Building Financial Success with a Dedicated Audience

What if reaching your financial goals was as simple as connecting with just 1000 true fans? In this riveting episode of "Power Your Research," we break down the transformative concept of "1000 True Fans" and show you how focusing on a smaller, highly engaged audience can lead to significant financial success. 

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@drsheenahoward | Power Your Research

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

It's not about how many people are following you. It's about the quality of the people that are following you, and if you are speaking to the correct people, the correct audience and giving them the information that they need, getting $100 from 1,000 people in one year becomes something that you can visually see as feasible. I don't want my work to be stuck behind an academic paywall. I want to leave a legacy, I want to reach my potential and I want to change lives. This podcast, power your Research, is my attempt to help the smartest people in the world do that very thing. My hope is that you use the lessons I share to make more money than what your higher ed job can ever pay you. I've done it, my clients have done it, and so can you. My hope is that you'll apply what you learn here and one day join the Power your Research program, where you can work with me one-on-one Monetization 101 for academics and professors. And I'm going to share one small thing with you that totally transformed how I went about making money from my products and services. For me, having a PhD in intercultural and rhetorical communication and being in the educational system for so long, when I embarked on this entrepreneurship journey, I realized I knew nothing and I realized that a lot of what is taught in academe is the complete opposite of what you need to do, think and know as an entrepreneur. But a few years ago, my creative coach introduced me to this concept of 1000 true fans this concept of 1000 true fans and it gave me a visual of how making money specifically making six figures can work in the day and age that we live in now. It gave me a framework, it gave me something to aspire to, it gave me a goal and a solid understanding around how I can make my first six figures. And a year after learning this concept and going on this entrepreneurship journey, I made my first six figures and the rest is history. So that concept is 1000 true fan and it's kind of the the opposite way we think of. We naturally think about social media. We think we need thousands and millions of followers right, we want more followers. We think the more people that see our content, the more money we will make. But this helps us get a little more granular around thinking about making your first six figures. The average entrepreneur is not even making six figures, and what the 1000 true fans concept is is understanding that you only need 1000 people to spend $100 on you each in one year, and that is six figures, just 1000 people, right? This is why last year, I could have, you know, under 2000 Instagram followers and make multiple six figures, because it's not about how many people are following you, it's about the quality of the people that are following you, and if you are speaking to the correct people, the correct audience, and giving them the information that they need, getting $100 from 1,000 people in one year becomes something that you can visually see as feasible. Hey, everyone, real quick.

Speaker 1: 3:51

I don't run any ads on this podcast, so I have to rely on word of mouth. If this podcast has helped you in any way, please share it with a friend and follow me, dr Sheena Howard on LinkedIn, where I give more free content on building your brand as an academic. If you tell me you came to my LinkedIn from the podcast, I'll make sure I accept your request and you can play with the numbers. It could be 500 people that spend $200 on you, right? You can start out saying I just want to reach, get 200 people to spend $250 on me and play with the numbers, but when you overlay the a thousand true fans concept with the diffusion of innovation theory. And if you have a PhD, no matter what your PhD is in, I feel like you've heard the diffusion of innovation theory at some point. I remember hearing it multiple times. But not to go over the entire diffusion of innovation theory, I've done that in multiple videos but basically the diffusion of innovation theory says you know a small part of it, says you have innovators, early adopters. It says you have innovators, early adopters right, those are the first people that want to try your product. So you can think about those early adopters as the current fans you have right now. Whether you have 100 people following you or 1,000, those people already like you. And if you can serve them and love on them and give them what they want and ask them how they're doing, ask them what they're working on, ask them how you can help them, build a relationship with them, you'll be at those a thousand true fans quicker. And so the question and the last thing that I want to address that you might be asking well, what is a true fan?

Speaker 1: 5:34

A true fan, also known as a super fan, is someone that buys from you and talks about you. So they buy from you and they talk about you. So this might be as simple as someone jumping into your program and then leaving a nice review, or buying your book and leaving a nice review. So they bought something from you and they talk about you in public and if you can get a thousand of those and serve those, they spend a hundred dollars on you each. In one year you're at your six figure mark.

Speaker 1: 6:07

So your homework is to go to a place where the people that want your thing are. Maybe it's a conference, maybe it's a speaking engagement, maybe it's a meeting. Go there and love on them, serve them, ask them how you can help, tell them about the service that you are offering. Or dig into the people that are currently following you and give them value Because, as I say, if you follow me, you've heard me say if you can't serve one person, you do not deserve a thousand people. All right. So I hope this concept helps Always reach out. Let me know if you have any questions. You can always jump on a 30 minute call with me to discuss your goals about increasing your visibility, authority and income. Thank you.