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Why Do You Love Your Suffering So Much?

Suffering Feature MEME

Because your suffering is incredibly safe.

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You like to be safe.

 

We’re all hard-wired that way, you know.

 

 

 

I’ll explain.

 

Survival Safe Means Survival Key MEME

 

Thousands of years ago the species that took unnecessary risks were obliterated. The crazy species didn’t survive but the species who could find the safest way of living survived long enough to have kids. The more kids they had the stronger the herd became.

 

 

Safe equaled survival.

 

Safe equaled healthy.

 

Get it? You’re wired up that way.

 

Now think about how incredibly lucky you are.

Suffering Crying Heart

 

It’s not 1654.

 

You’re not a serf.

 

You’re not a slave.

 

You’re relatively healthy.

 

You get to eat whenever you want.

 

You’re living a life of unprecedented freedom.

 

You are safe.

 

So why do you love to suffer when it comes to your art?

 

Suffering Safe Closet MEME

 

 

Because it’s safe.

 

 

 

 

The story you tell yourself is that nobody in this crappy industry wants to buy your kind of music or art from a person like you. You’re an outsider. Until they “let you in” you’re going to stand over her with the rest of the ignored artists and suffer.

 

It’s tribal too.

 

This way of thinking is tribal.

 

Can you see it now?

 

Suffering Starving Artist Tribal Mantra MEME

Sitting around at a coffee shop complaining to your friends about how hard it is to get a leg up in this business is what really makes you happy.

 

If this is what you do, the prior statement is TRUE.

 

When an artist sits around and says, “I don’t even know how to get started” or “I’m an artist and I have no idea how to get my art to the market” or “I can’t find any band members” it’s because they’re not really interested in being successful.

 

Suffering Do What You Love

 

 

That would require vulnerability. Vulnerability is change. Change equals threat. Threat equals fear.

 

 

 

Better to be safe.

 

This is who they are.

 

Is this who you are?

 

These artists love to rehearse the story about how they’re on their 10th musical project and nobody cares.

Suffering Story Be Honest MEME

 

 

They LOVE telling the story.

 

 

 

I’ll share a personal lesson. I dated this beautiful woman for about 2 years. She was a small-town girl, which I liked. She was a teacher and loved her job. She had 2 beautiful daughters (whom I love dearly) and a wonderful relationship with her ex-husband based entirely on being the best parents they could be. But she was an angry alcoholic.

 

For whatever reason, she was unhappy with herself and these demons would surface after the 4th drink or so.

Suffering Handcuffs Cari Story

 

 

To be fair, I like to drink too, but I’m not hostile.

 

 

 

I let this relationship go on way too long. Finally, I left after 6 major meltdowns in 1 short month; 3 of them involved her getting violent. This is an interesting and scary place to be for a man. No matter what, if things ever got out of hand, I would be the one going to jail.  Thankfully I left before that ever happened but I had to put a stop to it.

 

Suffering Torture

I sought help trying to connect the dots on this one.

 

 

 

 

 

Why the hell did I stay for so long? Especially when I knew she was angry and very jealous which doesn’t bode well in my business.

 

The story I was telling myself was that I was in love with her.

 

But how could I (or anyone else) truly be in love with someone who hurts them so deeply physically and emotionally?

 

The reality is this: I was in love with the idea of who I wanted her to be.

 

Suffering She Loved Being Miserable

The other reality was that she had absolutely no interest in becoming that person. She wanted to be who she was and she was unapologetic about it.

 

She was happy being miserable for some reason.

 

 

 

 

Once I learned that truth, I moved on emotionally and I improved.

 

In all actuality, your life is safe. You don’t worry about food, shelter, or water. You can have kids if you want, maybe you already have them.

 

Your hardwired desire to procreate is taken care of.

 

Don’t you think it’s time to take a risk?

Suffering Risk Time To Take a Risk MEME

 

 

 

Why play the game of the suffering artist?

 

 

 

Why fall in love with the idea of being a full-time artist but choose to suffer instead?

 

I get it, there is WONDERFUL protection in that but it’s a game, isn’t it?

 

Today is a day where you don’t have to ask anybody’s permission to make your art.
Suffering Risk Time To Take a Risk MEME

 

 

Music can be distributed to potential fans for free and without anyone else’s authorization.

 

 

 

Do you tell yourself, “I’m an artist, therefore I don’t want to know about marketing”?

 

Do you feel that marketing is gross or dirty?

 

Suffering Salesman They're Fake MEME

Does the idea of making your music and having to market it to leave a bad taste in your mouth?

 

 

 

Why is it that when artists think of marketing they think of slimy used car salesmen?

 

The same marketing tactics in the music industry that brought the world’s worst records and artists into your awareness also brought us the amazing music that changed our lives forever.

 

Suffering Best Selling Records Collage

 

 

 

You have your favorite records. You know, the ones that inspired you to become an artist in the first place. The ONLY reason you have them is because someone did a good job of making you aware of them.

 

 

 

 

I have news for you. If you’re one of those artists who’s suffering story includes lamenting about the old music business and how radio and record labels would break you, that’s an illusion as well.

 

Yes, record labels would develop artists but only if THEY liked you, but only if there wasn’t some other bigger potential artist to get behind. Hopefully, that dynamic didn’t happen after you were signed.

Suffering Bowling MEME

 

 

Oh, and you still had to be a salesperson.

 

 

 

 

Yes, radio tours are all about salesmanship. You find yourself bowling with the staff of a radio station and you don’t like bowling but you go because you want them to like you and spin your single.

 

Suffering Corporate MEMEYou’d have to sell the rest of the record company on the idea of YOU. One champion, even if they had signing power wasn’t enough to move a record label to perform for you. You need everyone on board. But that required selling. There are plenty of artists who were signed by the owner of the label but they’re sitting on a shelf because the staff doesn’t get it.

 

 

Media days lasted 12-14 hours where you’d be on the phone with every single printed fanzine on the planet answering the same stupid questions over and over and over and over again.

 

Oh, you had to be a salesman alright.

 

Why would that be “different” if you had to be a salesman with a label deal but intolerable as an indie artist?

 

Suffering the Voice Logo MEME

Why are so many artists refusing to do covers on YouTube for fear of being categorized as a “cover artist” but they’re perfectly willing to compete on American Idol (which is coming back) or The Voice?

 

 

 

Because NOT doing what is required to get your music out there means you get to continue suffering.

 

Suffering is safer than success.

 

Suffering Seth Godin

 

Seth Godin tells book writers, “Write your first book and email it in a nicely assembled PDF file to 100 people. If it’s good it’ll reach 10,000 people and you’ll have no problem selling your second book. If it sucks, you’ll know because nobody would have bought it anyway so It doesn’t matter.”

 

Seth also states that exactly zero people have taken him up on that offer.

 

 

 

 

You’re safe. Deep Down you know you’re safe.

 

Stop Suffering.

 

Suffering image 2

 

Start risking some bad feelings to find out how good you really are. If you really want to be an artist, you’ll learn to be better.

