This is the story I did NOT want to tell you. But my wife Amber insisted that I do this. She said it’s important because it’s real, it’s scary and it’s true. She said that this is the kind of thing that people need to hear. So since she’s almost always right (one of the many reasons I really love her), I’ll tell you.
This past year June 2008, one of my worst nightmares came true. I dislocated my elbow, tore ligaments and broke two bones in my arm. I was riding my bike and my front tire went flat and I fell. I couldn’t act or write for 3 months. In fact, the rehabilitation is still going on, but at least I can play again, WOW! And there will be lasting physical damage. Thank you doctors everywhere!
Now for many of you, this is one of the main reasons you keep your day jobs. I take my hat off to you. I couldn’t do a regular 9-5 schedule. I just don’t have it in me. I make a full-time living writing and performing music all over the United States for corporate events, private parties, and publicity recording sessions.
This is a story of how other musicians can market their music business, no matter where you live, what style of music you play, or if you only have one arm.
One of the fastest ways to make money is…
Go to your list of previous clients. I asked them when they were going to have their next party. Now remember this is the middle of summer. Many of these parties and events were not for many months. How was I able to make money at future concerts when I couldn’t play them?
Easy. I asked for a 50% deposit. So I was able to live off the deposits. By the time the concert arrived, he was going to be cured. But what was in it for them? Everyone’s favorite radio station is. WII-FM.
What was for them was for them that I explained to them what happened, why I needed their support now AND they got a substantial discount at this year’s party. It was a win-win-win all the way around.
And this was just one of the ways I made a living playing music with one arm. What if you have no clients or past clients or shows to call?
I generated a whole new batch of jobs, new clients, and new profits by contacting new people through my email list. I have been collecting names and information from fans for a long time. Email seems to be a good way to communicate with some people. I regularly get 20-25% clicks. So you’re not going to get everyone. But the fact that you’re emailing your fans means you’re way ahead of the game.
If you don’t have fan emails, start collecting them at every concert. Also put a registration form on your website. The list can attract a lot of gold.
There are many rules for sending emails. opt in. Double opt-in. But you don’t need to know all the rules, as long as you go with a reputable company. There are many to choose from. The services they provide allow you to be very creative in finding musical concerts; send very entertaining emails with html forms, RSS feeds. It is even possible to send a video feed.
When you send an email, it can link directly to your blog. You can automatically send a feed to any of your social networking sites. Email marketing is an important key to helping your music business go bankrupt smoothly. A great form of marketing is podcasting. As musicians, we are audio-based anyway, so we can promote ourselves much more easily than other marketable services.
i-Tunes makes it pretty easy to upload. When you upload your audio to i-Tunes, it gives you more credibility. All the instructions to make it are very easy to follow and they are all online. It’s like the difference between having your product for sale at Mom and Dad’s local corner supermarket or a national chain of Wal-Marts. Which store would you trust more?
Audio is easy to create. Most computers have some form of audio recording that is easy to format. As musicians, we have a variety of highly functional and highly advanced recording software. Pro Tools is the industry standard. I also use Cakewalk, which uses Sonar, which itself can be quickly loaded into Pro Tools. But you don’t need to have some fancy schmancy recording doo-hickys.
A few months ago I bought a really simple digital recorder made by Sony. They call it the IC recorder. It allows me to speak and then transcribe my recording into text.
I can record very quickly and easily. I can record simple piano tracks as well as the live band with decent results. I can easily make 2 or 3 minute recordings to promote the band or the next big show or even generate leads by doing our own little ads or commercials so to speak. Upload them to your site, put them on i-Tunes or any other hosting site. Strip it down with your contact info, add a few keywords, and you’re generating leads.
Fans love this music!
Keep it entertaining and fun. We are in the business of stress relief. There are many people who are suffering and going through difficult times right now, we offer a fantastic and healthy way to relieve that stress. Keep it light and entertaining. Our fans need us.
You can also easily put audio on your website.
I am currently using Word Press for all of our websites. There are plugins that make it simple for everyone to upload and send across the vast reaches of cyberspace via RSS feeds. Other people will subscribe to your feed (if you make it fun and entertaining) and then pass it along to their friends.
That’s where viral marketing comes in.
Sometimes it seems overwhelming. You think to yourself, “How am I going to make this all work? I’m not even close to where these other guys are.”
It’s okay. I have felt that too. But if you only do a little each day, you will have done a lot in a very short time. Just do something. Something is always better than nothing. Even if it’s not ‘perfect’. Do something.
The thing about marketing is that once it’s in place, you can’t stop the phone from ringing. So do something and you will always have a career in music, even if you only have a broken arm.
