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

27. Ask Fans to Share Download Codes

Thank you to Erik of The Post War for this idea that was submitted via Hypebot.

Message 10 existing fans directly and offer them 2 promo download codes (I’d recommend using Bandcamp) for your single, album or EP. Make sure to personalize the message and tell them that one promo code is for them and that one is to pass along to a friend of their choosing. This is a great way to get your existing fans to recruit new like-minded listeners. Make sure your website & social media pages are set up so you can stay connected with those that seek out further engagement.