Disclaimer: My notes are not a summary of the book. I’m just saving ideas for myself, for later reflection. If I come across a surprising or inspiring idea, I save them in my own words or as exact quotations. My notes may not make sense to some readers, and you may find them out of context and that’s because these are my way of interpreting the books I’ve read. I highly recommend everybody to read the whole book, especially if you liked my notes. Links to buy the original book are available at the start and end of my notes.
Patt Flynn
ISBN: 978-1-949709-46-9 Hardback
ISBN 978-0-9970823-6-4 Ebook
Date read: September 2022
8/10
Link to the Original Book: https://amzn.to/3qUXdv2
When I think of “fans” I usually thought celebrities filling out massive arenas and football teams with stadium full of supporters. Something only elite or famous people can acquire. In this book Patt lays out step-by-step guide to acquire your own set of superfans for your business or your personal brand. It is both a challenge and a positive reassurance to learn, superfans is achievable even if you or your business are not elite or famous yet. This book ignited excitement and a sense of desire, and I really enjoyed the strategies and exercises after each chapter.
Imagine a team of superfans who keep coming back, not just with more purchases, but also with more people
Patt takes readers through 4 stages to super fandom, starting from the bottom of the pyramid, Casual Audience members (largest segment of your audience)- these are people who were recently exposed to you- into Active Audience. These are people who know your brand and are deciding whether to invest time or money or both in your new content or product. Patt, takes you to the work that’s required to convert your active audience to Connected Community. People who engage with you, your brand and each other and it is from this community you can achieve Superfans. Patt covers various ways you can captivate your audiences and focus on creating extra special moments that defy expectations to win your superfan. Finally, the dark side of super fandom is addressed to prepare one for any dangers if you’re not careful.
Notes / Quotes
PART 1 – Casual Audience to Active Audience
- Learn the Lyrics
“Building a strong, successful brand is about solving people’s problems. Step one is to know what those problems are, but step two, so often underrated and overlooked, is knowing exactly how those people describe their problems.”
“Speak their language”
“If you define the problem better than your target customer, they will automatically assume you have the solution”
“When a potential customer hears you speak about exactly what they are going through, in a way that they can related, they’re going to say to themselves, they get me. They understand.”
Method 1: Find conversations that are already happening online. –> Facebook, twitter, Linkedin, etc.
Method 2: Describe your biggest challenge related to _______ –> “Simply ask people about their biggest challenge related to a specific topic, then follow up with them to learn more.” “Include an open-ended survey question: What’s your number one challenge related to XYZ? What kinds of solutions have you tried so far? If you had a magic wand to solve this challenge, what would things look like for you?”
Method 3: Real Life conversations –> “Find ten people and ask them to spend fifteen minutes talking to you about a problem or need they have related to your area of expertise or interest.” “One conversation can reveal a lot! When people speak directly with someone, you not only hear their words, but you also feel emotion that comes along with them, something that’s often lost in the online space.”
In my own words, identify the way your fans speak and begin to learn to speak in the same way yourself. This creates relatability and makes people feel understood. For example, if your fans speak slang, you speak in slang, etc.
2. Break the Ice
“When it comes to your brand and business, you’re having conversations with new people you’ve never met before. They come across you, your business, and if the content answers their questions and is valuable, they might even begin to follow your work. But when you add personality into the mix and inject elements that your audience can relate to, then they’re not just going to follow your work. They’re going to follow you.”
“Get comfortable sharing things about yourself and your life, perhaps outside of the realm of your niche but also more personal, in order to bring attention to the person behind the brand and foster meaningful connections with your audience.”
“Remember, what you put out you’re going to attract. However you choose to break the ice, it needs to be authentic. If you pretend to be like something or someone else, you’re going risk being called out, but you’ll also attract the kinds of people you might not want to attract.”
3. Create quick wins
“Give your audience a small, quick win.”
“Small wins fuel transformative changes by leveraging tiny advantages into patterns that convince people that bigger achievements are within reach.”
“The small, quick wind is like a 5-hour energy shot for your audience, one that’ll jump-start their journey to super fandom by motivating them to want to keep hearing from you.”
In my own words, creating quick wins can also be in the form of knowledge or value you can give to your audience. Little snippets of advice, quotes and inspiration that can make your audience feel like they won/ learnt something. Other examples for wins can be discount codes, free access, first dibs, etc.
4. Drive the Delorean
“There are two aspects to this strategy: painting the picture of the future of what life will be like if you DO take action with you, and what life will be like if they DON’T”
“Once you’ve made the problem super clear and showed someone their possible future if they don’t deal with that issue, you need to tell them a story of what their problems looks like once it’s been solved.”