 

Who knows, maybe you could be good enough to make a decent living at it.

 

Your audience is out there.

 

Suffering You don't needs anyone's permission MEME

 

 

You can reach them for free.

 

 

 

 

But you enjoy the suffering better.

 

Suffering is an easy life to live but it’s not extraordinary.  Stories of success are inspiring and fulfilling.

 

Which one are you?

 

 

 

Stay

 

In

 

Tune.

 

If you liked the content in this article, please SHARE and COMMENT below.

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Do You Want to Be Loved? Start Marketing Right Now

Marketing Loved-feature-meme

The music market has gone through an 180° paradigm shift with regards to how to connect with an audience and break an artist but the music marketing loved-180-degreesindustry hasn’t figured out how to crack this new code, therefore record sales are abysmal.

 

 

Consequently, y’all are scared.

 

I’m not.

 

Do I have your attention?

 

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Too many of you, including the record labels, are trying to break artists (or yourselves) the old way. The way we used to do it for over 75 years.

 

 

This is understandable for you, the indie artist because you’re smart and you’re aware that marketing must happen (at least you’d better be), but you’re going to try and emulate the marketing methods that your favorite artists used to reach you.

 

It’s all you know, isn’t it?

 

I mean, I always learned quicker by watching something get done and then replicating the process. So, show me and I’ll execute, I get it.

 

 

Marketing

 

 

It’s also understandable that the labels are sticking to their old tactics because they have a rich, successful heritage but it’s extremely difficult for corporations to change their rudimentary methods of anything.

 

 

 

 

This is the nature of any corporate organization, by the way.

 

 

Marketing

 

Take Proctor & Gamble for instance. Their first product was Ivory soap. Ivory soap was the first product created to replace homemade soap. This was sometime in the EARLY 1800’s, more than 170 years ago.

 

 

 

Proctor & Gamble is a multi-BILLION-dollar conglomerate with many brands, 19 of them individually gross over $1 Billion dollars annually.

 

For almost 2 centuries, marketing was easy for P&G. As long as they advertised their products, they would sell. In fact, the more they advertised, the more they sold.Marketing

 

 

 

If you think about it, there were very few ad messages floating around back in the 1800’s and throughout most of the 1900’s. Some print ads, a few billboards, radio stations, and 3 TV channels towards the end of the advertising glory years.

 

 

 

No clutter really.

 

 

Marketing

 

Nowadays, we all see around 3,500 messages per day! PER DAY!

 

 

 

MASSIVE CLUTTER.

 

 

We’ve grown numb to them. It’s human nature. That means we just don’t see them that much anymore so we don’t pay attention.

 

 

Marketing

 

 

That’s bad for the advertiser.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When P&G hires a new marketing person, they expect that person to do exactly what the person before them did. P&G knows how to sell Ivory soap; they’ve been successfully doing it for well over 170 years.

 

 

Marketing

 

 

But when a newbie marketer is hired, even though they KNOW the old way isn’t working, they are smart enough to understand that they weren’t employed to dismantle the current distribution channels or question the sales heritage of such an amazing company.

 

 

 

 

Therefore, the corporation continues with little change to the processes decade after decade.

 

 

The illustration of the catch-22 is like a simple math equation.

 

Marketing

 

It used to be that companies like P&G spent (x) number of dollars and got a return of (y) on their sales. Now they spend (x) number of dollars and get a return of (y-1000) or (y-10,000) or whatever. Exponentially LESS of a return on the same advertising investment.

 

 

 

So, what do they do?

 

 

They spend more money to create more ads.

 

 

Marketing

 

 

Which creates more clutter.

 

 

 

Which makes us shut down even more.

 

Get it?

 

 

The catch-22 is the less it works, the more money they spend and the more money they spend the less it works!

 

 

MarketingHere’s another interesting statistic. Somewhere around 67% of all the advertising dollars spend in the USA every year come from the top 100 advertisers. You know them well: Coke, Pepsi, Budweiser, Chevrolet, Ford, McDonald’s, etc.

 

More than 80 of these companies have been doing business for longer than 30 years. That’s significant because 30 years was before the internet, before smartphones, before computers, and before cable TV.

 

So, they all find themselves in the same boat as P&G in that their messages are not getting through as well as they used to and they change their strategies very slowly over time.

 

 

Why does this matter to you?

 

 

Because the record labels are in that same boat too.

 

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That boat is clearly sinking.

 

This is undeniable.

 

 

We’re down to just 3 major labels.

 

Unit sales are down 90% and the price of a complete record (be it vinyl, CD, or download) has dropped by 62%.

 

It’s not about the money in the market place.

 

It’s not because consumers can get it for free, that’s a story too many artists and industry pros are telling themselves to relieve the pain of horrible sales.

 

That’s a cop out.

 

 

Marketing

 

If “free” mattered, the poorest people in this country wouldn’t spend 3 times the price of a gallon of gasoline to get something they could obtain for free by taking 20 more steps into the gas station bathroom and turning on the faucet.

 

 

 

 

Yeah, man, that’s how much y’all pay for cheap bottled water and you can get that for free.

 

 

Why do they pay?

 

Answer: Because they feel it’s worth it.

 

Why don’t consumers buy records anymore?

 

Answer: Because they don’t think it’s worth it.

 

Here’s a marketing FACT: When you’re presented with a purchase opportunity for a product that you are very familiar with, that you like or even love, but you don’t purchase, it’s because you don’t think it’s worth it.

 

Marketing

 

Somehow Taylor Swift managed to sell 8.6 million units of her last record and Adele has sold around 7.5 million, I believe.

 

 

Why are their fans buying?

 

Answer: Because they think it’s worth it.

 

 

I promise it’s not because they’re famous. That’s a cop out too. A story we all tell ourselves. Ask George Michael who had sold 50 million records before Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 was released how much being famous accounts for sales with zero marketing.

 

 

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SO HOW DO YOU MAKE YOUR FANS FEEL THAT YOUR MUSIC IS WORTH IT?

 

Answer: Precisely.

 

 

 

 

 

If you follow these old-school methods, you should expect the same results in your artistic endeavors. Complete crap.

 

 

Especially now when every wannabe artist can put his/her “masterpiece” up on the world’s refrigerator.

 

Marketing

Why are so many of you (who even acknowledge that you need marketing) still marketing the same way and expecting different results?

 

 

 

 

It used to be, for 70+ years, the first interaction a debut artist had with a consumer in the marketplace was the music.

 

 

 

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You heard the debut single on the radio. Then you heard it again and again and again. All this while you were waiting for the DJ to spin your jam.

 

If it was a hit, the song wove its way into the fabric of that time in your life.

 

 

Naturally, an artist finished the record first, released the single, and THEN began marketing the act/record. There was not much to do before the single was released and no real way to do it besides touring.

 

 

I constantly hear artists tell me, “I just have to get this recording finished and then I’ll worry about marketing, one step at a time, Johnny.”

 

Marketing

 

But now it’s different.

