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!
2000 Things to Generate 20,000 Fans Challenge
15. Get a Looxcie and Become a Reality Star
This idea is fun, different and a bit adventurous. At the SF Musictech Summit last December a point was made during one of the seminars that if you are a artist you need to accept that your life is a reality show and that you are on 24/7. Meaning, your fans want to know what you are doing all the time. Looxcie is a new wearable webcam, just slightly larger than a bluetooth earpiece.
Ok, yes it is geeky. Who cares! You need to stand out from the crowd if you want to get noticed. Bands are tweeting live from stage these days, so don’t get turned off by the tech. Put it on and start recording. Record during rehearsals, record during studio recordings (this would be perfect for using in the studio, see my recent tip), record on the road, record soundcheck, record onstage. Use all of this amazing content on your website. Edit it down and produce a DVD to sell.
From the Looxcie website:
Use Looxcie’s original smartphone app, LooxcieMoments, to instantly share short clips via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and email while you’re on the go.
- Continuously record five hours of video and save hundreds of clips
- Instantly create and share 30-second clips to on-line sites
- Create, preview and share clips of up to 30 minutes in length
With the new LooxcieCam App, you can record full-motion 480p video – just like standard camcorders. Fully engage in the moment and preserve your most important memories forever.
- Record one hour of 30 fps video in full 480p
- Use your phone as a viewfinder
- Transfer and save recorded video to your phone or computer
Get yourself someone with PR contacts and see if you can get a little attention from some tech blogs and writers. Just one story on a decent tech site could open you up to a new world of interest. Today’s music business is lead by bands and companies that are stepping out and trying new technologies.
Mike, I love your posts! Great stuff!
Thanks Steve. This idea I would love to try myself. The Looxcie just seems so cool and easy. Figure out a way to do live streaming from it through UStream and you really have something.
It would be cool to do while performing with the band!
I wish I could embed them into a microphone stand or guitar. Or the drummer’s wrist.
That would be weird to have a band record their performance but only staring at the audience.