“How do you do that? You need to show them examples of transformation – your solution in action.”
“One of the best ways to pain that picture of transformation is by using testimonials.”
5. Return every handshake
“In business, you only get one chance to make a first impression.”
“Don’t leave anyone hanging. Follow up with everybody, especially when it’s their first interaction with your brand.”
“I’ve thrived on returning every handshake – responding to every email, facebook comment, tweet, you name it.”
“I like my audience to know that I’m listening to them.”
In my own words, ensure all your customers/fans get a response from you. As the influx of mail grows and it becomes difficult to respond to every single one, many businesses opt in to hiring staff members to simply ensure no one has been left behind.
PART 2 – Active Audience to connected community
“In this part, we’ll be covering eight strategies to help you convert your active audience into a highly connect community.”
“People want to feel like they belong.”
“You guys let me play, but I never even get to touch the ball. I don’t have fun playing basketball, so why would I want to go and watch?”
In my own words, pass the ball even if you know he/she may never make a score. This way you give everyone a chance, and everyone feels involved. Even if they don’t make it to your team they will still come to watch and cheer you on.
6. Let them take a shot
“Big crowds draw people in.”
“People will come back to continue conversations they’ve started with each other. Once they’re in, they’re in, and they’re going to want to keep those conversations going.”
“The crux of this strategy is to ask your audience for an answer- even if you already know it yourself.”
“These conversations always work best if you choose a topic that’s related to your audience.”
7. Let them decide
“While we have 120 staff designers, we potentially have probably 120,000 volunteer designers we can access outside the company to help us invent.”
“Without communication, there is no community.”
“I’m not just asking my audience questions I already know the answer to. I’m gaining real knowledge and insight in the process, learning what people want from me and my brand.”
In my own words, ask questions, ask for suggestions and even ask for help to your audience. Communication goes a long way, it can make your fans feel heard, cared about and most importantly that their opinions are valued. Recap the example ‘LEGO bankruptcy, saved by fans’ from this chapter to comprehend the power of super fandom.
8. Create a challenge
“These challenges are a way to invite casual fans to become subscribers.”
“Run the challenge just for times a year, which creates excitement and sense of scarcity.”
“The car company MINI has their own long-running challenge, and it’s based around a simple hashtag: #FitsInMyMINI. The winning selection each month gets posted on MINI’s Instagram account. The prize for winning the challenge-recognition on social media- is simple but powerful at spurring to engage with the brand.”
9. Open the factory doors
“Humans have always had a fascination of how things work.”
“Today, factory tours happen every day, all over the world, across all business types.”
a) It helps your audience appreciate the quality and care behind the product
b) It makes your audience feel unique and special
c) It connects your audience with the people behind the brand
d) It gives your audience something to share – When you know something other people don’t, you tell others. Its why gossip is so popular.
In my own words, give people little nuggets and insight into yourself or your business so that they’ll share this information to others, who can potentially also become your fans too. Many practice this in their fields, some examples, sharing workspace, publishing balance sheets, day on the life of xyz, etc.
10. Stage a gig
“For anyone who’s ever attended a live concert, you know the answer: It’s a whole new level of awesome.”
“As a tip, whenever possible, make sure you do your best to call out people’s names.”
“Putting on an evet, big or small, can be a littler nerve-racking. It’s live, so you actually have to interact and be present, and truly care about the experience of the end user. But don’t worry – going live, especially online, is not as scary as you might think.”
“The magic happens when you bring your community together. It’s about the experience, and that experience is heightened when your community members find themselves in a space where they can connect with each other, too.”
11. Give them a name
“Swifties for Taylor Swift Fans, Trekkies for Star Trek Fans, Beliebers for ….” exactly!
“A name may seem like a simple thing, but it’s really powerful.”
“When fans get together to support the thing they love, it can be a powerful force that can change the fate of that thing.”
“You can and very much should give your audience a name!”
“It’s a great way to strengthen the identity of your fanbase and give people something to rally around.”
“Team Flynn for the win.”
12. Bring them together
“Pat, thank you so much, but please don’t take this the wrong way, I didn’t come here to see you..” But. I never get to meet other entrepreneurs at my level in person. Thank you so much for putting this together and giving me the chance to meet some new friends.”
In my own words, creating a community can bring like-minded people together and this is very important for people. Many appreciate the opportunity to connect with one another which you have created. This is an added benefit of allowing your community to engage with one another.
13. Make them shine
“Give your people a chance to shine, and to feel like they belong. Or to use another metaphor, you’ve built this wonderful stage, so it’s time to share it.”
” You don’t have to be a rock star to pull of this strategy, of course. You just have to open the stage to the people who want to share it with you.”
