MAGIC WONDERS OF LIFE | WRITING
How to Not Scare Away Your Fans
Have you ever made your fans run away? Or do fans terrify you? How I scared off my first fan ever and how to not do that…
Looking at my “fans” statistics on Medium reminded me of my first fan ever known to me. And how I scared him off, pushing him to run away from me. Hopefully, you can learn from my experience and not do this terrible mistake.
When I was younger, I got the chance for one of my poems to be selected to be published in a poetry collection. I was asked to read it out loud at the launch of the book, in front of a small group of people.
Long and behold, I was a very introverted person. It was hard for me to find the courage to share my poetry. Yet, I did what I was told to, as I was even more scared to tell them “No.” (I still wonder to this day how they would have reacted if I had done so :p But then, I wouldn’t have had that fateful encounter and wouldn’t be able to tell you about it.).
When the crucial moment came, I was trembling so much that I couldn’t actually read the paper in my hands. Fortunately, I knew that piece of poetry by heart and it just flew out of my mouth, fooling everyone into thinking I had the situation under control. And everything went well (I think) until we started to mingle with the audience.
Nowadays, I only vaguely remember what the poem was about. Something about courage, happiness, and nature. But I remember in detail the face of the man I met that night. And I will never forget it.
To put you in context, I was raised to be wary of strangers. Being a small girl, timid and soft-spoken, I easily fell victim to all kinds of tricky situations. My parents were also very worried. They didn’t trust that group of “artists”, who could “deviate” me from the “right path”! (Little do they know about the Medium community!)
So, after the public presentations were over, I went aside to get a drink. A man approached me from behind. I didn’t hear him. He tapped on my shoulder and I jumped. In his eyes, I may have looked more scared than surprised. He seemed horrified by my reaction. I remember thinking in a flash: “Oh no, he didn’t like my poetry. Did I offend him in any way? Did he mistake me for someone else? What does he want from me?”
But instead, to my surprise, he stuttered out: “Sorry, I’m so sorry. I didn‘t mean to scare you. I just wanted to say…” He paused and looked around before whispering under his breath: “I really like your poetry. I mean, I understand, I could feel what you were saying… Please, continue writing.” and he ran away so fast, like if I was about to scream accusations of him attacking me.
That’s the story of how I made my first fan ever run away. I don’t even know his name. I don’t even remember the poetry that touched him and inspired him to approach me.
But I remember his courage. He was more scared than me. Still, he was so inspired by his emotions that he still came to see me and tell me about it. Unfortunately, I didn’t react the way I should have. And I felt terrible afterward. So terrible that I buried that memory far away in the back of my mind.
It wasn’t until I started to have fans on Medium that I remembered about it. That I also remembered what he told me. And his wish as a fan of my work.
For many years, I have put my passion for writing on hold because I was busy with my “professional career”. And now, that passion came back to me. But this time, I wanted to share my writings more widely. Thus, I started to write on Medium.
With it, I felt the pressure of writing the best content I could, for my fans. Writing to help others. Writing to touch them, move them. Writing for you, my dear reader. Writing my best to not let down your expectations. Or maybe also mines…
As I started to interact with some of my readers, I realized that people who are “fans” are happy humans. Yet, they may be as scared to approach and interact with the writer, as the writer is worried to share her creations…
So, don’t be scared (or at least, try not to appear terrified, lol) when someone approaches you for your creations. Your work touched them and it took them courage, energy, and time to reach out to you. Who knows, maybe they were as scared as you were to share?
Afterthought: Medium is an extraordinary platform that allows you to interact with your fans… And you, how was your experience with fans? Have you ever been scared of them? Or scared off a fan of yours? What will you do next time a fan approach you? How will you approach your fans?
Wishing you happy interactions with your fans!
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