 

Therefore, if you don’t change and ADAPT to the new market, you’ll continue to endure the same agonizing results.

 

 

 

Consumers no longer need to suffer through the getting-to-know-you-process of a debut single on the radio because they have CHOICES via a smart phones and an aux cable.

 

 

Marketing

We ALL want to hear the same thing when we listen to music; we all want to hear our jam.

 

“Our jam” = something we know, something we’re already familiar with.

 

 

 

Today the radio spins a debut single from an artist the consumer is unaware of, but they change the channel searching through endless choices to find music they ARE aware of.

 

 

Therefore, THEY WILL FIND THEIR JAM.

 

Therefore, they won’t listen to new music from debut artists on the radio.

 

This is part of the reason the sales are down so much.

 

Here’s the real results of the market change to artists and labels who cannot or will not adapt.

 

 

Marketing

 

The top 10 grossing tours for 2016 have only 2 artists that are in their 20’s. (One was Justin Bieber who broke on YouTube, HELLO, but I digress.)

 

 

 

5 of the artists, in other words, HALF of the top grossing tours this year are from artists whose ages range from 67-72 years old.

 

 

2 of the artists were nearing their 40’s.

 

 

By point of comparison, the artists that toured in 1987 for example, were Bon Jovi (Slippery When Wet), Kiss (Crazy Nights), Madonna (True Blue and the Who’s That Girl soundtrack), Def Leppard (Hysteria), Michael Jackson (Bad), Metallica (Master of Puppets), Ozzy (No Rest For The Wicked), Aerosmith (Permanent Vacation), Iron Maiden (Somewhere in Time), and U2 (Joshua Tree).

 

 

Kiss, Ozzy, and Aerosmith were in their 30’s at the time. The rest were in their 20’s.

 

marketing

Today, radio works wonderfully if you’ve been making records for 30, 40, or 50 years.

 

 

 

 

Radio doesn’t work if you’re a brand-new artist to the market because you haven’t recorded “their jam” yet. Regardless of how good it is, they don’t know it and they’ve PROVEN that they’re not going to discover new music on the radio anymore, haven’t they?

 

 

marketing

Nowadays, the first interaction that a debut artist will have with a market will be the ARTIST.

 

 

 

 

 

Aside from a lucky TV show casting, YOU must connect on social media or YouTube and make friends FIRST.

 

marketing

 

 

Next, you provide content that is relevant and personal to THEM.

 

Then, if they like you, they’ll listen with an open heart and an open mind.

 

 

So, you market YOU and your talent NOW while you’re developing the project. If you do that right, you’ll have an audience when you release it.

 

 

Know that it takes TIME.

 

If you don’t have an audience before you release your project, shame on you.

 

 

Why the hell do so many artists NOT understand the power of YouTube?

 

 

 

marketing

 

 

 

I’ll tell you why because it means they must WORK MORE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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There are THRONGS of artists who have BROKEN in a BIG WAY on YouTube meaning they were exposed to tens of millions even hundreds of millions of people.

 

 

 

There are millions of music fans who are now aware of these artist’s talents.

 

 

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These artists now tour relentlessly selling hard tickets to fans who pay to see THE ARTIST.

 

…and the artists make a living.

 

 

 

What more do you want, man?

 

These artists are deemed to be “lucky” by the have-nots because y’all are afraid to work and you tell yourself stories as to why they’ve “made it” in one form or another, but it’s not you.

 

Not yet anyway.

 

 

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There is an overwhelming amount of noise and clutter that currently exists online in the music industry but practically NONE of the artists know how to market in the new music business.

 

 

 

 

 

That’s why I’m not scared. There is very little traffic and very little clutter for those who understand new marketing.

 

Everything you need is out there, baby, you just need to recognize it, learn it, execute it, and start your upward journey.

 

Go make some mistakes on the right path, you’ll be ok, I promise.

 

 

You don’t need anyone’s permission.marketing

 

Therefore, the only one standing in your way is you.

 

 

 

Stay

 

In

 

Tune

 

 

If you found value in this article, please SHARE and COMMENT

 

 

Learn more on my top ten podcast The C.L.I.M.B.marketing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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5 Super Effective Tricks: How to Build Your List

How To Build Your List Feature MEME

How to build your customer list?How To Build Your List Key Ownership MEME

 

Why should you build your customer list?

 

We’re going to answer both today.

 

The reason why is you have to own the information.

 

Simply put; if you don’t own it somebody else does.

 

Whomever owns the information controls the information.

 

How To Build Your List Nacho Contacts

 

Huh?

 

Yeah, those 10,000 fans that you busted your butt to locate and connect with on your Facebook page belong to Facebook, not you.

 

 

Even if you paid Facebook to help you reach them, they’re not yours.

 

Because Facebook owns the information they do whatever or charge whatever and whenever they want to allow you access.

 

Oh, and you trust them to ensure that your message is actually getting to those followers and some random accounts from a crappy click farm.

How To Build Your List Cypher Feature

 

Twitter, Instagram, Whatsapp, Snapchat, YouTube, and every other platform will behave in exactly the same way.

 

Here’s a real example:

 

In December of 2013 Daredevil Production was marketing for Collin Raye who is 90’s country music star with 24 top 10 hits, 16 #1’s and over 8 million records sold.

 

Collin Raye Record

 

At that time, Collin’s Facebook page had 118,000 likes. We were promoting his latest release (while producing the new one) and needed to ramp up the activity on his Facebook page prior to a CTA (Call To Action) post advising people to purchase.

 

In 2013, Facebook had something called “Edge Rank” which was an algorithm that essentially filtered all posts by popularity and relevance to the user. This means that your Mom will probably see every one of your posts and the people you interact with less would need to rank as more popular to get their message to appear on your feed.

Like Collin Raye.

We devised a guitar giveaway contest that was designed to create Collin Guitar Contest 100k commentsmassive amounts of comment activity in a very short time.

 

We ran the contest and we received over 100,000 comments in 1 hour on Collin’s page. (This meant more people would organically see the next post which announced the sale of the new release. Make sense?)

 

Raging success!

 

We replicated this exact same contest with 3 other country music starts in October of 2014.

 

Jamie O’Neal had around 13,000 likes on her page and we garnered about 13,000 comments in 1 hour with the contest.

How To Build Your List Andy Griggs

 

Andy Griggs had about 45,000 likes we got about 45,000 comments in one hour.

 

Ty Herndon was the biggest of the three with 67,000 likes on his page and, you guessed it, we summoned around 67,000 comments in 1 hour.

 

 

FYI, I don’t have a clue why there is a correlation between the amount of likes and the amount of comments in 1 hour, but there was; four times in a row.

 

Fast forward to February of 2015 and we get a super exciting opportunity! Tracy Lawrence with 1.1 million likes on his page.

 

How To Build Your List Tracy LawrenceCan you imagine where my head was at?

 

This is news! 1 million comments in 1 hour is NEWS!

 

Hell, even if we failed miserably and only got 500,000 comments that’s still news, man. That would have blown my company up.

