Looking through my feeds this morning, or in this case a link posted on facebook I came across a post from Kris Krug. 1000 True fans is from a blog from another KK and puts forward the idea that:
A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author - in other words, anyone producing works of art - needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.
Something for me to pass on to Leftantler and her exploration of photography. I like the idea a lot and reminded me I must read The Long Tail - it's been sitting there for ages and the term, like the Tipping Point is now part of everyday language. Unlike the Tipping Point I haven't read the book!
A book I am reading and enjoying is Story Factor by Annette Simmons. It's my first foray into Annette's work and I find myself nodding my head and smiling a lot which must be a good sign.
Returning to 1000 True fans, the idea here is that a true fan will spend $100 per year on your art, be it music, photography, writing etc. Find another 999 of these and you can make a reasonable living of $100K per year (the average in BC was $59K in 2005). The accountant (sorry to use the A-word) in me suggests setting a goal of $59K rather than $100K, meaning that's 401 fans I don't need to find! Therefore I'm 40% towards my goal! (this is where the accountant switches into a dreamer!).
Despite the flippant comments above I think there is lots of merit to this idea, but one that requires more thinking. I'll let you know how I get on ...
Tags: kriskrug, 1000fans, longtail, tippingpoint, storyfactor, annettesimmons
