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When Tanner Wiseman and his friends quit their jobs, moved out to Las Vegas, and started working as TV camera operators, they had big hopes that one day they might host their own show. Overcoming those initial fears paid off. After their YouTube videos and DIY documentary went viral, Tanner and his co-hosts, Dakota Laden, Chelsea Laden, and Alex Shroeder, landed their own Travel Channel show about confronting scary situations, Destination Fear. The team visited infamous locations across the country — abandoned mental asylums, haunted high schools, and ominous orphanages.
But after four seasons, the show lost their network home and the team decided to take it back to YouTube. But they knew they needed to raise a little money to make the first 4 videos. That’s when what Tanner calls the “Fear Fam” stepped up and raised more than 6 times their funding goal. After receiving that surprising amount of support, Tanner knew that their community deserved a new space just as special.
“Our community is the only reason we can do what we do on YouTube,” Tanner says. “What we really liked about Mighty Networks was how they gave us a way to make a nice, safe space to go deeper. We've had awesome success with it in regards to member interaction.”
Before they started Fear Club with Mighty, Tanner and his co-hosts had tried to foster their audience with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts, but it felt like conversations and stories were lost as soon as they were posted. And organized wouldn’t be the first word to describe the YouTube comments section.
“We were able to build a fan base in those places, and that was fantastic. However, we wanted to get a bit more personal with our fans,” Tanner says. “What we loved about Mighty Networks is the fact that we can create a social media-type platform where we could hone in on the people who were very supportive of us and have one-on-one communication with them or even go live and have an open Q-and-A session with them.”
Giving Their Audience More Creepy Content
Tanner was excited to have a space to interact with his members and for them to talk to each other, but he was equally excited to share all the bonus footage and bloopers that would get the conversations going even further.
“For every video we do on YouTube, we have a huge catalog of stuff that didn't make the cut,” Tanner says. “So when members have that itch to watch something while we're not releasing videos, they can go in and see all our extra footage. Plus, we have a monthly podcast so we can go into deeper discussions. We even had an episode about what's happened in New Jersey with all the drones.”
With more organization thanks to Mighty Networks, it’s not only easy to keep all that extra content in dedicated spaces that members can revisit, but it’s also easy to customize them and quickly create new discussions around certain topics like ghost stories or haunted buildings. And when the team makes monthly member spotlights or announces giveaways and early access for merch, it registers loud and clear within their more engaged group.
“It's all about saying thank you for going an extra mile to support us and keep this awesome community going,” Tanner says. “We think about how we can genuinely make this space better and make people feel like they are getting more value than what it costs. We just want to make it seem like this should cost way more.”
Hair-Raising Results from Word of Mouth
Although the team still advertises Fear Club in their YouTube videos, Tanner says the team hasn’t had to initiate more external marketing because over the past year and half, he has seen people magic invite in most of their members. And with more and more joining, Fear Club’s three yearly conventions have more moments of IRL people magic, too.
“It's a beautiful thing. If we get a little bit busy or we're out on the road, and it’s a little bit harder to stay up to date with what's going on, the engine keeps running by itself,” Tanner says. “I mean, we've seen people in Maine become best friends with people in California, and then they meet up somewhere and hang out and become best friends.”
For anyone else hesitant about starting a community, Tanner knows how terrifying taking a risk can be, literally and figuratively — he’s walked into haunted hospitals and prisons, after all. But he’s also seen how big the reward can be when you look fear in the face.
“I mean, you can always be nervous. You can always be a little scared of trying something new. However, that type of mentality is what keeps people from actually making that leap of faith and pursuing a dream,” Tanner says. “Sometimes you just have to believe in your idea, and hard work is what makes it good.”
