In today’s issue, I’m going to tell you how I would go about finding 1,000 true fans if I were starting from scratch.

Building an audience of raving fans is the key to unlocking revenue for your client. However, when you start from zero, it’s incredibly hard.

But, if you can figure out how to nail the 4 points below, you’ll be well on your way.

Unfortunately, so many creators and entrepreneurs fail because they need to create a plan.

They simply produce content daily, never get traction, and then eventually quit.

WHAT’S THE GROWTH PLAN TO FIND 1,000 FANS?

A real growth plan is about the actual “how” behind achieving your audience goals.

No more creating random content that gets no engagement, or spending hours making songs that no one engages with.

If you can create your growth plan and execute it, you’ll finally achieve the results you’re looking for.

Here’s how to step by step:

STEP 1: Think Like a Niche Streaming Service

In 2022, big streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu saw their market share drop from 65% to 48%.

Meanwhile, niche streaming services are growing at more than 2x the rate of the major players.

Why?

Because niche content resonates.

And when it comes time to create content online, it’s critical that the focus is on talking to a very specific person looking for very specific music and/or content.

Your client can’t just be an R&B singer. They’re much better off being an “R&B singer that sings about married relationships and their challenges”.

The more helpful your content is to a specific audience, the more likely they are to find your “signal” in a world of generic “noise”.

Start by working with your client to create their very own niche “streaming service” for the right audience to consume.

STEP 2: Become a Category Pirate

If your client nails a niche, they’re likely to have a small group of people who come along with them on their journey.

But, later down the road, it becomes more and more challenging to create meaningful content if they only create and share music that sounds like everything else that is out here in the marketplace.

They don’t want to blend in. They want to stand out.

And the easiest way to stand out is through non-obvious content. Non-obvious content is all about bringing a brand new thought process and presentation to their niche. Something that makes them radically different than others.

Nicolas Cole, author of the Category Pirates newsletter to get his take. Here is what he had to say: 

“Becoming a happy, independent, profitable creator (a “Category Pirate”) is 100x easier when you become known for your unique perspective inside of your niche.

Through this lens, you don’t need everyone in the world to care about who you are and what you do. You just need a small pirate ship of folks who agree with your unique perspective – and that’s more than enough for you to get paid to do what you love every single day.”

Remember, that if your client just says and presents what other people are saying and presenting, they’re going to become a commodity.

They need to have a unique viewpoint in their niche.

• What is something everyone believes to be true, that they don’t?
• What is something nobody in their niche is talking about, that they should be?
• What are the biggest mistakes people are making, that they are oblivious to?
• Why are they someone worth following when others aren’t?

   

STEP 3: Tell a Story Worth Following

If your client gets niche and becomes a category pirate, they’ll probably succeed at growing their fan base. But nothing helps pour gasoline on that fire like a story that resonates deeply with your audience. 

You may call it a bio. I call it a backstory.

Much like the founder of a startup company, your client needs a story that compels their audience to follow them. The audience needs to literally see themselves in the artist.

The story can’t be made up or fake. It should be their real story but stitched together in a fashion that makes it easy (and exciting) to follow along.

There’s a formula for doing that.

Feel free to steal my template to create one for your client.

STEP 4: Do unscalable things

With a tight niche, unique perspective, and compelling story, your client will make significant progress.

But the idea that they can just put this all on autopilot (especially early on) couldn’t be further from the truth.

In the beginning, they’re going to need to do a lot of things that don’t scale. Here are some of the things I’ve done:

1. Published daily to social media, often 2x-3x per day.
2. Replied to every comment, every morning for over an hour.
3. Responded to 85%+ of the DMS I received on LinkedIn and Twitter.

I cannot overstate how important it is for your client to be everywhere when they’re just getting started. A lot of people refer to this as simply “creating value”., but there needs to be a deeper definition of how to do that.

I think Daniel Vassallo captured it best when he stated it like this: