What does it mean to be a True Fan?

Warning: I’m going to go in-depth in this email on the topic of 1,000 True Fans. To view this email as a web page, [click here]() {NAME}, Warning: I’m going to go in-depth in this email on the topic of 1,000 True Fans. This is something I think about often, for both business and personal reasons. No matter what, whenever a new John Grisham book comes out, I buy it. (You know him? He wrote The Firm and A Time to Kill.) Some of his books are amazing … some, not so much, but no matter what, I read every single one. You can consider me one of John Grisham’s 1,000 True Fans. The concept of “1,000 True Fans” was popularized by WIRED editor and best-selling author Kevin Kelly. He said: “To be a successful creator you don’t need millions. You don’t need millions of dollars or millions of customers, millions of clients or millions of fans. To make a living as a craftsperson, photographer, musician, designer, author, animator, app maker, entrepreneur, or inventor you need only thousands of true fans.” Imagine. If you can get just 1,000 people to pay you $100 a year, that’s $100,000/year! It means you can have the freedom to create what you want to create. And it means you don’t need everyone — just 1,000 of the right people. [Ramit] Until now, very few people have shown the numbers behind their 1,000 True Fans. But I will. I’m unveiling real data that almost everyone else is afraid to share. All because I want to show you that it’s possible to start and grow a thriving business — and you don’t need 500,000 subscribers, or 100,000, or even 10,000. You don’t need everyone. Just the right ones. Let me show you. The actual data behind our 1,000 True Fans According to Kelly’s theory, your 1,000 True Fans will read — and buy — everything you create. They’ll follow you on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, your podcast, and anywhere else you go. (Just like I love watching John Grisham’s interviews on YouTube.) Often, you don’t even have to “sell” them — just tell them you have a new product coming out and they’re already in. [Message from student] [Message from student] Think about what it would mean to have customers literally telling you, “Take my money!” — before you even released a new product When we were developing a new product a couple of years ago, the IWT team analyzed the data for our top 1,000 customers. Here’s what we found: - On average, our top 1,000 customers had each spent $8,600 with us. (The top customer spent $26,539.) - On average, our 1,000 True Fans had purchased 6 products each. (The highest number purchased by one person was 15. At the time, we had 18 in total.) [How much have we earned from our top, 1,000 students?] Forget our numbers. If you had 1,000 True Fans who spend $100/year with you, that would be $100,000. That’s awesome! And that’s a conservative number. Of our 1,000 True Fans, the median spend was $7,418 (mean = $8,665). That means we’ve generated $8.6 million in revenue — JUST from our 1,000 True Fans. [How many courses have they joined?] We have many students who’ve been with us for 5+ years. On average, they’ve taken 6 of our courses. That’s 30% of everything we offer, and it means they’re joining more than one course per year. One of them has taken 15! And we know they’ll continue to buy. On average, our top 1,000 students spend over 5x everyone else. [Average spend: Top 1,000 customers vs. everyone else] Building “customers for life” One of my coworkers was puzzled that people who hire a personal trainer keep working with them for years. “Don’t you just hit your goal? Then you know how to do the exercises, right? Why would you keep paying them?” When I told him I’d worked with my trainer for 5 years, he just stared at me. In a world of poor-quality products, if people find a product or service that really works, they’ll stay. And as they get more advanced, their goals will change (like my goals changed over time with my trainer), and they’ll stick with what they know and trust. Additionally, there are a lot of subtle reasons people buy — not just mathematical “results.” Think about why you’ll spend a little extra for a nice hotel or upgrade your rental car. Here’s a simple example of a True Fan: [Example]() From $42,000/year to $125,000/year. Pretty straightforward. This reader continued to get amazing results, growing his income from $42,000 to $125,000 as he applied our material. That is life-changing — a complete change in socioeconomic and psychological status. He will be a student for life. Now here’s another example: [Ramit] In 2016, 500 