PART 3 – Connected Community to Superfans
“Everyone loves a good hero story, and when you can create ways for your audience to become the hero, they’re going to stick with you for life.”
14. Remember the lemons
“Be just like your customer. If they talk to you a lot, talk to them a lot. If they’re short with words, then don’t talk more than you have to.”
“Serve first, pay attention to the individual, and you will be rewarded.
“Remember other details of their lives: their business, their family, their hobbies. Then show curiosity – ask them about these things! They’ll be delighted.”
“It’s not about the lemons, it’s about the fact you remembered the lemons.”
In my own words, Patt shared a story from his waiter days at a restaurant. A regular customer always asked for lemons with his drink. Patt made sure to remember the lemons every time without having to be asked for it. Patt made big tips from this customer and was always asked to be served by him. The example shared is to focus on your fans wants and needs, and big tips may be brewing for you too.
15. Send unexpected messages
“When a new customer signs up, the Bonjoro app will notify you. You can record a quick little video personalized message immediately.”
“Just realized how powerful these small, personalized, unexpected video message can be. It adds much more value and human connection.”
16. Get them involved
“There’s perhaps no better example than Disney of how successful you can be when you implement this simple strategy: hire your fans. They’re the ones who know your brand, who love what you do, and who will bring a special energy to their role that an outsider may not be able to capture.”
17. Offer platinum access
“Give them VIP experience they crave – and give the other dedicated fans in your audience a superfan nudge, something to look up to and plan for the next time they attend your event.”
“According to Riaz Patel, a clinical psychologist interviewed for the video, People crave status almost as much as they crave money. The more we have status, the more we have approval. Status is a way of achieving approval without actually having to ask for it.”
“When you give your people special, platinum access, to anything, it gives people a huge reason to share this experience.”
“You see, sharing happens for two main reasons: a) Because we love to tell stories, b) Because it elevates our status”
PART 4 – The dark side of building superfans
“With these superfans comes great power – power that must be balanced.”
18. The 6 hidden traps of building superfans- and how to avoid them
Trap 1: You get a chip on your shoulder.
“Your words and actions are naturally going to be noticed, so you have to put a lot of care into what you put out there. When you have a big following, you have to remember how every word and every action represents the brand you’ve built.”
“Slow down and pay attention; don’t just react.”
Trap 2: You let the fame and money get to your head.
“When you forget about relationship aspect and focus too much on the money and prestige- then add over-automation into the mix – that’s recipe for disaster.”
“Always remember why you’re building an audience: to serve people.”
Trap 3: You don’t plan properly-with unintended consequences.
“Here’s a lesson for business and for life in general; your intentions may not always match their outcomes; your actions can sometimes have unforeseen consequences or come off the wrong way – if you’re not planning appropriately and taking a big picture view of things.”
Trap 4: Other people’s actions reflect badly on you.
“Even the mistakes of others can come back to haunt you and turn fans against you. The biggest buffer against this is to be selective about who you associate yourself with.”
“You can’t control the actions of others, or the reactions of your audience to those actions.”
Trap 5: You try to respond to everybody
“Conduct one-to-many conversations”
“Be relative by highlighting and addressing questions from specific people and share them with everyone.”
“Hire team member who can help with audience communication and interactions.”
“Don’t have your team members pretend to be you, the answer is to hire the right people, one who aligns with your value, then train them to support and engage with your audience the way you’d like.”
Trap 6: You burn out.
“Being an entrepreneur is an exciting role. It can also be a recipe for exhaustion and burnout.”
“Get Sleep, lean on your support network, stay focused on what matters.”
19. Avoiding unwanted recognition and staying safe
“Some fans will go to great lengths to get closer to their favorite celebrities.”
a) Do not use your home address in your business, EVER.
– UPS Store mailboxes give you an address of the store and a suite number that matches your mailbox number.
– A local coworking space that has mail and package handling like WeWork.
– Virtual office spaces
b) Create rules for location sharing on social media.
– Share location when it makes sense, and usually only after you’ve left.
c) Make sure you don’t photograph or film these things by accident.
– Vehicle license plate, home numbers, home address, pictures of your home, etc.
PART 5: Your Superfan awaits
“Hey Pat, I know you’re writing this new book. I have no idea what it’s about. But you’ve been so helpful to me, I want to buy twenty copies of your book.”
“Hey, Pat, when you come out with your next product, I want to buy it, just charge me, and send it to me as soon as you can.”
“When I got my first group of haters, without being asked, my superfans came to my defense.”
“Anyone can provide an amazing experience for on new person every day, and it’s your consistency of focusing on those experiences that will lead to building a core group of superfans.”
Link to the Original Book: https://amzn.to/3qUXdv2
