Kevin Kelly says a creator, an artist, only needs 1,000 true fans to make a living.
Kickstarter “is a funding platform for artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians, journalists, inventors, explorers…” After three months of operation, they say Kelly could well be correct.
To date, if a project manages to get to 25% of its funding goal, it has a 94% success rate.
We had assumed there would be some threshold where a project’s chances would dramatically increase, but only 25%? How can it be so low?
There are a number of factors at play, including public validation and old-fashioned momentum. But more than that it’s the True Fans: if the groundwork has been laid and a direct relationship has been built, your fans will assure you of that 94% success rate.
That’s because, as Kelly says, you will then have concentric circles of lesser fans, and the True Fans will work to get your message out.
This is probably just as true in politics as in art.