We’re interviewing a bunch of brilliant word of mouth marketers as previews for Word of Mouth Supergenius conference in Chicago on Dec. 16.
In this interview, Brains on Fire’s Firestarter (and one of the geniuses behind Fiskars’ amazing community of evangelists) Spike Jones offers tips on how to create a fan community based on the class he’ll be hosting. Spike’s tips:
- Find the passion conversation. Don’t focus on talking about the product, focus on talking about the topics your biggest fans love. Spike recommends finding this “passion conversation” by asking questions such as: How do my customers use my product? How does it fit into their lives? How does it work for them?
- Create a barrier to entry. Asking community members to put a stake in the game early on means everyone is invested from day one.
- Establish a powerful identity. Everyone wants to believe in something bigger than themselves.