The Art of Simple Music Web Design

My old pal Bob Gleason recently sold his CD/DVD replication company and is now devoting a lot more time to playing music. The other day I visited Bob's web site to see what he was up to, and I was stuck by what I saw.

In an era of intense graphics, Flash intros and multimedia sensory bombardment, it was refreshing to see a music web site stripped down to the bare bones.

His one-page music web site may seem primitive at first glance. And it is missing some things (most notably an email list sign-up form). But a closer look reveals the effectiveness of its simplicity.

Right at the top you see who Bob is, what he plays, and who he might sound like. Perfect.

Under that is a lengthy list of places you can see Bob perform live. That makes sense, especially since he seems to be using this site primarily to promote his live shows. (Note the brilliant move to have MapQuest direction links for each venue.)

It's also a good site to send potential venue people who are thinking of hiring Bob. They can see where's he's playing, along with a lengthy list of cover songs he performs down the left hand column. He's also got his contact info and song samples prominently displayed.

Pay a visit to www.bigmusicbob.com and see for yourself.

True, this site won't win any design awards. But does that matter? No. What really matters is that people who visit the site can find what they're looking for -- which is access to Bob and his music.

You may not want your music web site to be this stripped down, and that's fine. But I encourage you to keep these simplicity principles in mind. Sometimes, less is indeed more.

-Bob

P.S. In the coming months, I plan to publish a Music Web Site Critique ebook and audio program. Subscribe to my free ezine and you'll be the first to know when it's available.

Ready to turbo-charge your music marketing campaign? Check out all the new Crash Course packages on Music Marketing, Music Publicity, and Internet Promotion at TheBuzzFactor.com.

My Best Music Success Advice

The week before last, my girlfriend Pooki and I attended a 7-day "Breakthrough to Success" workshop in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was presented by Jack Canfield, best known for the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series and the book "The Success Principles."

It was an awesome event with about 400 attendees. We learned and grew so much and met fantastic people from all over the world.
It was by far the biggest investment I've ever made in personal development. And I admit, months ago when I made the decision to go for it, I was hesitant and more than a little fearful about committing our financial resources to this one event.

But now that we've experienced it, I am so thankful we took the leap of faith.

You see, I've been studying self-help and personal empowerment material off and on since I was 17 years old. And even though my life took many unexpected twists and turns, I've reached a stage that many people view as successful.

I feel blessed. And through my work, I enjoy passing on the "secrets" to success I've learned along the way. I do that through my many books, audio programs, live workshops, and resources such as www.MusicMarketingInsiders.com.

So here's my best advice for reaching your music goals:

1) Get out of your own way

The biggest obstacles humans face don't come from "out there" in the cold, cruel world. They reside within. We all carry negative beliefs and memories of previous experiences. We pick them up from our parents, friends, teachers, you name it. And these beliefs color our expectations and how we show up in the world.

So job #1 is to uncover these internal obstacles. To discover what's bubbling under the surface and holding you back -- often without you even being aware that these negative beliefs are there.

2) Upgrade your mental software

Install Empowerment Pro 2.0, if you will. This involves monitoring your internal dialogue -- your "self talk." Recognizing when you put yourself down or tell yourself you're not qualified or worthy to want something better for yourself.

At first, you'll be shocked by how often you limit your own potential. But that's great, because now you have the awareness to replace the old dialogue reruns with fresh, new content that brings out the true greatness that resides within you.

3) Get on the PE Diet

In this case, PE doesn't stand for Physical Education. It means Personal Empowerment. To improve your health, you wouldn't eat one healthy meal or have one good workout and then say, "There, I did it once. I'm set for life." Of course not. That would be silly.

Then why do people do that with their mental health and personal development? "I know that positive thinking stuff. It doesn't work," they say. Really? You tried it once and your life didn't change?

You know where I'm going with this. To be successful, you need to incorporate new healthy habits into your ongoing lifestyle. Not because you're a slow learner or there's anything "wrong" with you. But because constant focus on your personal growth is what brings about lasting results.

And that's why I've been feeding my mind with positive reinforcement for more than 30 years now. It keeps me on track. I've tried living life on autopilot too -- like the majority of people do. And I gotta tell you, it doesn't work for me.

That's why I encourage you to regularly exposure yourself to positive books, audio, movies, people, images, sounds, ideas, and more. That's also why I've dedicated my life to inspiring and empowering musicians (and other creative people) to express themselves and share their talents with the world.

I do that through books, reports, audio programs and live workshops. But last year I launched a new resource that really excites me, because -- unlike my other titles -- it provides regular ongoing exposure to new music career ideas, effective tactics, tips, tools, and more.

You can see what I'm talking about at ...

www.MusicMarketingInsiders.com

You've probably heard me talk about it before. But I just relaunched the site with a new intensity and commitment to providing valuable ongoing support for proactive artists, managers, promoters, and more.

Again, check it out at

www.MusicMarketingInsiders.com

You'll also find other sources of rich ideas and inspiration at

www.MusicMarketingBooks.com

To your success!