 

Facebook went public, changed the rules, and we only got 50,000 comments.

 

Tracy and his team worked HARD and SMART identifying and connecting with those 1.1 million fans but, like every other person on FB, they had zero control and would have to pay to reach them.

 

Get it?

 

The way around the system is to be collecting contact data, RELIGIOUSLY, the entire time you’re connecting, so you can reach your following whenever you want and as often as you want.

 

The frequency costs money on Facebook.

 

The frequency is free on your list.

 

Don’t hate on Facebook either. They’re a company they need to make money. They have an awesome platform that How To Build Your List Frequentallows an incredible capability of targeting, connection, and communication. It’s worth it.

 

But why pay more than once per fan?

 

That’s the why you build your list.

Here’s 5 ideas on how to build your list.

 

There are many ways to constantly improve your list. The most important takeaway is that you’re constantly asking, “How can I get more people on my list?”

 

If you you’re asking the right questions, your subconscious will reward you.

 

First you’ll need to set up some relatively simple technology to capture these contacts.

 

  1. Squeeze Page – IHow To Build Your List Tonyf you’re not familiar with the name, you’re definitely familiar with the technology. This is where you offer something of value (like a free song, or in my case a free Twitter book) in exchange for their email address. If you want to see what a squeeze page looks like you can peek in at GiftFrombailey.com, GiftFromAbbey.com, GiftFromTony.com, GiftFromAlora.com, and GiftFromJohnny.com

 

Notice a common thread?How To Build Your List Bailey

 

A common look?

 

 

 

 

How To Build Your List AbbeyIt’s because they work. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Text Capture – Text capture works really well too, especially for live shows. There are many competitors, we like Call Loop. It only costs $10/month for a key word. If you text BAILEY to 38470 you’ll get to download a free song and we get your phone number.

 

How To Build Your List Call Loop

 

You can opt out of both of these technologies at any time. So step one is get the information and step two is make sure you have some content ready to keep them interested.

 

Get it?

 

Here are some killer strategies to get them to actually sign up.

 

  1. How To Build Your List Merch TableLive Show Merch Table Sign In – Have a computer on the merch table by the person who is watching your merch for those who don’t have a device. (Don’t forget you’ll need WiFi somehow…make it happen)

 

If you don’t have a merch table make one.

 

If you don’t have a person, find one.

 

Go to the bar owner and tell her that you’re intelligently building your contact list which will help both of you to improve the draw moving forward as you’ll be able to contact these people directly to inform them that you’re coming back to her bar.

 

How To Build Your List Bar Tab FREE

 

Ask her if she’d be willing to put up a $25 bar tab to a winner that you’d randomly pick from a list of people who signed up that night.

 

FYI, every time an artist has followed my instructions on this, the bar owner DOUBLED the amount to $50. Remember this is NOT $25 or $50 dollars cash from the bar as $25 worth of booze only costs a couple bucks to the bar. It IS worth $25-$50 dollars to the fan.

 

Get it?

 

Remember, everyone is a winner because they ALL get a free song for participating, but the people who stick around till the last song have a chance to either drink for free or put a nice dent in their bar tab.

 

But they have to sign up to win.

 

Can’t win if you don’t play.How To Build Your List Live Show Phone2

 

This will work if you SELL IT from the stage.

 

 

 

“Who likes FREE MUSIC?? If you like free music, get your cell phones up in the air!! Go to GiftFromJohnny.com and get your free song from us as a THANK YOU for coming out tonight. All you have to do is tell us where to send it. BTW, if you do it RIGHT NOW I’m going to pick a name at the end of the night and that lucky person will get a $25 bar tab so if you like free music AND you like to drink, this is perfect for you!”

 

How To Build Your List FSMS

 

This same idea works with the text capture too.

 

We had Bailey James do this at her first show, which was to 730 middle school kids, not all of whom had devices, not all of whom brought their device, and we got 150 contacts. Abbey Cone did it in Texas at a High School and got 400 phone numbers in 5 minutes.

 

 

  1. Recurring Twitter (Social Media) Posts – If you’re Tweeting like you’re supposed to (at least 14-24 Tweets per day) you have room every 3rd or 4th Tweet to THANK THEM for following. Because your #Grateful or #Blessed to have them, here’s a free download of our single. #YOUROCK.

 

How To Build Your List Recurring Tweetts

 

 

 

These will create a slow, steady trickle that builds up over time and increases as you grow your reach on Twitter.

 

 

 

 

  1. Interview Benevolence – In the case of a Squeeze Page, you are NOT plugging anything, rather you are Santa Clause, grateful for the interview, interviewer, listeners, readers, community, etc., and want to offer them a free song as a “thank you”, or a favor, or out of respect, etc.

 

How To Build Your List Adam Carolla
We did this with a killer indie rock band called 7Horse (who’s song “Meth Lab Zoso Sticker” was the theme song for Scorcese’s Wolf of Wall Street). They were able to secure an interview on Adam Carolla’s podcast. We assembled the squeeze page, Joey and Phil mentioned it twice, before and after they performed a live song. We got around 800 email contacts in 24-48 hours.

 

Every radio, print, podcast, and TV interview better have a mention of the squeeze page.

 

If you’re always thinking, how can I get these people to opt in? You’ll figure it out.

 

Then you’d better hit me up on social media and let me know what you came up with!

 

How To Build Your List YouTube Annotations

  1. YouTube Annotations – If you’re posting regular weekly videos on YouTube then annotate each video informing consumers that you’re appreciative of them watching the videos so here’s a free download right now. Bailey’s email list has grown significantly over 18 months using this method alone (she hasn’t toured yet).
  2. Social Media Bios – Screw your webpage, screw your store (you don’t have enough of a relationship yet to ask for money) and put your squeeze page link up on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, etc.

 

Listen, I know you don’t get all of this right now. You don’t have to. Just get that list started. It’s MISSION CRITICAL

 

The money is in the list. I promise.

 

Every time we send out an email to Bailey’s list, we get sales.

 

Period.

 

What have you got to lose?

 

Stay

In

Tune.

 

 

 

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How To Craft Killer Content And Create Loyal Fans

Content Magic Glass FEATURE

If you’ve read my first book Music Marketing On Twitter: How To Get 1,000 Loyal Fans Every Month In Just 15 Minutes Per Day (whContent 1 Gift From Johnnyich I give out for free just click through if you don’t already have it) you have figured out how to identify your audience, target them, and connect with them on Twitter. You’re growing your audience. The next steps will require you to assemble a content strategy that will begin to deepen these new found relationships enough to monetize in the future.

First off we need to set some realistic expectations here. You Content Datingreally have to think of this like dating.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, there is a magic equation of content out there that will deeply connect you with your audience to get them interested in you enough to listen to your music.

 

Content Wizard

 Hopefully you and your music are compelling enough to persuade them to buy it, but all this doesn’t happen on the first date.

