some of them subscribe, watch ads, and maybe sign up for the creator's Patreon or something. But this isn't what Kelly describes. Blasting your work out to millions in the hopes that thousands become "true fans" is a very well-known and well-worn path to success. And, frankly, still a hard one. Unless you happen to get YouTube's algorithm or HBO or Capitol Records to pick you up and give your work a massive promotional boost. And even then I suspect it's tough.
  - andyidsinga 7y ago
    hmm... so, yeah, nothing about 1000 true fans theory points to it being an easy path. Making a living as some sort of creator is hard. The platforms & "the internet (tm)" just provide a plausible access to those fans vs old-media mechanisms.

jcytong 7y ago

>No. This is not how anything works, as almost anyone attempting to work in the art world implicitly understands. If there are 7,000 people globally who might be interested in your work, it would take a massive global campaign to find them. Which most people can't afford, especially not for a "this appeals to 7,000 people" idea. It used to be hard to find those 7,000 people but it's now much easier with the internet. Niche forums, long tail Google search, FB groups, local meetup groups, Twitter, etc... Seth Godin talks about showing up every day and share your (niche) ideas. The internet is full of niche topics/interests. It takes time but it's possible. >No, they are the ones most empowered to connect with those thousand true fans. They have resources and global reach. Global brands definitely have the reach but are people really listening. Are those really true fans? If they need to cater to not just those 1,000 but the rest of the 999, 000, the message gets diluted. It's not just about reaching those people but to create resonance with them. >For normal people without those resources, "true fans" generally come from personal connections, in my experience. And even if one gathers up thousands of personal connections, it can be really hard to convince even close friends to be interested in spending their time or money on what you're doing. Go after people who'd like to BOTH give you their attention AND are interested in what you're offering. You can do that on the internet if you keep showing up and provide value to them. That personal relationship can be built on the internet even if you never meet them in person.

orasis 7y ago

Agree 100%. When this essay first came out I was totally on board and created some excellent hyper-niche products...that were too difficult to find an audience for. After that I went for huge market and everything became SO MUCH easier.

drchiu 7y ago
I’ve noticed this myself. Going niche makes it hard to find the right market fit. Ive found that it’s easier to find users/customers in a broad market and positioning as an option instead.

andyidsinga 7y ago

disagree with some points here. I watch many youtube channels with 100Ks of subscribers. Those creators are not out there spending resources getting an audience and those audiences are not coming from personal connections - the platforms are facilitating the connection. Re : how "attempting to work in the art world" works : this is a very interesting subject/discussion - at what point is someone regularly publishing entertaining youtube videos about small engine repair "working in the art world"? When they get enough income to quit their day job or some lower bar - I dunno - both ? neither / never? Re stardom: what you're saying is 1000 true fans != total number of fans/casual followers. Agreed.

chasing 7y ago
Thoughtful reply! The very first paragraph of his article says: > 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. So, I would argue that creating a successful YouTube channel is almost the opposite of taking the "make 1000 true fans" path to success. YouTube promotes content in ways that causes a massive block of users -- millions, often -- to be casually exposed to a given video or channel. And hopefully some of them subscribe, watch ads, and maybe sign up for the creator's Patreon or something. But this isn't what Kelly describes. Blasting your work out to millions in the hopes that thousands become "true fans" is a very well-known and well-worn path to success. And, frankly, still a hard one. Unless you happen to get YouTube's algorithm or HBO or Capitol Records to pick you up and give your work a massive promotional boost. And even then I suspect it's tough.
- andyidsinga 7y ago
  hmm... so, yeah, nothing about 1000 true fans theory points to it being an easy path. Making a living as some sort of creator is hard. The platforms & "the internet (tm)" just provide a plausible access to those fans vs old-media mechanisms.