Do You Know Who Your Fans Are?
A look into the power of fans and how we’ll help you find them
1,000 True Fans
In 2008, Kevin Kelly (founding editor of Wired), shook up industry assumptions when he announced:
“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.”
Many industry veterans were confused or even annoyed. How the hell are you going to pay back our advance if only 1,000 people like you? You think you’re going to go on tour? Make a commercially viable album?
There was one group that wasn’t confused at all — creators. Kevin had layed out the foundation for a concept that is now loudly spouted across the entertainment and investing world alike: a core group that loves what you do is significantly more powerful than a large group that likes you. I apologize ahead of time for how much I’m going to quote Kelly but his point is so accurate and so obvious once you see it, there’s really no better way to get to the point.
“A true fan is defined as a fan that will buy anything you produce. These diehard fans will drive 200 miles to see you sing; they will buy the hardback and paperback and audible versions of your book; they will purchase your next figurine sight unseen; they will pay for the “best-of” DVD version of your free youtube channel; they will come to your chef’s table once a month. If you have roughly a thousand of true fans like this (also known as super fans), you can make a living .
Here’s how the math works. You need to meet two criteria. First, you have to create enough each year that you can earn, on average, $100 profit from each true fan.
Second, you must have a direct relationship with your fans. If you keep the full $100 of each true fan, then you need only 1,000 of them to earn $100,000 per year. That’s a living for most folks.”
Now I’d like to point out that this number absolutely must be flexible. Between labels, Spotify, Youtube etc you’re unfortunately going to be giving up a solid chunk of your revenues but this is an investment in building a global fanbase. An internet savvy country-rapper can turn into a superstar overnight (see Old Town Road — Lil Nas X).
The Superfan Flywheel
“And of course, not every fan will be super. While the support of a thousand true fans may be sufficient for a living, for every single true fan, you might have two or three regular fans. Think of concentric circles with true fans at the center and a wider circle of regular fans around them. These regular fans may buy your creations occasionally, or may have bought only once. But their ordinary purchases expand your total income. Perhaps they bring in an additional 50%. Still, you want to focus on the super fans because the enthusiasm of true fans can increase the patronage of regular fans. True fans not only are the direct source of your income, but also your chief marketing force for the ordinary fans.?
Do you really need a record label if 5 of your fans can get 100,000 people to listen to your song? Do you really need a label advance if your laptop produced bedroom-pop song can get 500,000 streams overnight?
The truth is, the stronger your relationship with your True Fans, the more muscle they will put in to turning you into a star. It used to be that stars were made on the radio, today they’re made with a Spotify link shared on Twitter.
Building a Better Mousetrap
So now we come to the real question. How the hell do you find these fans in the first place? How do you engage with them? How do you turn them into a force to be reckoned with. That’s where Laylo comes in. At Laylo, our ultimate goal is to answer these questions with you. We’ve built the first platform that can help you find your True Fans, spread your message to new ones, and become the best creator you can be, with the strongest fanbase you can have.
Laylo analyzes the entire internet to discover the fans who are sharing your content, talking about you, posting from your shows and doing anything that indicates that they are or will be a True Fan. We cover every major social platform, blog, website and streaming platform to tell you exactly who your best fans are.
You Don’t Know What They Can’t Tell You
You may be thinking “Alec, I have so many goddamn dashboards and stats to keep track of, why do I need another one?”
I’ll answer that with a quick statement — It’s all about Actionable Data.
Very simply, no other platform can tell you who your True Fans are. Spotify may tell you that you have 10,000 listeners in Oaklahoma, but are they telling everyone they know about you or did they play your song once. Youtube may tell you that 56,258 people watched your video, but can they tell you who shared it and to who?
Very simply, with Laylo, you will know exactly who your best fans are, what makes them great fans, where they are and how to reach them. We aim to save you hours every day and make it as easy as One Click -> Fanbase. It’s all up from there.
The Brand of You
Your fans are your fans because of everything that makes you, you. Your content, your voice and your hustle are going to make you a star, we’re just here to connect the people that love you with you.
We’re here for great creators and can’t wait to help you find your greatest fans.
Join Us
If you want to connect with your fans, are a superfan yourself or just dig what we’re doing, come join us. Artists can get access to their dashboard by heading to app.laylo.com and clicking Let’s Go!