 

If you’re ready (y’all think you’re creatively ready and your product sounds competitive but most are not yet which is why you need help developing in that department…but I digress), they will respond but it will take more than a couple tweets to make that happen.

 

When you’re dating someone with the intention of beginning a relationship, you can’t expect to close the deal on the first date or the second date if you want it to be worth a damn.

Content Takes Time

Content marketing A.K.A. Permission Marketing takes time.

 

Let’s dive into some ideas to get you started on how to think about crafting YOUR content.

Content is about revealing who you are inside; it’s about your story.

 

Content Whats Your StoryAs a person.

As an artist.

As a musician.

As a fan.

As a music lover.

As a parent.

As a party animal.

As a comedian.

Your dark side.

Your funny side.

Your sad side.Content DNA

Your hopes.

Your dreams.

Your fears.

 

Get the picture?

 

I believe that every artist has a unique story to tell which will make them stand out.

 

This is the DNA to your brand.

 

Content Share Yourself

 

Sadly, most artists won’t be that vulnerable, or take that much time to dig down and bring all this “personality gold” up to the surface.

 

Wait, isn’t that the job description of an artist?

 

 

 

Here’s some soothing thoughts to take the edge off the quest to expose your inner artist soul.

 

Your beehive is out there no matter how crazy, weird, or controversial you are.

 

I love to tell my artists if your music only resonates with pale, young, Asian boys under the age of 14 with freckles, bad acne, and one leg, that club is out there and you can find them.Content Beehive

 

Small as that Universe may be, they ARE out there.

 

If you want to connect with them, you can.

 

So go for it.

 

 

 

Here are some content angles you should be considering:

  • Be interesting.
    • This should be easy if you consider yourself to be an artist. Your talent should be interesting or you need to consider a career change. We have had amazing success exposing our artist Bailey James’ talents on YouTube with Content Who You Areconsistent cover content. This now 13 year old has over 300,000 views and 3,250 subscribers. All completely organic without promotion (that’s about to change now that her debut single and EP are being released)
  • Be funny
  • Be controversial
  • Be an authority
  • Share discoveries and experiences
  • Be Weird
  • Introduce people to new things
  • Fascinate people
  • Be obnoxious
  • Surprise people
  • Be unconventional
  • Foster your uniqueness
  • Be curious

 

Here is a great example of artist content that capitalizes on MANY of these points. The artist is Social Repose. This dude is OUT THERE and I think he’s brilliant. He looks and acts outrageous and obnoxious. He’s unique, he’s humorous, and he’s controversial.

Content Social Repose Tour

 

 

Love him, hate him, be baffled by him, he has encapsulated so many sides of himself on several social media platforms that he is COMPELLING to watch.

 

On his YouTube channel he has a mixture of funny Vine-like videos (that were originally Vines originally and were repurposed to YouTube), cover songs (where he definitely puts HIS artistic interpretation on the track), interesting talent spotlight videos (where he will cover a song in 13 different vocal styles showcasing his vocal [and engineering/auto-tune] skill set), Interactive type videos (where he responds to haters, truth or dare tweets, and prank calls his fans).

 

 

Brilliantly, he has his own original material videos up there as well.

Content_Social_Repose_1

 

Note how some videos are very raw and some videos are more produced. Richie is extremely resourceful here and has conquered social media and found his audience.

 

I promise this kid is making a good living being a creative.

 

You should study this channel.

 

Now, I know what you’re thinking, (insert snotty 5-year-old voice here) “I’m not going to put on a headdress, crazy Goth makeup, flaunt some insect-like wings and act like a moron to get heard.”

 

Content_Social_Repose_Vocal_Cover

 

You’re missing the point.

 

See how he worked so many different facets of his personality into his social media content?

 

This is really him!

 

The question to ask yourself is, “what makes you compelling?”

Are you funny?

Are you controversial?

Are you angry about certain things?

Are you elated?

Tell the world and be clever about it.

 

If you’re a killer guitar player, play guitar. Post 15s videos on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube and make them feel something.

 

Get it?Content_Guitar_Player

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s another example. We have a client, who is a very fascinating individual.

 

Patience Reich is a female jazz singer (who is creating a pop record), Physician of internal medicine, Christian, and a humanitarian who regularly travels to Africa and Haiti to help children.

Content Patience 2

 

I look at all her attributes and see a tremendous amount of “Brand DNA” to work with. The content we create involves connecting with people who orbit around her same interests in and outside of music.

 

We put out humanitarian quotes and content. We encourage Patience to post real life images of her work when she is on a mission.

 

Patience regularly posts content of her religious interests like pics of her at church with different people, etc. Never preachy, just inspirational content and to a degree, voyeuristic in that we get to see into her real life occasionally.

 

It’s clear she’s human, just like us.

Content Patience leastmedicines

 

 

 

We post funny, interesting content that revolves around Medical Doctors.

 

 

 

We post content about her favorite jazz artists and we make it attention-grabbing. Here is an example of a jazz music factoid that has had some great engagement.

Content Patience 1

 

 

Of course, we post clips of her live performances to introduce her vocal talent and connect her social media following with her artistry.

 

Patience DILIGENTLY responds to EVERYBODY that engages her and we are growing her account and most importantly, deepening these relationships.

 

 

 

They like herContent Patience 3.

 

They will buy from her.

But it takes time.

 

It takes time to find your voice but you HAVE TO FIND YOUR VOICE or you won’t stick out.

 

I promise if you approach your marketing and/or your artistry half-assed, nobody will care.

 

When you’re writing or performing songs, as an artist, you must hope to connect with your audience on some level, right?

 

You want them to be moved.

 

If they can relate to your story, you win.

 

Just approach your social media tactics in the same manner as you approach songwriting.

 

Bond with them emotionally.

 

Relate to them.

 

Here are 2 great books I would recommend to further your education on this subject.

Content Advanced Music Marketing

 

 

The first book is my new Advanced Music Marketing On Twitter release. This book teaches the next steps on how to cultivate your new audience relationships. It is a logical progression after you have absorbed the first book. There are a ton of tricks, techniques and strategies in this book to show you how we do what we do at Daredevil Production including the tools we use to make us as efficient as possible with our precious time.

 

 

 

Content Cracking The Content Code

 

 

 

The second book is The Content Code: Six Essential Strategies For Igniting Your Content, Your Marketing, And Your Business by Mark W. Schaefer. This book will help you formulate some purpose to your content. It will get your creative juices flowing.

 

 

 

 

 

These books (and any others you may read) can’t tell you EXACTLY what YOU should be doing with YOUR content because you are a unique person

 

You are a unique artist.

 

So you have to attack this with the idea that these books will help you connect some dots, using that big brain of yours, and help you apply solid strategies to your specific personality that will resonate.

 

Stay

In

Tune

 

If you thought this article was helpful, SHARE it please!

 

The Climb 200x200

 

P.S. You might also like my new podcast called The CLIMB with my cohost and hit songwriter Brent Baxter. We discuss the business of songwriting and of course, we talk about marketing music for singers, songwriters, and artists. You can download this podcast for free on iTunes or by clicking through.

