Hello everyone and welcome back to Fandom Theory!
My name is Elizabeth Rathburn and this video series is part of a larger project in which
I am researching online entrepreneurs and
their audiences.
In the last video I walked through the history of online entrepreneurs and how we got to
this point of fandom monetization.
If you missed it, link’s above or in the description.
How do creator fandoms succeed?
In any relationship, communication is key.
Creator fandoms succeed simply because of
the level of communication the creators and
audience alike have with each other.
Part of the appeal of creator fandoms is
there is less of a divide between the creator
and the audience members. Audiences feel like
they can really get to know the creators without
ever having met them.
As technology improves and develops, new methods
of communication are being created, but sometimes
good old-fashioned meet-ups and snail mail
do the trick as well.
This is Fandom Theory, Part III.
As mentioned in the previous video, Patreon
is a service where audience members can opt
to pay a creator either by month or by project,
In return they'll receive certain perks
depending on what tier they have joined based off
how much money they paid.
These perks are exclusive to just patrons
of that tier, and therefore can have a persuasive
appeal; as mentioned in the last video, according to 
a poll half of patrons joined so they could
receive perks.
Patreon has recognized this appeal and
developed a related app called Lens, which
launched in 2018.
Lens is a way for creators to show their patrons
behind the scenes content, whether for a
big special project or routinely.
These posts show patrons what it's
like for the creators to do what they do by
allowing them to share short videos or photos that are only available for 24 hours.
Creators have loved using it so far and they've actually found it's a way to keep audience members
as patrons for longer.
There is a Q&A feature built within the app so patrons can ask the creator questions
about that post or video and the creators can
respond directly. This creates even more interactions between the patrons and the creators.
When it comes to creator-audience communication,
Patreon certainly makes it easy.
Another obvious method of communication
is social media.
While there are many different platforms of
social media, the one where the most creator-audience
interaction takes place depends on not just what the creator is creating, but also the
main demographic of the audience themselves.
For example, a creator who makes something
physical, such as art, woodworking, or cosplay,
would thrive best on Instagram to
share their updates and behind the scenes.
While the days of Facebook fan pages may be
coming to an end, it doesn't hurt to include
one.
Even uploading an archive of YouTube videos
or podcast files to Facebook would be a good
backup just in case there's a problem with the main distribution platform.
Like with creating content itself, it's a
good idea to have social media on a variety
of platforms to ensure the widest reach of
a potential audience.
One of the biggest platforms right now for creators
and audiences would be Twitter.
Because of the abbreviated number of characters,
it's a good place to quickly share updates,
thoughts, or jokes.
Here new content can be shared as well as
teases of upcoming content.
Audience members can also tweet at a certain creator
to ask a question, share their experience
with new content, or just post general appreciation of the creator.
Audience members can also reply to creator
tweets and then creators can choose whether or not they 
respond to different impressions or questions asked.
Creators can also curate questions and turn them
into content later on, whether by directly 
tweeting “Do you have any questions for me?”
or just looking for them. 
And then they can answer these questions on a
specific video or podcast.
Of course, for the creators who primarily
create YouTube videos, the fastest way to
get audience feedback and to respond to them is looking at the actual comment sections on the
videos.
While there may become a point where a creator gets so big they cannot feasibly respond to
every single comment, even taking the time to look through the comments and 
“heart” or reply to a few of them will go a long way for the audience.
Like with Twitter, some creators go so far
as to turn these comments
into content in and of themselves, either by reading mean comments or responding to audience questions.
And they could always pull questions from their patrons on Patreon as well.
In these ways, the audience members feel like they're really contributing to the creator.
There are also a few newer methods of communication.
While Twitch is out there as a platform dedicated
to just livestreaming, YouTube recently
incorporated livestreaming for creators as well. The first beta livestreams on the YouTube
app by creators happened in summer 2016.
Over the past few years, YouTube has been
updating and fine-tuning their creator livestreams.
For example, within the live chat that happens
in these livestreams, audience members have the option
to do a Super Chat.
With a Super Chat, these viewers can pay a certain
amount of money and essentially “tip”
the streamer.
