1,000 True Fans is a #marketing_philosophy popularized by @Kevin Kelly in his 2008 blog post by the same title. Kelly used simple math to prove that "you don't need millions of dollars, millions of customers, or millions of fans to make a living [online]; you need 1,000 True Fans—those who'll buy anything you produce." [1] Later summarized by @Tim Ferriss, " 'Success' need not be complicated; just start by making 1,000 people extremely, extremely happy." [2] As Kelly shows, even if one out of million people were interested, that’s a potential audience of 7,000 people on the planet. That means that any one-in-a-million appeal can find 1,000 true fans. The trick is to practically find those fans, or more accurately, to have them find you. [1] By narrowing your audience to 10,000 or so people, you're able to create language that catalyzes a @Binary Reaction—a critical component in developing @Bandwagon Effect.
Examples
- @Nerd Fitness; @Steve Kamb started his blog as a combination of two things he loved
- @The Marginalian; @Maria Popova started her blog as a @Weekly Email to Seven Friends
References
- 1,000 True Fans, kk.org
- @Tools of the Titans, by @Tim Ferriss