To start, I need to provide a little bit of context. For this tour, there are several types of venues that I have booked.
-There are a few events where I am booked as the speaker at a youth service or gathering that is exclusive to that church or school.
-There are events where I am partnering with the school or church. They advertise to their community, and I advertise to mine. (This is the majority)
-There is a small number of events where I simply rented a space and shouted online, “Hey, I’ll be here at this time. Show up if you want to listen.”
It was my expectation that the majority of the audience at a particular event would have no idea who I am. They’re only there because someone at their church told them they should come. And this has been the case.
However, the biggest surprise for me on this tour so far, has been watching the Fanimas come out of the woodwork every single show. These folks have no connection with the venue, but only heard about the show through Twitter, YouTube, or some other online channel. We have had anywhere between 5-15 Fanimas at every show, some of which drive 2, 3, even up to 6 hours to come and see it.
I do not share this to brag. It’s actually a very humbling experience. I share this as an encouragement. Now, more than ever, anyone has the ability to go online and gather a group of people for an event, whether it be a speaking engagement, a fundraiser, or a business venture. This is not limited to people with (somewhat) viral videos. You can do this too!
With this encouragement though, I have to offer some humbling truth. As I said, we have around 5-15 Fanimas gather for each show. That is really cool, but objectively, that’s not very many people. If it has taken us 2 years, 120 videos, and the luck of one going viral to amass a following of 5-15 people per city, please don’t have any expectation that you can just announce your presence and millions will come running. It is very possible to lead a tribe of people, and to gather them from all over the world, but you HAVE TO PUT IN THE WORK TOO! If you do put in the work though, day in and day out, you might be pleasantly surprised when people are willing to drive 6 hours to be a part of what you're doing.
The tools are there, just waiting to be used.
The people are there, just waiting to be gathered.
The work is there, just waiting to be done.
-There are a few events where I am booked as the speaker at a youth service or gathering that is exclusive to that church or school.
-There are events where I am partnering with the school or church. They advertise to their community, and I advertise to mine. (This is the majority)
-There is a small number of events where I simply rented a space and shouted online, “Hey, I’ll be here at this time. Show up if you want to listen.”
It was my expectation that the majority of the audience at a particular event would have no idea who I am. They’re only there because someone at their church told them they should come. And this has been the case.
However, the biggest surprise for me on this tour so far, has been watching the Fanimas come out of the woodwork every single show. These folks have no connection with the venue, but only heard about the show through Twitter, YouTube, or some other online channel. We have had anywhere between 5-15 Fanimas at every show, some of which drive 2, 3, even up to 6 hours to come and see it.
I do not share this to brag. It’s actually a very humbling experience. I share this as an encouragement. Now, more than ever, anyone has the ability to go online and gather a group of people for an event, whether it be a speaking engagement, a fundraiser, or a business venture. This is not limited to people with (somewhat) viral videos. You can do this too!
With this encouragement though, I have to offer some humbling truth. As I said, we have around 5-15 Fanimas gather for each show. That is really cool, but objectively, that’s not very many people. If it has taken us 2 years, 120 videos, and the luck of one going viral to amass a following of 5-15 people per city, please don’t have any expectation that you can just announce your presence and millions will come running. It is very possible to lead a tribe of people, and to gather them from all over the world, but you HAVE TO PUT IN THE WORK TOO! If you do put in the work though, day in and day out, you might be pleasantly surprised when people are willing to drive 6 hours to be a part of what you're doing.
The tools are there, just waiting to be used.
The people are there, just waiting to be gathered.
The work is there, just waiting to be done.
