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Get UNSTUCK by Pat Flynn

A Gentle (Much Needed) Reminder

Published about 1 year ago • 5 min read


Hi, it’s Pat! 👋

On March 4th, 2008, a man named Kevin Kelly published a blog post titled 1000 True Fans. Less than a year later, that blog post changed my life.

Whether you’ve read that post or not, I’m going to share the biggest takeaways. We (content creators and online entrepreneurs like you) seem to be trapped in many different ways — this article can help us get us back on track, or in other words, unstuck. 😉

Let’s do it.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK


“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."

— Kevin Kelly, 1000 True Fans

THE STORY


I first found 1000 True Fans in an online business forum I joined in 2008 after I was laid off. Here’s the idea:

You don’t need to be a huge celebrity or artist to build a real, sustainable business and an amazing life for yourself. You don’t need a blockbuster hit. All you need as a creator is 1000 True Fans.

Imagine a True Fan who supports you with $100 a year in exchange for access to your creations or expertise — it’s the math that makes this whole thing work:

1000 True Fans x $100 = $100,000

That’s a six-figure business serving just a thousand people.

And that’s on the conservative side, because I know a lot of people, myself included, who pay more than $100 per year on stuff I love. That’s less than $10/month.

To break it down in another way, that’s a fan a day for less than three years.

Instead of trying to get millions of views and “tons” of subscribers, we can achieve success by focusing on getting just one fan a day.

This kind of thinking made everything seem more achievable. It ultimately worked so well that after years of practicing this methodology, I built an entire keynote around the how in this approach: How to Convert Your Casual Audience into Raving Superfans. This later evolved into my bestselling book, Superfans, which credits Kevin Kelly for the inspiration, and for changing my life.

When I first started out, I thought I had to have millions of subscribers to succeed. Thanks to this re-focus, I put my energy into the experience of the individual person on the other side of the computer.

In the beginning, it was the reader of my blog. Then it became the listener of my podcast, and soon after, the viewer watching my videos.

And today, more than ever, that personalized touch is so necessary. We live in a world where everything is automated and scaled, especially now with the rise of AI and machine learning.

I don’t want you to just have followers and subscribers, I want you to have Superfans.

True Fans.

And here’s the best part — the real secret of this entire equation…

When you focus on building those Superfans, they will be the ones to help grow your audience from the inside. A fan a day for two years and nine months is a thousand on paper, but in reality, you could have a thousand fans in a year or less if you do the following things…

Your Call to Action

Here’s a list of ways to build True Fans, fast:

  1. Connect with people in your audience, directly. I used to Zoom with new subscribers of my email list every single week, and it was a fast way to get to know who exactly was in my audience and how I might be able to better serve them (and people like them). Today, I use DMs on social media platforms to achieve the same results.
  2. Use personalized video. Tools like Bonjoro are amazing at creating welcoming first impressions when people subscribe or buy a product. Even taking a few seconds to use the built-in video messaging capabilities on platforms like Facebook or Instagram do wonders to help you stand out and connect on a personal level.
  3. Give people something to root for. Stand for something. Take a “spiky point of view”. When you stay in the middle, often that means there’s no side to get on, and your messages will be left without any real support. Take a stand and people will get behind you as a leader.
  4. Build a community. When you can facilitate the opportunity for like-minded people to meet each other, it does nothing but heighten your own brand. This is why we at SPI are now so focused on communities like SPI Pro and our All-Access Pass.

There’s nothing more fulfilling than interacting like this with your people, and you can grow much faster as a result.

Think about how you’re interacting (or not) with your current audience. This is your CTA to step it up!

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​SPI NEWS AND NOTES


We work hard at SPI to remain unstuck and consistently provide you with the latest news, trends, and events to support your businesses. Check it out:

  1. YouTube from Scratch is finally coming to the All-Access Pass! Become a member and unlock SPI’s full curriculum library, including this popular course. Starting this week, you can take this step-by-step online class that will teach you how to create a new (or optimize an existing) YouTube channel, develop relevant and engaging content, grow your audience, and generate income. Join before Thursday and enroll in the accelerator to help you complete the course in a steady, quick pace along with other entrepreneurs. Join today!
  2. Hi, it's Matt Gartland, SPI's CEO! Making sales is one thing. Building long-term wealth as an entrepreneur is quite a different thing. Looking back, I wish I had started learning about this stuff sooner. I don’t want other entrepreneurs to wait too long as I did. That’s why I’m excited to join my friends at Ocho for a free workshop on money strategies to optimize your finances as a business owner. I hope you’ll join me and learn how to get better prepared for long-term financial health and independence! Click here to learn more!
  3. Our March virtual networking event is next week! RSVP now to join the SPI team and fellow entrepreneurs on March 8th from 2:00 - 3:00pm ET. We’ll be learning about each other’s businesses, what services you provide, and understanding how to determine the right pricing for your offerings. Gain valuable business insights and grow your online connections during this free event!
  4. Are you ready to leave that 9-5 job, or are you just starting your business? On the Smart Passive Income podcast, return guest Amy Porterfield chats with Pat about her new book Two Weeks Notice, a blueprint for going from “stuck” to making strides toward your dreams. They discuss the best tactics for beginner and intermediate entrepreneurs. Click here to subscribe and listen wherever you get your podcast!

DAD JOKE OF THE WEEK


Did you hear about the Star Wars fanatic who’s been stealing autograph books and photo albums from other fans at conventions?

They call him the fan-tome menace.

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