 

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Music Marketing Reasons

Music Marketing Reason Feature

The music industry is SUFFERING because consumers don’t need more ways to connect with artists and purchase products, they need more reasons. Creating reasons consumers want to buy is what music marketing is all about.Music Marketing Bkstg Logo

Why does the music industry keep creating new WAYS for fans to purchase music/merch/tickets, etc.?

You’ve heard of “Murphy’s Law”? Well, Murphy completely underestimated the problem here.

 

A new startup called Bkstg just raised $20 million to create a new social network geared towards artists and music sales. Of course, fans and artists alike will have to adopt the new app, new platform, care about the artist and artist’s product, and there’s your proverbial trouble.

If a cool, easy to use distribution platform was all that was needed to sell more music, indie artists and Music Marketing Barrel Moneymajor label artists alike would be in high cotton selling like crazy on iTunes, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Bandzoogle, Reverbnation, CD Baby, blah, blah, blah. The trouble is when you put your music on any digital distribution platform nobody cares unless you make them aware that you are there and then make them care about YOU.

 

Get it?

Consumers need a reason.

 

A good reason makes the purchase worth it.

 

Your music has to be worth it to the consumer not just you, so if you’re thinking “my music is amazing and that’s why they will buy” you are seriously delusional.

Music Marketing WHY Ksayer1 License

Photo: Ksayer1
License: http://bit.ly/1jxQJMa

 

 

 

Your delusions, in my point here, have nothing to do with your music (although that is often part of the problem…but I digress as that issue is not germane to this article).

 

 

 

If we all understand the difference between music distribution (which is where consumers go to Music Marketing Distribution Equalspurchase) and music marketing (which is why consumers will purchase) then it should be obvious to y’all that a new distribution method is a waste of time.

 

There are many BIG investors behind this new Bkstg platform that frankly, seems to be reinventing the wheel.

 

 

 

This is where I see opportunity for all you indie artists.

 

Focus on the “why” right now. Focus on music marketing and marketing yourself.Music Marketing Magnifying WHY

 

 

Ask yourself, “What reasons do consumers have to purchase my music?”

 

 

 

What are your gifts?

Can you sing?

Can you play?

Can you write?

Can you rap?

Can you dance?

Music Marketing Gifts ElfAre you funny?

Are you a big personality?

Share these gifts with the world on social media.

Let them get to know YOU.

 

 

If you own the “why” it really won’t matter what the “where” is because real fans will find a way to get it…just like drugs, or Christmas, or Black Friday, or Valentine’s Day, etc.Music Marketing Why Collage

 

In plain English, any and all distributors (of the consumer’s preference) will be utilized to purchase music from an artist people are genuinely interested in.

 

 

The biggest reasons consumers will purchase anything from an indie artist these days is a relationship with the artist. Period.

 

 

If you’re not thinking about this then you are an idiot.

This is what new music marketing is all about, people.

 

Music Marketing 1 MIllion. Morgan Williams License

Photo: Morgan Williams
License: http://bit.ly/1jxQJMa

 

 

Jason Aldean had lots of promotion, lots of radio spins, and barely sold 1 million units. This number along with almost all the other record sales scares the crap out of industry executives.

 

Aldean had the #1 selling country music record of 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

Taylor Swift had lots of promotion, lots of radio spins (albeit NO SPINS on country radio where all her previous releases were promoted) and a relationship with her fans via social media.

Music Marketing 7 Million Jana Zills License

Photo: Jana Zills
License: http://bit.ly/1jxQJMa

 

 

Taylor sold 7 million units.

Her fan’s reasons for purchasing the whole record vs a single were founded in the relationship they felt they had with Taylor.

 

 

So what are you doing with your music marketing?

What are you doing to create reasons for people to buy your music?

To expose people to your music?

 

Why do so many of you wait until you finish recording before you begin thinking about creating the relationships with your fans online?

Music Marketing Music Don't Talk MEME

This tactic suggests that the music will do the talking. The trouble is if consumers are not aware of you, if they are aware of you but are unfamiliar with you, or don’t like you, they won’t give the music a chance.

Get them interested in your talent, in you as an artist, and they will be curious to hear your music when you release it.

THEN the music will do the talking because the consumer will be open to receiving the communication you want to send. (At that point your music and recordings better be good!)

 

Get it?

Overlooking and under-funding the music marketing for your project is akin to choosing not to put oil in your car because you don’t have “the budget”.Music Marketing Junkyard

You wouldn’t be shocked when your engine freezes up without oil, why would you expect the world to purchase a product they aren’t aware of or familiar with?

 

Look, you’re not sure you know what you’re doing, I get it.

 

It’s foreign.

 

Get over it. FAST.

 

You must learn.

Music Marketing Bailey James MEMEWith Bailey James we have been marketing her on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook since January.

All this activity creating relationships with fans, getting them connected with her as an artist and her talent was consistently happening while we were still developing the project artistically.

 

As of now, we have created a decent fan base that now know her, are familiar with her (they regularly watch her YouTube videos), they interact with her on social media, and they adore her.

8 fan created Instagram accounts have been started so far.

Her EP is loosely scheduled for release mid-September.

 

Listen, YOU’RE the reason get it?

Music Marketing YOU MEME Gabe Austin License

Photo: Gabe Austin
License: http://bit.ly/1jxQJMa

 

Don’t make the mistake of thinking the music is the reason.

 

In today’s indie online market, you come before the music.

 

The more “reasons” you can give, aka the more of yourself that you put out there, the more fans you will get, the more music, merch, and tix you will sell.

 

Get to work now on creating more reasons.

 

Focus inventively on why a consumer will buy your music, not where, and you’ll be one step ahead of the whole damn industry.

 

Stay

In

Tune

Music Marketing Laser Find Your Audience

Mistake Twitter

 

PS: If you haven’t already downloaded my free Music Marketing On Twitter book, please enjoy it on me. Go to GiftFromJohnny.com put  in your name and tell us where to send it. It’ll teach you how to get 1,000 new targeted followers every month for just 15 minutes per day.

 

 

If you like this post, please SHARE it and/or LEAVE A COMMENT thank you!

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Tip of the Iceberg

Iceberg Feature Meme

Most of you are only scratching the surface.  You are only seeing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to marketing your music.Iceberg Keyboard Meme

All the fans you’re ever going to need are right there, literally at your fingertips on the keyboard of your computer.

You can find them and target them.

You can connect with them.

You can create relationships with them.

You can deepen relationships with them.

You can monetize those relationships.

 

 

Iceberg TwitterTwitter is important but it’s not the only thing.

 

Instagram is important but it’s not the only thing.

 

YouTube is super important and most of you aren’t doing anything to really work that platform to its potential.

Iceberg YouTube Logo

 

Almost all of you haven’t set up your web stores. If you have, I guarantee they’re being ignored and need tweaking. There is probably ZERO bundles on these few websites that actually have web stores.

