5 ms·

What the article is describing isn't "fans" as much as plain old "customers". Almost all the examples given in the article are people doing courses. If you sell

What the article is describing isn't "fans" as much as plain old "customers". Almost all the examples given in the article are people doing courses. If you sell a course for $1000, then the person buying it isn't a "fan" who just gives you money, the buyer is just a customer who buys a service. The only thing new about this is that it's happening online; offering courses for $1000 is not exactly a new thing, it's a business that has existed for ever. And I'm pretty sure that most of these customers aren't long-time fans. People will pay for access to a course, but they aren't going to take the course over and over again.

lozenge 4y ago
These aren't educational courses, they're self-help/improvement courses. "Starts with the user's needs and pain points - motivated by self-interest - desire for improvement, transformation and/or exclusive access" So, you need to get fit/get in shape! $40/month for my nutrition and exercise coaching! Go green and zero-waste with my advice! How to teach your kids! Yoga and meditation to improve your health! How to pick up women! Break into your dream career/TV writing/comedy! Be your own boss! Etc, etc. Some needs are never satiated.
altdataseller 4y ago
But it's the VC world. They need to come up with new, innovative concepts so they can be seen as a thought leader! /s
- rchaud 4y ago
  The original essay that this pulls its title from from was written in 2008, and used examples of self-published authors and musicians - purely creative works. None of the startup-bubble, hustle-culture fueled BS that infected the following decade. VCs are only interested monetizing the "product" aspect of creative ventures so they rephrase the key concepts in MBA blandspeak.
GeorgeBanica 4y ago
>What the article is describing isn't "fans" as much as plain old "customers". This doesn't apply to webnovels. There are people there making over $1000 a month (some over $15 000) publishing completely free webnovels.
- formerkrogemp 4y ago
  > This doesn't apply to webnovels. There are people there making over $1000 a month (some over $15 000) publishing completely free webnovels. I don't consider authors of web novels or serials with Patreons like Wild bow or ErraticErrata to be representative of the broader population of authors on places such as Royal Road. I'd assume the total income distribution of web novel authors to be fairly top heavy.
  - GeorgeBanica 4y ago
    Wildbow makes two to three times less than other authors on royalroad. As always in the creative industry, the earnings are on a steeply descending exponential curve. But people still make good money out of a couple of hundreds fans.

lozenge 4y ago

These aren't educational courses, they're self-help/improvement courses. "Starts with the user's needs and pain points - motivated by self-interest - desire for improvement, transformation and/or exclusive access" So, you need to get fit/get in shape! $40/month for my nutrition and exercise coaching! Go green and zero-waste with my advice! How to teach your kids! Yoga and meditation to improve your health! How to pick up women! Break into your dream career/TV writing/comedy! Be your own boss! Etc, etc. Some needs are never satiated.

altdataseller 4y ago

But it's the VC world. They need to come up with new, innovative concepts so they can be seen as a thought leader! /s

rchaud 4y ago
The original essay that this pulls its title from from was written in 2008, and used examples of self-published authors and musicians - purely creative works. None of the startup-bubble, hustle-culture fueled BS that infected the following decade. VCs are only interested monetizing the "product" aspect of creative ventures so they rephrase the key concepts in MBA blandspeak.

GeorgeBanica 4y ago

>What the article is describing isn't "fans" as much as plain old "customers". This doesn't apply to webnovels. There are people there making over $1000 a month (some over $15 000) publishing completely free webnovels.

formerkrogemp 4y ago
> This doesn't apply to webnovels. There are people there making over $1000 a month (some over $15 000) publishing completely free webnovels. I don't consider authors of web novels or serials with Patreons like Wild bow or ErraticErrata to be representative of the broader population of authors on places such as Royal Road. I'd assume the total income distribution of web novel authors to be fairly top heavy.
- GeorgeBanica 4y ago
  Wildbow makes two to three times less than other authors on royalroad. As always in the creative industry, the earnings are on a steeply descending exponential curve. But people still make good money out of a couple of hundreds fans.