You’ve probably heard this before: “you only need 1,000 true fans to make $100K a year”. It’s a quote that’s been making the rounds since 2008 — yes, it’s that old!
There are a few problems with it, though: it’s usually misunderstood (as most catchy concepts are). It’s also become obsolete and somewhat dangerous.
This is what we’ll explore today — along with a better way to use this framework.
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The quote that has way more than 1,000 true fans and its origins
Kevin Kelly, the founder of Wired magazine, is an amazing modern thinker and the author of the “1,000 True Fans” essay. You can read the full essay here. I’ve cropped the part that gets quoted the most.
When people say “1,000 true fans” they always leave out Kevin Kelly’s definition: “a fan that will buy anything you produce”. Again: someone that will buy anything you produce”.
More importantly, the essay also talks about the importance of having a direct relationship with these fans i.e. they must pay you directly, not buy your music, for instance, because that only leaves you with royalties — a small percentage of what the fan actually pays.
This is the thesis: you can’t have a direct relationship with millions of people but you can have it with a thousand people.
Fair enough. But the internet, in its infinite quest for oversimplifying things, twisted and turned this thesis until it became dangerous.
We simplified the “1,000 true fans” theory to death and changed its meaning to match our bias, not the author’s intention
Most people have heard this quote but only part of it, the one with the number. So they believe one of these things:
- You need 1,000 followers or subscribers to make a living.
- You need 2x, 3x that because not all of them are true fans — getting closer but still way off the mark.
- The number doesn’t matter at all, the depth of the relationship is what matters — uplifting but how many deep relationships can you nurture?
We all want to believe that everyone who ever follows us or consumes even a tiny bit of our content turns into a raging fan. That would be nice, right?
The truth is that people follow or subscribe for a variety of reasons: curiosity, a freebie, hate, doomscrolling, an accidental post that resonated with them, boredom, and so on.
You have a chance to turn some of them into “true fans” but not all.
This is precisely why the way we have perverted this theory is dangerous. Coupled with the usual “it’s never been easier to get started” it sets people up for failure.
It gives them dangerously high expectations. When those expectations aren’t met, they burn out and quit.
Again, Kevin Kelly is not at fault here. The people who truncated his theory are. If you read the entire essay (but who does that anymore?), you’ll see he warns against the perils of over-simplification:
“The truth is that cultivating a thousand true fans is time consuming, sometimes nerve racking, and not for everyone. Done well (and why not do it well?) it can become another full-time job. At best it will be a consuming and challenging part-time task that requires ongoing skills.” [emphases mine]
Getting to 1,000 true fans today is harder than ever. It’s not even the goal anymore
Kevin Kelly’s essay was initially published in 2008, then updated in 2016. The world has changed so much since then, especially in the creator space. The competition today doesn’t allow for 1,000 real fans — especially for mid-tier creators.
Seriously, can you name 10 creators (especially in the B2B industry) who have at least 1,000 people who bought everything they ever produced?
Yeah, me neither.
A decade ago, if you wanted to learn how to do “online business”, you’d go to Amy Porterfield and, perhaps, a couple of other people.
Today, there are thousands of people who teach online business — some of them give you the whole framework, as Amy does, while others are specialized in a certain niche: newsletters, podcasting, social media, offer building, and more.
It’s unrealistic to expect people to buy everything from you. Let’s say you have a lead who’s just getting started with an online business.
They first need help with strategy. Cool, you can cover that.
But then, they need to go more in-depth on certain aspects: social media, website building, newsletter growth, and so on.
If you are a well-rounded marketer, you can help with all of them. As in, you have the knowledge to do it. But you don’t have the time to build a dedicated program/course/mastermind/digital download for each.
So they go elsewhere to fix the problem they have NOW, not in six months when you launch your new offer.
Plus, people outgrow you. Kevin Kelly’s 2008 idea of “creator” was more akin to an artist, an archetype who has lifelong fans. Today’s creators are less artistic and more business people.
Since it’s not art they’re selling, their knowledge is limited. There is only so much they can help their fans (true or not) with. When they reach the limits of that knowledge, the fans will go elsewhere.
That’s not a bad thing, though. It means there is room under the sun for everyone.
So, what the heck is a true fan today?
The new meaning of a “true fan”
I have a certain “ick” for the term “fan” itself because it implies a mindless subordination of sorts. That may be true for some B2C creators but it’s definitely not the case in B2B.
B2B buyers are savvy and they know they have tons of options. When they smell you’re BS-ing them, they’ll jump ship.
They’re not crazed fans who faint at the sight of their idols. They’re cool-headed and (mostly) rational.
So let’s change the narrative, shall we?
Today’s “true fan” is a supporter, not a zealot. They show their support by buying from you, championing your work, or both.
Today’s “true fan” shouldn’t be expected to buy everything you produce because, realistically, they often don’t need it.
In the almost two years since I launched this newsletter, I’ve had exactly 7 people who bought every product I ever launched. Some of them bought the same product multiple times (the strategy session).
But I believe that I have a lot more supporters:
- People who shared my content publicly, tagged me on social media, and recommended my newsletter and products to their audience.
- People who referred clients to me.
- People who bought one or more of my products (but not all!) because that’s all they needed.
- People who constantly engage with my content and give me feedback on it.
Out of an audience of 30,000+ people, I estimate ±400 of you fit this definition. A little over 1%, which is not bad in this attention economy.
Unlike Kevin Kelly, I don’t tie this status to money — not directly. Again, because the times have changed. Today, unlike in 2008, you need this kind of tribe, this kind of supporter to get revenue.
Yes, it’s a detour. No, you can’t do it without people who champion your work.
How to use this in your own business
I have good news and bad news. Let’s get the bad news out of the way:
- You need way more than 1,000 followers/subscribers to get to the coveted $100K/year. This goes for non-service revenue. Assume that 1-3% of your audience will buy and this is being generous.
- It’s an ongoing game. Churn happens, people move on, they start disliking you, or they simply change fields. So audience growth has to be an ongoing task in your book.
- The number keeps getting higher. Precisely because there is so much competition out there, fewer and fewer of your audience members will be buyers. So you need to keep that number up. I recently saw this in an email from Jay Clouse. He moved to an application-based membership for his paid community. The criteria? 10K – either dollars/month from non-service revenue OR followers on a single platform. I found it this very interesting and I agree with the way he makes sure his membership stays relevant.
Now for the good news:
- You actually need fewer than 1,000 “true fans”. You can make way more than $100/buyer, as Kevin Kelly suggests. With a higher LTV (lifetime value), you don’t need a million followers so you can get 1,000 true fans.
- You have more options. You don’t necessarily need to sell something to your supporters, you can also sell brand partnerships, do affiliate marketing, or syndicate your content (a good place to start is Medium). Your task is to find the best ways to diversify.
- Growth breeds growth. They say the rich get richer and they’re right. I promise you that it gets easier and easier, The first 1,000 followers/subscribers are the hardest to get, the next 1,000 get easier and, by the time you reach 10,000 it won’t feel like such a chore. Partly because attention clusters where it finds attention clusters.
There is one thing that holds true since 2008, when Kevin Kelly initially published the essay we’ve just dissected. However many buyers you need to make your target amount, the ONE pre-requisite is knowing how to get AND retain attention.
This is why, when you build your audience, you need to aim for both quantity and relevance. None of them will get you there in the absence of the other.
🎙️ My podcasts and interviews
I joined Dana Daskalova and Fran Callado on a live podcast to talk about LinkedIn’s role in your strategy. Spoiler alert: it accounts for less than 20% of mine. Watch it on YouTube or listen to it on Spotify.