If you understand the difference between digital distribution and marketing then why on earth would you send people anywhere else but your own store on purpose?Iceberg Record Store Banner

 

30% is a TON of money!

 

Of course, you have to have a presence on all the digital distribution sites, but adding products and bundles to your web store that cannot be found anywhere else and purposefully sending people to the store will result in about 45%-55% of consumers purchasing directly from you.

 

Iceberg $1,393

 

Here’s how much: If you sold 1,000 records ($9.99 each) only on iTunes, your take would be $6,893.10.  If you set up your own web store and 55% of your fans purchased from iTunes, meaning 45% purchased directly from you (not including bundles!!) your take is $8,286.70. That’s a difference of $1,393.60.

 

 

Most of you aren’t collecting (or effectively collecting) contact data. This is akin to playing a signature lick almost correctly but with a few wrong notes. If you changed one note on The Rolling Stones “Satisfaction” lick is that ok?

CASE STUDY #1:  I want to share some real world examples and real data with you, as always.Iceberg Bailey James

We are currently working with a 12-year old artist named Bailey James. We started our working relationship with Bailey on January 2nd, 2015.

Since then we have gone from:

  • 0 – 14K targeted Twitter followers
  • 0 – 16K targeted Instagram followers
  • A few hundred to over 18k views on her YouTube Channel
  • 0 – 600+ subscribers on her YouTube Channel
  • 4 independent fan created Instagram accountsIceberg Bailey James Contact Capture
  • 1 independent fan created website
  • (in less than one month) over 160 cell phone numbers (via text capture, WATCH videos)
  • (1 month) over 800 email addresses

 

FYI, we are still in pre-production of her first EP which won’t be released at the earliest until late July early August.

 

 

Here is how important contact information is.

Iceberg Case Study 2

CASE STUDY #2:  We have run a series of autographed guitar giveaways on Facebook (designed to create massive interactivity) with several multi-platinum artists. Tell me what marketing numbers you would intelligently predict on the last artist.

 

 

 

  1. Collin Raye: 118k likes 12/5/2013 – received 100k comments in 1 hour.
  2. Jamie O’Neal: 13K likes 10/4/2014 – received 14k comments in 1 hour
  3. Andy Griggs: 43K likes 10/4/2014 – received 48k comments in 1 hour
  4. Ty Herndon: 67K likes 10/4/2014 – received 69k comments in 1 hour
  5. Tracy Lawrence: 1.1 MILLION LIKES 2/4/2015

 

How many comments would you expect?Iceberg Blind

 

We expected damn close to 1 million comments but received only 50K comments in 1 hour simply because Tracy’s Facebook fan base DIDN’T SEE THE POST. They didn’t see the post because Facebook changed the rules again. We were going to have to pay dearly to reach all those fans his team worked so hard to obtain.

 

 

Do you see how dreadfully important contact/customer lists are now? We can expect all social media platforms to behave the same way once they begin monetizing or once they go public.

 

Iceberg Data Collection Meme

 

 

If we would’ve had contact information we could’ve DRASTICALLY manipulated this number.

Most of you haven’t really thought about your messaging, imaging, and content to determine if it makes sense as a whole.Iceberg Celine Dion

If your music sounds slick and super polished (Pop ish) with more universal pop like lyrics then your look should reflect that with a super polished look. It’s confusing to see a ragged looking artist with a slick sounding record…it doesn’t make sense. For example, Celine Dion wouldn’t work with torn jeans, tattoos, and a beat up biker jacket; nobody would believe her. Rather Celine needs to look glamorous. If you do leather with glamorous she can’t look like a drug addict.

Get it?

Iceberg Celine Dion Old

 

Btw, look at the early picture of Celine vs. the latter, can you see the transformation?

 

 

 

 

 

Conversely, a record loaded with rough edges, very personal edgy lyrics, a raw, more edgy sound, maybe even dark content, wouldn’t sell with a glamorous front-man. The image needs to fit the lyrics and the music.

I see far too many artists sending me songs where the lyrics don’t fit the music. Light music requires light lyrics and visa-versa.

This doesn’t mean you can’t cleverly switch it up but you have to be mindful of the chord changes, melody, and lyric content.Iceberg Breaking the Rules

It’s ok to break the rules as long as you know WHAT rules you’re breaking, HOW exactly you’re breaking them, and WHY you’re breaking them.

 

 

For instance, let’s study 2 songs with extremely dark lyric content: Shooting heroin.

 

Iceberg Mr. BrownstoneFirst look at Guns & Roses “Mr. Brownstone” from their debut record Appetite for Destruction. We all know and get the real gritty image of the band. Look at the lyrics and how literal and matter-of-fact they are. “I used to do a little, then a little wouldn’t do, so the little got more and more. I just keep trying to get a little better, said a little better than before”. Then at the end of the track W. Axl Rose says “Stuck it in the middle and I shot it in the middle and it, it drove me outta my mind, I wish I’d known better said I wish I never met her, said I’d leave it all behind.”

This is not a pop record. This is not slick. This is not glamorous.

 

Now let’s look at The La’s Lee Mavers’ pop masterpiece “There She Goes”. Despite politicking in the press, this is definitely an ode to heroin.  Iceberg the La'sNotice the song structure, the chords, and the melodies. Undoubtedly pure, saccharine, indie pop music.  These lyrics are NOT literal but quite metaphorical. It sounds like he’s talking about a girl so much that they get tons of placements on movie soundtracks sonically supporting the girl imagery, and a Christian band Six Pence None the Richer even covered and released it.

So the lyrics WORK with the chord changes and the melodies.

 

Are you picking up what I’m putting down?

 

Iceberg Sixpence

 

Side note: The La’s recorded 2 versions of this song. The first didn’t chart and the second barely broke the top 50. Six Pence None the Richer covered it and took it to #7. Look at the images. Coincidence?

 

 

 

Iceberg eye roll

 

Now, as I type I can actually FEEL some of you rolling your eyes at this whole post. Some of you think this happens “organically” or “naturally” or you think “Everyone should just love the music, man, peace, love, and groovy-ness.”

 

 

Don’t be naïve.

Iceberg Naive Computer

This is the music BUSINESS.

 

The BUSINESS part of that phrase is about commerce, which requires sales.

 

 

Makes sense right? If you want to make a living at your dream, YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO SELL SOMETHING.Iceberg Commerce Shopping Cart

 

 

Sorry for the wounded artist souls on that one, but it’s a fact. Somebody, somewhere, somehow, has to pay money for something in order for you to make a living.

So making a living requires sales and sales requires marketing.

 

It goes deep, y’all, marketing goes REAL deep.  If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got!

 

Iceberg Titanic

 

Understand the whole iceberg and you won’t go down like the Titanic, people.

 

 

 

 

 

Stay

In

Tune

 

If you like this post, please SHARE it and/or LEAVE A COMMENT thank you!

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10 YouTube Fundamentals

10 YouTube Fundamentals Feature

I attended a killer YouTube tutorial put on by their upper brass and some of their biggest stars here in Nashville recently.  I learned the 10 fundamentals for creating a viral YouTube series.Fundamentals YouTube meh image

Why YouTube?

