Have you seen Kevin Kelly’s “1,000 True Fans“? You will likely see this excellent article mentioned on other blogs. It’s one of those posts I wish I had written, because I have tried to recommend similar ideas, just not as well.
What he says is that an artist can make a living from 1,000 true fans. Rather than aim to be mainstream success, or scrape a living from the long tail, you can earn a decent income by appealing directly to a fan base.
When I talk about Marillion and not trying to please everybody, that is what I am trying to get across.
Instead of spreading yourself thin trying to please a huge gamut of prospects, focus on delighting a specific niche. Really care for and nurture this smaller audience. Prove your value and never betray the trust they place in you. Now we are talking true lifetime value rather than grasping after a 15mins of fame. That’s success to me.
This is the strategy I put in place right here, on this blog, and it works. I don’t aim to have a huge audience, I want a smaller but more engaged audience. I want people to who are really interested, who come back, and bring friends. Rather than millions of page views, I want a happy and vibrant comment area, conversations and interaction.