Read this is you have fans or customers!<\/p>\n
5 Ways To Ruin Your Relationship With Your Fans<\/p>\n
1. Take Your Fans For Granted: If you want to lose your fans in a hurry then just assume that they will always be there and take them for granted. Are you going to disappear and record an album over the next year… but, don\u2019t want to be bothered? It\u2019s not a good idea to assume that your fans will be patiently waiting on the other end. Now, I know what you\u2019re thinking. What band doesn\u2019t try to involve their fans these days? Yet, there\u2019re still plenty of examples of ways that artists take their fans efforts for granted. If they\u2019re making the effort to Tweet your tracks and spread the word about your album, are you thanking them? Give the slightest bit of acknowledgement and you shift the entire paradigm.<\/p>\n
2. Stop Talking To Your Fans: Sure, you\u2019re talking at your fans, but are you talking to them? I bet you\u2019ve been busy updating all your online portals and creating music\u2026 but, are any of those messages directed to fans? Or, is it just a bunch of scatter-shoot updates\u2014that are targeted at them? Worse still, some artists feel the need to not talk to their fans at all. They\u2019d rather talk to their fans indirectly, through interviews, or use their publicist. That\u2019s how the artists that they like talk to them. However, it may very well be that your fans do want to be talked to now and then.<\/p>\n
3. Stop Listening To Your Fans: The foremost and obvious thing to be said here is that you have to listen to what your fans are saying about you, online and off. If you\u2019re lucky enough to be a part of conversations, sometimes you have to partake in them. Now, if artists listened to everything that their fans said, then, nothing would ever get done and all the albums might be exactly the same. Nonetheless, it is essential to listen to what your fans are saying and to join in when it\u2019s necessary.<\/p>\n
4. Nitpick About How Fans Consume: Music creators do have the right to speak up and say that they aren\u2019t alright with the fact that fans are file-sharing their music. After all, that\u2019s not how they made it available. By sharing it, one could argue that it\u2019s disrespectful of fans. They are going against the artist\u2019s wishes and listening to it in ways that they hadn\u2019t intended. It could also be that, while file-sharing is highly common and practiced by many, there\u2019s a reason why they are consuming it in ways that you haven\u2019t approved. Before artists speak out and nitpick with their fans; they should make needed adjustments and ask more questions.<\/p>\n
5. Kill All The Fun: Yes, you\u2019re a super-serious artist. Committed to the task of conveying your deepest feelings through one pluck of the guitar. But, are your fans having any fun? Remix contests, giveaways, and flash mobs aren\u2019t exactly music or spending time creating art\u2014but to the fans, they can be fun and interesting ways to engage with artists. Every artist and their fans will define fun differently, but it\u2019s important to not let it leave the relationship. Most things start out fun and overtime the feeling fades. If you want to keep your fans for the long haul\u2014then make it fun to stay.<\/p>\n