Look, YouTube is the new MTV only without the guaranteed audience.

But the REACH is there and it’s bigger than MTV’s ever was.

In plain English that means any artist has access to BILLIONS of consumers, you just need to crack the code for getting them to find you and care about you.

 

Fundamentals 1 Billion Views

Think about the reach possibilities for a second. One of the speakers at this tutorial was part of a comedy team that had a channel with 1 BILLION views.

1 BILLION!!

The opportunity and availability is there you just have to learn to reach out.

 

People, this is an incredible exposure mechanism for your music!  You can target your audience via social media and use these platforms to drive traffic to your YouTube channel and grow your subscribership.

There are many people who make a living just off of YouTube, btw.Fundamentals Macklemore Grammy

There are many artists like Noah, Karmin, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis who broke their careers wide open on YouTube.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis won Best New Artist at the 2014 Grammy’s for crying out loud!

 

What more do you need to know?

 

Why aren’t you working every day to find a way to win on this amazing platform?

 

Gone are the days of the “One-Hit Wonder” viral video.

 

FYI, it should be noted that gone are the days of a “1-hit wonder” viral video.  If your strategy is to create or hope to create one video that will go viral you have already failed.

Success on your YouTube channel is like everything else in your life.

Fundamentals Consistency

 

It requires consistency.

Consistency builds the foundation for ever increasing views and subscribership.  Then you get your viral video.

Here are the 10 fundamentals of creating a viral series on YouTube.

It should be said that it isn’t necessary to have EVERY one of these fundamentals on every video but you want to constantly be thinking of ways to improve by checking this list often.

  1. Shareability – The content has to give consumers a reason to share it. Some things that make a video shareable are if they’reFundamentals Sharing
    1. Funny
    2. Relatable (remember the video of the woman who filmed herself walking through NYC for one day?)
    3. Topical
    4. Practical with practical value (or be valuable) like life hacks, advice, tutorials, etc.
  2. Conversational – Creating conversational tones to your video posts is clutch fundamentals Bunny conversationwith regards to connecting with your audience. A couple ways to make your video conversational are:
    1. Responding directly to your fans via comments
    2. Mentioning your fans by name in the comments and/or video posts
    3. Talking directly to them on the video is hugely important.
    4. Treat the tone like a Snapchat or Instagram vid that you send to your friends
    5. Think of your fans as friends
  3. Interactivity – finding clever ways to spur interactivity gets your audience involved. I’ll bet you do this every performance. Like when you try to get the audience to sing along, to clap along, or divide the crowd to see who can yell the loudest. Here are some ideas
    1. Always be thinking “How can we involve the fans?” if you think it enough the answers will come. Your subconscious will reward you.
    2. Ask Questions!
    3. Tell them to comment on the video or via social media platforms.
    4. HINT: when we are working with our artists we ask questions in social media as well and send them to YouTube to see the answers and here their shout outs.
  4. Consistency – All social media platforms are about consistency and YouTube is no Fundamentals Consistency Clockdifferent. There are several different kinds of consistency as well like;
    1. Schedule – From a consumer point of view, just think about a TV series you got obsessed with and then missed a few episodes (for whatever reason). Then you learned that your life was absolutely fine without watching it.  You DON’T want your fans on your YouTube channel to be thinking this, do you?
    2. Personality – Keeping a consistent personality type is key so I strongly advise for you to be YOU, unless you are creating a character of sorts like Earl Dibbles Jr. or Miranda Sings (notice even when they’re doing characters they are consistent).
    3. Format – keeping a similar consistent format helps your fans recognize what they liked before AND why change it if it’s working? For instance, there is a huge channel of some guy from South America who does heavy metal guitar covers of the latest big YouTube hits. He is ALWAYS in front of the same crappy wall playing the same guitar. It’s Fundamentals Targeting The Techology is Theretotally recognizable.
    4. Style and Voice – If your posts are funny and thought provoking I don’t recommend switching to heavy topical content like religion or politics.
  5. Targeting – Make sure you are targeting a clearly defined audience. I think this would be a good exercise for many of you because y’all could stand to do some of that with your music projects too, not for nothing. Additionally, targeting your channel in the right genres, topics, sub topics, etc.
  6. Sustainability – this is big y’all. When I was at this YouTube tutorial, they had Fundamentals Sustainabilityseveral pro “YouTubers” speak. Every one of them said if they couldn’t shoot 3 episodes in an afternoon they would move on to the next idea. You have to make sure that your vision is doable on a consistent basis. If it’s too complicated it will not be sustainable and you will fall off; so will your audience. In plain English, if they like it can you easily make more?
  7. Discoverability – In other words, is your video findable? Here is the main reason for lyric videos in the music business, y’all. Meta data has to be done intentionally and intelligently to optimize your video’s performance. For instance, if you are doing a video for a cover song list the song name first in the title, then the artist name, then your name. HINT: once you are aware of what needs to be done a ton of information on “how to” is available simply by looking at other videos. Now you know what to look for._DSC0112
  8. Accessibility – Can every episode be appreciated by a brand new viewer? Essentially, Fundamentals Accessibility Word imagethere needs to be some kind of quick, standard opening that tells a new viewer what you are about. This strategy makes each video more accessible.
  9. Collaboration – As you grow your channel’s subscribership, collaborations are encouraged by YouTube. Find another artist using YouTube and collaborate with them on something, you will definitely glean some of their followers and get more views. Fundamentals Stop Collaborate & ListenLook for a guest star or a YouTube star to get that going.
  10. Authenticity – Don’t show a video of your white face stating you’re a black man/woman. This is funny but if authenticity is absent the consumers will know like a dog can smell fear. Another sure fire way to ensure authenticity is do what you know. They tell songwriters to write what you know, so shoot what you know on YouTube. That will keep you authentic.

Fundamentals Authenticity Definition

YouTube is you on TV with access to billions of people if you just put together the right formula with a ton of hard work.

Don’t be misled, there is no one magic formula that is going to skyrocket you to success with YouTube.

Consistent, intelligent work will grow your audience.

Right now, to most of you, the secrets of unlocking the power of YouTube are very foreign.

So was tying your shoelaces at one point.

You’ll figure it out, man, but you have to do the work. The answers won’t magically come to you.

I’ll leave you with an old Chinese Proverb: The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is RIGHT NOW.

FYI you can find a bunch of this information at YouTube’s creator hub here:

http://YouTube.com/creators

Fundamentals Chinese Proverb

Fundamentals Authenticity Uncover Your True Self

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We offered a FREE seminar that covered a bunch of this last week.  If you missed it you can see it below.

Once you digest this, join our bootcamp to really dig down and learn how to create revenue doing what you were born to do

FYI, this is a BETA bootcamp so we are only taking a limited amount of attendees to ensure we give proper attention to everyone.

Sign up for the bootcamp here: http://www.JoinOnlineTraining.com/MML

 

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