June 3, 2011 2000 Things to Generate 20,000 Fans – Create a Monthly Fan Meetup
Author David Meerman Scott made a honest and realistic quote, “if you want 20,000 fans you must do 2000 different things that each generate 10 fans.” This was my favorite quote from 2010 and I am going to take this on as a challenge for 2011 for an ambitious project to give you 2000 different things you can do to generate 20,000 fans.
Some of these items will apply better for larger acts, some items will work for any act. Some may work for you, some may not… not yet. Some these can be done with little effort, some will take some web development, some might even require some significant development. Some of these have successfully worked for me over the years. The point is to create a list of items that would cover a wide range of acts and abilities.
The end result of all this will hopefully be more Facebook likes, Twitter followers, email list subscriptions, more sales and more traffic to your website… more fans!
View the single list of all 2000 items at this location.
2000 Things to Generate 20,000 Fans Challenge
26. Create a Fan Meetup
Have you ever checked out the website Meetup.com? Do it. You can find a group related to any topic you could imagine. Meetup.com is a website that helps you organizes group meetings and it works nicely. I have attended a number of Meetups, large and small. You can use Meetup.com to create a Fan Meetup. Find yourself a venue you can use, it doesn’t need to be a bar or club. It could be a local coffee shop. Pick a date and time and create a Meetup. Post the details on your website, Facbook page and Twitter and invite anyone to come out, ask them to bring a friend. Keep it free. It only needs to be an hour. You don’t need to perform, use this as a chance to just meet fans and get to know them. When they signup on Meetup.com you will begin to build a list of fans who are interested in meeting you. You can even have a ongoing email digest of discussions. If your Meetup grows you can think about looking for sponsors and venues to donate private rooms. Hold a Meetup once a month and select a topic for each one, maybe talking about some shows that just happened, a new song, going into the studio.
If your Meetups get real big you can turn them into full blown conventions. I will leave conventions for another tip. I have experience doing conventions, they can be a lot of fun!
Posted By: Michael Brandvold (Michael is a 20 year music marketing veteran who has worked with unsigned indie bands and international superstars. Michael owns Michael Brandvold Marketing a site dedicated to providing tips and advice for musicians.)
Reader Comments (3)
Why not just meet fans at shows?
You could give people other reasonsexcuses to come - like doing a music pub quiz. Or an Mp3 listening club. Coming just to hang out with the band might be a bit of an uncomfortable or pointless prospect for some people.
Of course you should meet your fans at shows. This is just another possible opportunity for meeting them in a different context.