Engage your fans: Communicate with F.I.R.E.

Scoring emails and social network fans/friends/followers is all the rage. Bands go wrong with what they do next. They encourage me to hit "unsubscribe." It's the same tune, "buy this" or "come to this", but there's no compelling story or emotional hook. I want to be entertained, but most band emails lack inherent entertainment value. If you can't hit me in the heart, then don't expect an emotional connection. Emails, tweets, blog posts, texts, videos—I could drown in them. To retain interest and involvement, communicate with F.I.R.E.—Force, Information, Relevance, Entertainment.

Information is facts, news, or intel. Entertainment engages emotions, without which information has poor mileage. Announcements go nowhere without a story. Be vivid. People remember stories. Entertaining stories open the emotional connection. Information blended with entertainment is high-octane fuel. Relevance is the spark to a wildfire. Relevance is the reason. Force is all about time—how quickly and effectively the message spreads. Force can make or burn you. Don't drown flames with an information overload. You get more miles per gallon when you don't dilute the fuel. Be concise. (All killer no filler.)

Communication Do's and Don'ts

Do:

• Add value (F.I.R.E.)
• Have a hook in your first line.
• Be yourself.
• Be human (show emotion).
• Speak like you would in person.
• Make it personal.
• Entertain/inform via story.
• Have an opinion on a relevant topic.
• Ask a question.
• Have a point.
• Have timing.
• Be inspirational.
• Be empathic.
• Put yourself in their shoes.

Don't:

• Be boring.
• Be spam.
• Flood the stream.
• Announce plans that may never happen.
• Expect fans to do actions you'd run from.
• Crowd too many ideas into one email.
• Randomly @ mention people on Twitter.
• Dwell on the past, or the future.
• Be too chaotic.
• Be too predictable.
• Follow the norm.
• Neglect usability standards (fonts etc.)
• Insult art, or other artists.
• Ignore feedback.
• Use ALL CAPS.