Longing for the day ...

Keeping fans' interest

At IMC, one of the more unexpectedly interesting perspectives came from David Cooper, who's an accountant. He specialises in making stuff to help artists at the back end - the accounting and management jobs that most artists struggle with. We were discussing the mechanics of fan bases and David mentioned that his software is used by U2 (among others) to manage their fan base and subscription lists.

The key, according to David, is to give fans an extra reason to pay attention to you - especially immediately after a show while they're still warm with you. Doing things like posting pictures of fans with band members are very effective, give fans a reason to come back to your website and ALSO to tell other about their experience with the band. But the one he thought was best:

"Never underestimate an e-mail from a band member to a fan."

Of course, this requires a little extra work the morning after a gig, but if you can pick a few people who recently signed up and send them a *personal* e-mail, not the standard broadcast ones, that refers to something particular about them and how you met, it can work viral marketing magic ...