1,000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly

Thanks to lead by Sylvie to reach Seth Godin for this citation: First, organize 1,000 by Kevin Kelly.

Extract from Seth's blog:
This is Kevin Kelly's best riff of the year, and that's saying an enormous amount. Go read it!

Some people will read this and immediately understand. Others will read it and start waffling over the meaning of "true." My expansion: you need to alter what you do and how you do it so that 1,000 true fans is sufficient to make you very happy.

The following visuals by Kelly, tells it all, and tell it in short:

"A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can't wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans." 1,000 True Fans

The genius of the True Fan model is that the fans are able to move an artist away from the edges of the long tail to a degree larger than their numbers indicate. They can do this in three ways: by purchasing more per person, by spending directly so the creator keeps more per sale, and by enabling new models of support.

New models of support include micro-patronage. Another model is pre-financing the startup costs. Digital technology enables this fan support to take many shapes. Fundable is a web-based enterprise which allows anyone to raise a fixed amount of money for a project, while reassuring the backers the project will happen. Fundable withholds the money until the full amount is collected. They return the money if the minimum is not reached. 1,000 True Fans