The Long Tail Theory
The "long tail" is a theory of marketing, promotion, and economics. It deals with the impact created by a very large amount of very small contributions or actions, especially over an extended time period. This tends to work well for creative people who amass a great deal of material over time.
Until recently, it has been difficult to keep something available long enough for this to work. Currently the challenge lies more with reaching the right audience. But the future? That looks shiny! New tools and services are emerging that make it easier to keep things accessible to would-be buyers. For instance, paper books tend to go out of print quickly, whereas e-books can be kept in print indefinitely.
These factors matter deeply in crowdfunding. Many projects are the work of just one person, and no matter how talented one is, one's time is limited. So an important part of success tends to include finding ways to enable the long tail, to let one batch of work continue to earn money and attention over time, rather than keep having to do more and more new work just to stay afloat. Plan accordingly.
The following articles introduce "the long tail theory" of economics and how it applies today.
The Main Idea
"The Long Tail" article by Chris Anderson
Long Tail FAQ by Chris Anderson
Discussions and Implications
"The 80/20 Rule Revisited"
"Applying the Long Tail to Online Fiction"
"Finding the Long Tail in Music"
"A Fourth Long Tail Business Category: Tools"
"Leverage the Long Tail of Search on Your Blog"
"Libraries and the Long Tail"
"The Long Tail" (Wikipedia article)
"Long Tail Content Strategy for People Who Don't Understand the Long Tail"
"The Long Tail Revolution"
"The Long Tail Theory: Why Webseries Creators Need Net Neutrality"
"The Long Tail's Role in Copyright Debates"
"The Long Tail of Zero is Still Zero (The Thousand Fan model)"
"Rethinking the Long Tail Theory: How to Define Hits and Niches"
"Writers and the Long Tail"
Until recently, it has been difficult to keep something available long enough for this to work. Currently the challenge lies more with reaching the right audience. But the future? That looks shiny! New tools and services are emerging that make it easier to keep things accessible to would-be buyers. For instance, paper books tend to go out of print quickly, whereas e-books can be kept in print indefinitely.
These factors matter deeply in crowdfunding. Many projects are the work of just one person, and no matter how talented one is, one's time is limited. So an important part of success tends to include finding ways to enable the long tail, to let one batch of work continue to earn money and attention over time, rather than keep having to do more and more new work just to stay afloat. Plan accordingly.
The following articles introduce "the long tail theory" of economics and how it applies today.
The Main Idea
"The Long Tail" article by Chris Anderson
Long Tail FAQ by Chris Anderson
Discussions and Implications
"The 80/20 Rule Revisited"
"Applying the Long Tail to Online Fiction"
"Finding the Long Tail in Music"
"A Fourth Long Tail Business Category: Tools"
"Leverage the Long Tail of Search on Your Blog"
"Libraries and the Long Tail"
"The Long Tail" (Wikipedia article)
"Long Tail Content Strategy for People Who Don't Understand the Long Tail"
"The Long Tail Revolution"
"The Long Tail Theory: Why Webseries Creators Need Net Neutrality"
"The Long Tail's Role in Copyright Debates"
"The Long Tail of Zero is Still Zero (The Thousand Fan model)"
"Rethinking the Long Tail Theory: How to Define Hits and Niches"
"Writers and the Long Tail"