You Don’t Need Readers: You Need Fans
Michael Jackson had fans, not followers. Millions loved and worshiped the King of pop. When he was around fans would faint. Some would even cry. His fans were even ready to die for a mere glimpse of him. The legendary pop star would drive people crazy with his spontaneous & impeccable dance moves. He would set the stage on fire. The entire stadium would galore with whistles, claps, and roars. His electrifying performances would flare up the emotions of everyone present.
Fans would trade anything to see him perform live. They were quick to spend some bucks. Were ready to invest their time. And, fritter their energy to see just one man.
Because they were not followers. They were fans. Die-hard fans.
No other artist in the world can come close to his level of craze and popularity. The world came to a standstill the moment his death was announced. His death came as a big shock to his fans. Nobody believed in the news. It was squashed as a rumor by many. Children came rushing from school. Students immediately left their colleges. Those working swiped the exit doors of their offices and returned. Everyone just stormed the internet to confirm the news of his death.
Marriages were called off. Honeymoons ended midway. Time stopped for his fans. Every fan of his was emotionally impacted. Such was his craze.
Because they were not followers. They were fans. Die-hard fans.
Any creative individual, be it a singer, actor, writer, or painter need fans not followers.
If you are a writer, your words should create such an impact that people would die to read you.
Don’t just write; make people fall in love with your words. Create fans. Die-hard fans. Fans who crave your every word just like they crave every bite of their favorite pizza.
People are daily bombarded with loads of content. Every minute, the internet is flooding with fresh articles, blogs, & different types of content. A person exchanges his time for something valuable. He stumbles upon something and quickly starts reading it. He may continue if he finds it interesting or like many will simply skim the content and move to the next one.
Maybe he got bored. The content was of no use to him. It didn’t move him emotionally nor he was entertained. It wasn’t worth his time.
A reader just reads but a fan picks.
Amid different types of content, a fan picks your content. Because he loves your content. He gets entertained. He gets inspired. It makes him emotional. He laughs. He connects.
Your article provides him some value. He finds it worth his time. And reads it from start till the end. Later, he checks your profile. Reads all of your articles. He is curious to know who you are. What you do. Where you are from. How you look.
There is something in you that he really likes. After falling in love with your writing. He falls in love with you. With your personality. With your lifestyle.
You motivate him. Guide him.
He waits for you to publish your articles. Refreshes his email to check your newsletter. Hops on to your Instagram profile to check what are you up to on weekends. You have made a permanent place in his heart. He becomes your fan.
A fan, will not only read your work, not only follow you but will talk about you in his circle. He will tell his friends about you. Will ask them to check your articles. Will ask them if they could subscribe to your email list or he may even persuade people to invest in you. Buy your course, buy your guide or books.
How will you turn your readers into fans?
Don’t just write, entertain, inspire, educate your readers.
Just show up daily. Be consistent. Churn out articles after articles and paragraphs after paragraphs, sentences after sentences, words afterwords, letter after letters. Your writing will improve. You’ll discover your voice. Readers will start recognizing your style. They will start paying to read you. Readers will not be readers anymore they will become fans.
This may take not days but months or even years.
