Last week I wrote about how you might have thrown the party for yourself (valid), everyone showed up, and that you’ll ultimately want everyone to talk to each other. Imagine hosting a huge party and you have to talk to e v e r y o n e. You want your fans to form smaller groups, introduce themselves, and make new friends.
So today is all about how you can make that happen. I’m going to give you a few scenarios:
You get invited to a party. The host is like, “This will be the best experience of your life. The music, the food, the people will be insane. I can’t wait to see you.” You show up. There are literally 900 people there. No one talks to you. The host is in her bedroom for (hopefully) good reasons. You grab a drink. But you end up leaving. I’m assuming you would probably decline the next invite right?
You get invited to a party. The host says, “I’m hosting a fun get-together at my place. I invited about 50 people and I’m so excited because one of my favorite chefs is making food and we’re going to do karaoke! I know you love both of those things!” You show up and the host greets you. She connects you to her friend because you both happen to live in the same neighborhood. You never see the host again but it’s okay. You get lunch with your new friend the following week.
You friend texts you and invites you to a party that her other friend is hosting. You reply, “I’m in.” You go together. You get to catch up with your friend, laugh about the quirks, you meet a ton of new people, and stay until you’re some of the last few people to leave. The host says, “Okay I’m inviting you two to all of my parties.”
This is essentially what can happen inside of a membership, a Substack, a Discord, a book club, a party, a conference, a retreat, etc. etc. etc.
The first situation kind of sucks
The second one is great.
I think the third situation is ideal.
At Wonderly (my work), I circle around what makes someone care? It’s way harder to find a stranger, get them to like you, come to your party, hopefully click with everyone while you make the rounds, and feel closer to you at the end of the night. Let’s compare that to asking your friends’ friends’ and their friends’ friends. And then you’re all like-minded people bonding and thinking, “This is so me.”
Alright I’ll leave you with some straightforward advice:
Is it compelling for someone to invite their friend? This can be a literal invitation to something in-person but it can also be a referral link.
Is the initial invitation compelling? Would you rather go to a party that has every hour planned? Or a party that will definitely have a bonfire and good music?
Is the space easy and enjoyable to navigate? I have once abandoned my effort to find the door of a party because it was too difficult. I have canceled my free trial of many memberships and courses because I genuinely didn’t enjoy being on the website.
Are people welcomed by a human? THIS IS HUGE. I have many tips about this if your running an online community and don’t want to use a bot. Email me back if you want to chat.
Are they pulled into conversation quickly? See the bullet point above. But it’s even better if it’s someone other than you. This is huge for online memberships, communities, and events (AMAs, chats, Discord, etc).
Next week’s piece will be all about collecting things. If you have ever wondered what it might take to produce a physical object related to your fandom or an existing fandom, I think you’ll enjoy!
PS If there are typos or grammatical errors, my apologies. I am not a professional writer and I don’t use AI to write Huge Fan!
