When Social Media Isn't Enough: Building Real Fan Connections

Lessons from Relaunching Sara Evans' Fan Club

We all know social media alone doesn't build true fan loyalty anymore. Cutting through the noise to actively engage supporters takes work. So how do you cultivate lifelong superfans?

We spoke with Craig Dunn and Nicole Lewis, the team behind relaunching country star Sara Evans' fan club. They shared hands-on lessons about what it takes to build meaningful, direct artist-fan connections.

You watch the full interview here or read on for the highlights.

Updating the Fan Club for Today

Sara's fan club got its start back when social media was just coming onto the scene. Craig put it like this: "It was old school—you wrote a check, mailed it in, and got four quarterly newsletters sent back to you." That was a time when putting all content online was a big deal.

But now, even with huge social media followings, there's something missing. Fans are looking for more.

"A lot of people, including us, are realizing it does make sense to have a fan club again because these fans want to be super served. They want options like exclusive merch and that feeling of community. Keeping it all under one roof makes a lot of sense." - Craig Dunn

After not having an active fan club for a while, they figured out the best way to bring it back was with Shopify and Single. It makes it easy for fans to find exclusive merch, content, and more—all in one place.

What Fans Really Want: Exclusive Access and Content

Having Sara's merch store on Shopify already gave them a peek at who her most dedicated fans were. Nicole Lewis mentioned they gave these fans VIP access when they relaunched the fan club. This wasn't about just handing out free stuff. It was about making fans who've stuck around for years feel special and heard.

"We pulled our top Shopify customers and sent out an early exclusive invite to them, to create more that VIP feel at the beginning. We did that for about 3 weeks, then jumped into a full social media launch." - Nicole Lewis

This move helped them quickly get their most dedicated fans excited. Since then, they've been offering unique experiences, like holiday live streams with Sara and early access to special merch.

Listening to Fans: The Secret to a Great Fan Club

Craig made it clear - the fan club is for serving them. Starting with your fans and learning, asking what they want to see is so important.

The fan club gives Sara a direct line to find out what her fans are really into. Craig and Nicole have been all about getting feedback from fans on everything from what merch they want to the kind of content they enjoy.

"Social media has created more of a parasocial relationship, so this gives us a chance to have real one-on-one relationships." - Nicole Lewis

This feedback helps make sure they're giving fans what they actually want. Combining this understanding of what fans like with the right platform has been key to getting the fan club off the ground again. It's all about keeping fans engaged and making sure there's a two-way conversation.

The Takeaway: It's About the Connection

Real connections between artists and fans are what build strong bonds. By listening and using the right tools, artists can go beyond social media and create lasting direct relationships with their fans.