students joined us in NYC for our Forefront conference. This was crazy. I’d be talking to one of our readers and inevitably I’d ask if they’d joined any of our courses. The average person had joined more than 5 courses. It’s no surprise that True Fans will go to a conference to meet other True Fans. Now let’s go even deeper. Because I can show you our data, and that’s great. But it’s not just about the numbers. It’s also about impact, and about the relationships and transformations you create when you truly serve your customers at the highest level. It’s so rare to find a business willing to show you the real names and faces of its best customers. But this is what I’m most proud of — our success stories. Here’s one. Naveen Dittakavi has been a student of IWT for over 5 years. He’s taken over 8 of our courses (some of these are so old we don’t offer them anymore — we’ve built new, better ones!). [Naveen Dittakavi] Naveen ran a successful freelance business for a few years before 2008. But when the recession hit, it all came crashing down. That’s when he began studying my material. He used the strategies he learned from my courses to rebuild and grow his business before the recession was over, and even to book over $100,000 of business in one month. He was also able to “finally meet people who were similar” to him — ambitious “weirdos” who read about self-development online. What it takes to have a healthy business With just 1,000 True Fans, you can not only build an incredible, profitable, and sustainable business … you can also change people’s lives. We’re showing you our actual data because we want you to know what it really takes to run a successful business. Too often, people toss around huge numbers like “my $1 million launch” or “how I generated $438,273 with one email.” Those can be inspirational — but also depressing. What if you don’t have hundreds of thousands of email subscribers? Or a massive blog? The great news: 1,000 True Fans can help you build an amazing business. If you want to continue growing it (to achieve a $1 million launch, or even a $5+ million launch), you can. But you should know that you don’t need all of that. If you can find 1,000 people who love what you offer, you have a healthy business. You don’t need 10 million fans to be successful. You don’t need to wake up and be Bon Jovi. All you need is 1,000 True Fans to have a large business for the rest of your life. Now I’m curious: We’re all True Fans of something. There’s one person or company that we’ll buy everything from. For me it’s John Grisham. For you, maybe it’s a coffee roaster in your city. Or someone whose products you buy online. It could be anything. Think about it, what are you a True Fan of? Why? Reply and let me know. [Signature] P.S. Speaking of an audience: We’re thrilled to announce that the [I Will Teach You To Be Rich podcast]() has hit 5 million downloads. [5 million+ downloads] Thank you all for listening – and stay tuned for more real money stories from behind closed doors! WHAT TO DO NEXT Reply. Tell me what you’re a True Fan of and why. Think about the things you always have to have from a certain company or business. If they came out with something new today, you’d automatically buy it without thinking twice - why? Let me know. [SIGN UP]() Featured Products [Learn how to be your own boss, do what you love, and earn more.]() [What if you woke up EXCITED to go to work? I show you how to achieve it, step by step.]() [Ready-to-use mental frameworks for increased happiness, confidence, & success.]() [No guilt, no excuses, no BS. Just a 6-week program that works. Over 1,000,000 copies sold.]() The I Will Teach You To Be Rich Podcast Raw, unfiltered conversations with real couples: - One partner is $300,000 in debt, but shrugs it off. The other cries at night, anxious about the future. - A couple that’s so worried about money, they feel like they’ll never have enough. They go to a restaurant and order chicken instead of steak to save $10. Their household income: $600,000. - Two parents who feel overwhelmed by work, kids, and debt. When I ask them how they’d describe their lives, they instantly say the same word: “Stuck. ” Listen in to hear real money conversations from behind closed doors today. [Apple Podcasts] [Apple]() [Spotify]() [Google]() [IWT]() Follow Ramit: [insta]() [Twitter]() [twitter]() [youtube]() [Linkedin]() Was this forwarded to you? [Sign up here.]() This email was sent to {EMAIL}. If you no longer wish to receive these emails you may [unsubscribe]( at any time. 548 Market St #89946 San Francisco, CA 94104-5401