-Bob

P.S. I promise you, if you can get out of your own way, upgrade your mental software, and regularly feed your mind with empowering ideas and strategies ... you'll amaze your friends with the sudden burst of energy and accomplishments you produce.

Now wouldn't that be cool?

For more details, visit
www.MusicMarketingInsiders.com

Don't forget these sites too:
www.TheBuzzFactor.com
www.MusicPromotionBlog.com
www.Bob-Baker.com/podcast/

The Power of Habits (Don't Make This Mistake)

This morning I drove my daughter to school and once again made a mistake I didn't intend to make. It's a mistake you may also be making with your music career.

You see, Kelli started middle school last week. After six years of attended an elementary school about 10 minutes from our house, she is now in the 6th grade at the middle school, which is also not far from home.

Here's the thing. So far, every time I've driven her to the new school, I absent-mindedly take the route to her old school. Most of the drive is the same, but at one stop light I should now go straight instead of turning left.

But, without fail, I've been either lost in thought or in a conversation with her when I get to that light. And I turn left like I've been doing for years, instead of continuing straight to the new school.

As a result, it takes us longer to get to our destination, and I end up feeling a little frustrated with myself for screwing up.

What does this have to do with your music career and promotion efforts?

EVERYTHING!

• How often do you take actions based on your habits of the past ... instead of what's best for you now?
  
  
• When do you absent-mindedly go through the motions and take the long route to your music goals ... instead of waking up and realizing there's a shorter and better path?
  
  
• In what areas of your life do you operate on auto-pilot ... instead of evaluating your actions and the results you're getting?
  
  
• How much frustration do you experience because you are stuck in old behavior patterns?

To push the school metaphor even futher ...

• Are you still living your life with an elementary school mindset ... instead of graduating to the next level of your personal growth?

Your homework assignment: Get out a pen and paper, do some soul searching, and honestly answer the five questions above.

Who knew that the simple act of driving my daughter to school would give me such an education :-)

-Bob

Did you enjoy this blog post? Get more tips like these when you subscribe to my Buzz Factor ezine -- the longest running music career tips email newsletter on the Internet. Since 1995. Go grab your free subscription now.

FREE Ebook: How to Recession-Proof Your Music Career

I want you to be one of the first to get your digital hands on my new no-cost report, "How to Recession-Proof Your Music Career." The subtitle is "39 Ways Musicians, Bands and Record Labels Can Reduce Expenses and Prosper in Today's Economic Times."

When I got the idea to create this report, I turned first to the readers of my Buzz Factor ezine. With 10,000 subscribers strong, I knew I could count on them for some great ideas on cutting costs and earning more money.

Did they ever deliver!

There are some awesome ideas in the ebook on ways to tour smarter, save money on dozens of expenses, and even earn more income while everyone else seems to be struggling.

Please go to this page to claim your copy now.

-Bob

Ready to turbo-charge your music marketing campaign? Check out all the new Crash Course packages on Music Marketing, Music Publicity, and Internet Promotion at TheBuzzFactor.com.

YouTube Mega Hits: Avril Lavigne, Rihanna, Alicia Keys & Fred

It finally happened. The coveted "Most Viewed YouTube Video of All Time" was recently shaken from its throne when Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" video knocked "Evolution of Dance" from it's long-held #1 spot.
As of this writing, both videos have around 95 million views each. That's a lot of eyeballs watching skirts and crazy dance moves.

In fact, of the top 10 most viewed YouTube videos of all time, seven of them are music related. Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music" is #4 with 64 million views, Timbaland's "Apologize" is #5 with 62 million, Alicia Keys' "No One" is #6 with 61 million.

Even "Fred" Gets 24 Million YouTube Views

Have you heard about the latest YouTube video sensation? His name is Fred, a "6-year-old with anger management issues" played by 14-year-old Lucas Cruikshank from Nebraska.

In just the last few months, Fred burst onto the video scene and now boasts 359,000 subscribers. Check out www.youtube.com/Fred to see what the buzz is about.

His most popular video, Fred Loses His Meds, has been viewed 7.4 million times in two months. Amazing. It's just the latest example of how a clever idea -- musical or otherwise -- can spread online.

Your mileage may vary, of course. You probably won't get mega millions of people watching your stuff. But what if you could get just 10,000 people to watch one of your videos? Would you be happy with that?

I think so. The question is: What can you do that's clever, amazing, funny, sexy, cute or remarkable enough to inspire people to send emails to their friends saying, "You have got to check out this video!"?

That's the million dollar question.

-Bob

P.S. For more ideas on this topic, check out my special report, How to Use Video to Promote Your Music Online.

Here's just some of what you'll find in this resource:

• 9 ways to produce music videos on a shoestring budget
• 4 places to find indie film directors who will produce your music videos for free
• How to get fans to create your music videos for you
• 14 Music Video Themes you can use to create clips your fans will love (many of these will surprise you)
• 28 places to host and stream your videos online at no cost

Read more about it here.