“If you love me, show me.” How often have we all heard this in our relationships, and how often have we spent our time and energy trying to prove our commitment to a relationship? Much like any personal relationship, the artist/fan relationship is one requiring constant, consistent nurturing and care. Obviously you can not have a one-on-one personal relationship with your fans, but you must give the appearance of having just such a relationship. So, how do we go about this without showing a drastic personality or stage appearance change?

First, a simple change in vocabulary will do more to personalize your relationship than any other singular act. You must not only make your audience feel like they are part of the party, you must make them think the party is thrown just for them. How do you do this? Try the following vocabulary changes for example:

Instead Of Saying - We’re glad to have all of you here tonight!

Try Saying - We’re glad to have YOU here tonight!

Instead Of Saying -This is an excited looking crowd!

Try Saying - YOU look excited to be here tonight!

Instead Of Saying -Everybody’s looking real good tonight!

Try Saying -YOU’RE looking really good tonight!

Instead Of Saying -This song is for all of you who have ever…

Try Saying - This song is for YOU because I know YOU have….!

When addressing fans in a group, or sending out emails, etc take the time to personalize these communications as well. Most auto-responders and bulk emailing programs will allow you to insert the first name from the capture form. This, while more common now, greatly personalizes your communications.

When meeting fans after a show, or any other time, take the time to ask their name. Repeat it back to them in a way that makes lets them believe you have actually taken interest in knowing them. You might say “Well Name thanks for coming, I’m glad you were here”. Be genuine and let them know you do appreciate them. Most of all, always be genuine when communicating face to face. If you are seen to be fake, transparent, you will never be able to repair the damage done with that fan.

So, just keep in mind when communicating with your fans to make it personal. Replace the word WE with I, the words audience, crowd, you guys, etc with YOU. It is a good idea during individual band member introductions to keep this in mind. Since we are removing the collective WE, each one needs to make an “I” statement in their welcome.

Some listen to your music regularly, some make a special effort to see your shows, some are occasional listeners and others think you are the greatest thing since sliced bread.  There are those who are die hard street team members and then those who simply despise everything about you.  One thing all these have in common is they are fans, from the most hard core to the anti-fan.  Each of these groups has a vital and very special role to play in your musical endeavor, let’s take a look at each one.

The Casual Fan.  This type of fan is the one who listens to your music on occasion and thinks it is ‘pretty cool’ when you happen to be playing at the club they are going to that night.  These are important because this class of fan is the ones who are aware of you and your music and while they do not actively promote you, they still do not avoid you.

The Interested Fan.  This type of fan is the one who tracks your career from a distance.  These are those who will buy your CDs and listen to you on a regular basis, but you are not their primary musical diet.  They may even be friends of your social network, but are usually lurkers and not active participants.

The Conditional Fan.  This type of fan is the one who maintains interest in you and your career until the next great thing comes along.  They do not forget you when they move on, because when you come out with something new these usually will come back again for another round of ‘loving you’.

The Raving Fan.  This type of fan is the one who thinks you are the greatest thing on the face of the earth.  They will travel to see your shows, will pre-order your CDs and will search the Internet for your name or your band’s name.  These are the volunteer street team leaders who think you gave them the world when you hand them a swag bag and feel like the most important person alive because you send them your “for special friend’s only” email notifications.

The Anti-Fan.  This type of fan is the one who will claim to have no interest in your career.  They may not listen to your music much but you have made such an impression that they cannot help but follow the happenings of your career.  Whether they are tracking you in hopes of seeing your failure, or because they are genuinely fans, albeit ‘closet fans’.

So, how is each of these categories important to your career?  Each have a special place in your plan and each must be cultivated and nurtured in a special, particular way.  Obviously your goal is to convert each into a Raving Fan, but we know this is not something that will happen in the real world.  Let’s revisit each and look at their important roles.

The Casual Fan is important to you because they know you and do not run from the opportunity to see you play.  While they do not spend time promoting you, they do not spend time trying to undermine your career.  These are the ones who you may be able to convert simply by showing a little special attention to.  These fans probably are residents of one of your contact lists, so send them something, perhaps a special mp3 download link or special report or discounted show pass.  These are the things that makes them feel as if they have been upgraded…simply make them feel that they are more important to you than you are to them.

The Conditional Fan is just as important to convert because they ride the roller coaster of your career getting off when the low spots are hit.  These are the fans who must always feel that their musical favorites must be taken from the most popular.  The Casual Fan can often be converted simply by the fact of your notoriety or by your remaining on top of your promotional game.  While I am a firm believer in maintaining close personal appearing relationships with your fans, I also believe that relationship should not include admissions of a ‘dry spell’ or ‘low point’.  So, basically if these fans can only be maintained by a band who is wildly popular and successful, then always present yourself in that manner.

Raving Fans are those who are with you through the thick and thin of your career and these are the ones who need the greatest care.  Letting your die hard army of fans know just how important they are to you is vital in maintaining their zeal for your music and endeavors.  These fans are the ones you want maintaining your MySpace pages and other social networking avenues.   These are the ones you want on and leading your street teams.  Simply, keep these fans happy and you will never want for help and assistance.   However, always keep in mind that they have become such loyal fans because you have cultivated that relationship, so the methods you are using with the other groups probably will be seen as a re-hash of old news to them.

Finally, one of the most important groups of fans is the Anti-Fans.  These are those who either appear to want you to fail, or who may actually hope you fall on your face.  Either way, this group probably monitors your career more closely than any other of your categories of fans.  Do not waste your efforts in trying to convert these people, just be sure to give them what they want, a reason to keep coming back to your site to see what you are up to now. Never not appear to fail to make these folks happy, simply be aware of the things that make the majority of this group feel the way they do and play on that knowledge.  Many times you can turn their distaste against them.  Here is a real example.  I received a comment telling me that I should cut my hair and have a more modern hairstyle.  Now, knowing that I have let my hair grow because of my refusal to conform I could have responded to the comment using that defiance.  However, I also have let my hair grow longer than usual because of a commitment I made to Locks of Love in honor of my deceased niece.  So my response to the comment was that I was allowing my hair to grow so that some sick child could receive a hairpiece made from my donation and I challenged the anti-fan to follow suit.  This put the negative response in a positive light and when thrown back into the poster’s court served to ‘guilt’ them into a greater respect for me, and thus my music.  Even if this response prompted this individual to make a donation similar to mine, then my goal was achieved and someone was helped along the was as well.

So always be aware of all of your various types of fans, and always try to give them value from your interaction with them.  Think outside the box and look for new and diverse ways to satisfy their expectations of you.  When you master the art of fan maintenance, you have mastered the meaning of being a musical hero.

hmmmm, what’s this all about?

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