Customer Reviews

Celebrity Fan Clubs For Fun & Profit

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After an unsuccessful search at the library and on the internet for info on how to start a fan club I came across Joyce's book and all I can say is THANK YOU. It gives accurate instructions on how to start and keep a successful fan club operation running. She even shows you sample contracts and a lot of other valuable information. After two weeks of receiving her book I am now the official fan club president of my favorite celebrity. Thanks Joyce

I bought this book thinking it would provide detailed information on how to start and run a fan club. I was very disappointed in it, especially for the price. The book is 99 pages with a very big font and double spaced. She spends very little time telling you how to actually secure the services of the celebrity's management and speaks very generically throughout the book. There are a few generic contracts at the end of the book but nothing really useful here. Total waste of money!!

I have a Fan Club and Fan Site for actor Frank Langella (unofficial for now, and after reading this book, maybe forever). Since this is all pretty new to me, I thought I'd learn some useful things. It was terribly disappointing. No, nauseating. Has the world really become so commercialized that even fandom comes with a price tag?? In the "old days" (you know, when we lived in caves, cooked without microwaves, watched black and white television and phones had round dial thingies on them, those old days) a fan club was an organization of actual fans, who existed primarily to share their experience of being fans. They would elect or appoint "officers" to carry out the few necessary chores such as membership drives, newsletters, keeping the books and membership records, and corresponding with the celebrity's designated agents for current information. They kept members informed, shared stories and pictures and occasionally they would adopt some large project, like getting the celebrity recognized for some coveted award, like a star on the Walk of Fame. Dues were collected only to defray the cost of postage and printing, and the celeb's people in many cases cooperated by providing pre-signed glossies and official bio information. After all, it was good for them, too. In those days, a fan club was a labor of love by and for the fans. At least that is what I thought.

This horrible book talks of something totally foriegn to me. It makes a fan club a cold business enterprise, where for a contracted fee paid by the celebrity, the "Fan Club Service" will send static responses to all the celeb's fan mail, which the celeb never sees. In addition they agree to market merchandise, run "900" lines, and other commercial endeavors, and then split the profits (including membership dues) with the celebrity. Say what?? What has any of this to do with a fan club? Where are the fans?? They are numbers with dollar signs in front of them. Vultures!! I would NEVER want to participate in such an enterprise.

I do this because I WANT to do it, and when/if I ever don't want to any more, I'll offer my software and codes free to some willing fan who cares enough to continue it, because they want to, not because someone pays them to. The ONLY thing we would ever need money for at any time would be a Walk of Fame star, and that we would do because we want to give something back to our hero, not to feed some greedy commercial machine.

As for the other thing, I have no desire to read, let alone respond to, anyone's fan mail. I don't think that is what a fan club is, or should be, about.

Let's be honest - the two most difficult issues when starting a business venture like this would be:
1. Getting your foot in the door (of a world that is so foreign to you that it may as well be OZ) and
2. Money negotiations (how does one actually sit down and talk money with people of this stature)?
Both of these extremely difficult issues are addressed along with so much more.
I found this guide to be an informative read as well as an honest straightforward peak into the world of celebrity fan clubs.

Your guide to starting a celebrity fan club is just the best! It is extremely informative, and the samples that are included were a much appreciated bonus. But, more than any of that -- what made this an incredible read was the motivational writing (the "pep talk if you will")! I really feel like this is something that I CAN do and who knows ... maybe I will get to run that "certain someone's" fan club after all! Thank you so much!!

I've been a member of fan clubs since I can remember being interested in music (quite a long time now)and have always fantasized about running my own club. But how in the world do you start something like that? Well, I recommend this book to guide you. I was so pleased to see examples of letters, contracts and member cards!!!! This truly is a dream come true.

I loved this book! I think the author was very brave to write a book about how to do what she does for a living; and very generous to give us the tools to do so. I've never been able to find a book on this type of business and was really pleased in the style of writing. I felt like I was sitting down and having a cup of tea with the author as she took me through the rudiments of starting a fan club business. If you think of this as a "how to" guide, instead of a book...you'll really enjoy it.