Then, the viewer’s question or comment
gets pinned to the top of the live chat, with the
more they pay, the longer it's pinned.
This is another way for creators to make a
little money while their viewers, even those
who aren't on Patreon, can give a little
back.
Super Chats are YouTube’s response to Twitch’s
“cheering,” which was beta’d in summer
2016.
Cheers are little emojis that can appear in the chat, with the more you pay, the flashier the cheer.
Streamers do get a portion of this revenue as well.
Discord started as a service for gamers, so
that a group could text or voice
chat on a private server.
When a creator makes a private server, they
can choose to share the link with all members of the
audience or just certain ones.
Access to the channel or community’s Discord
server is one of the most common perks on
Patreon.
There can also be private channels within these private
servers, creating even more exclusivity if
that is desired.
Similar to a Facebook fan page or website,
Discord is a place where fandom members
can just interact with just each other.
The creator can set up their own moderation
tools, called Discord bots, if they don't
have a human moderator and then they can just let the chat go.
Discord is particularly appealing to livestreamers just because of some of the things it can do.
Users in the chat can create longer posts
or share images, which is something you can't
do on YouTube or Twitch.
Finally, there are AMA’s, or ask me anything. This happens on Reddit where a creator or
a celebrity, sets up a thread where audience members can ask them whatever questions they want for a certain amount of time.
The person who created the AMA can respond to the questions and then everyone following the thread can read the responses.
This can be another great way for audience
members to really connect with the creators.
While AMAs are often used to connect
with seemingly untouchable famous
people, like Snoop Dogg or Barack Obama,
they can be used for anyone who has a following
or a community.
While social media and the major hosting platforms
might be where a majority of the communication 
between audience members and creators take place, there's also the opportunity for communication in other places that
have roots in pre-Internet or early Internet
fandoms.
For example, some creators maintain
websites that might include a back catalog of
their content, more information about themselves
and what they do, or have a chat room for their
audience members.
It all depends on the type of content being created.
While a website may not be the most up-to-date thing you could maintain, it's always a good idea to have your content
stored somewhere else besides the main distribution platform.
Creators can also set up a mail box where
audience members can send them anything.
Examples could be letters, fan art that's very similar to fan art found in pop culture media fandoms, or even a box
of snacks from their country if they're from
a different country.
Having a lot of packages and letters to open from the
mail box can cycle back and become content
in and of itself.
Every few months the creator can then make a video opening these packages
on camera. They can share with their audience what one of their fellow audience
members sent or they can even have a taste test with all those foreign snacks and candy.
One of the most direct ways a creator can
interact with an audience member is by meeting them
in person.
For example, they could deliberately host a meet-up.
This can be either something the creator sets
up on their own or it could be
a part of a convention the creator know a large portion of their audience will be there.
Meet-ups exist so that the creators can put a face to the name of their comment sections or
Patreon pages. They can make a kind of connection that's different than when just the Internet
is involved.
And this excitement and connection can go both
ways as well, back to the audience.
Audience members taking photos with creators is one of the most popular things to do at these meetups so that
the audience members can have something tangible
to connect them to the creator in the future.
Not all creators have just one thing they
create.
For example, besides videos, livestreams,
or podcasts, some creators are also comedians
who might have their own live comedy shows.
Or, if they are musicians, thanks to the audience
they have gained through an online presence,
they might have enough interest to hold a
live performance or a tour.
In these cases, there is always an opportunity
for a meet-and-greet after the show.
So, to recap:
Once the initial spark of interest between
audience member and creator is made, everything
after that is one big cycle.
Audiences give back to creators who give back
to them. Thanks to increasing technology,
there are now more ways than ever for creators
and their audience members to communicate.
Next is part 4 where I briefly go into
fandoms within fandoms.
Don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow
Fandom Theory on Twitter so you’ll know exactly when
part 4 comes out.
If you like reading, there’s a link in the
description to where I’ve uploaded a paper
on this same topic.
And finally, share this video with your creator
fandoms!
Let’s spread knowledge and start a conversation!
Thanks for watching!
