Have you heard of Squidoo? It's a cool new site described as an "online platform that makes it easy for anyone to build lenses on any topic they are passionate about."
These "lenses" are basically single web pages, hosted on the Squidoo site, that offer a unique, human perspective on things that interest the Lensmaster -- the person who created the lens.
Becoming a Lensmaster can help you spread your ideas, get recognized for your expertise, and send more traffic to your web site or blog.
I'm no dummy, so I just set up my own Indie Music Marketing lens at www.squidoo.com/indiemusicmarketing/
Check it out. And consider creating your own Squidoo lens on your special area of music expertise. Make it a useful music resource, while also directing surfers to your other sites and places where they can sample your sounds.
-Bob
P.S. Squidoo is one of the 33 social networking sites I list in a bonus section of my new MySpace Music Marketing ebook.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Viral Music Marketing - Doggie Style
From Joe Vitale (www.MrFire.com):
As always, think about how you can apply this concept to your own music promotion activities.
-Bob
P.S. Do you own my original best-selling Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook? If so, consider also getting the second book in the series, Guerrilla Music Marketing, Encore Edition. "A treasure trove of hard-earned advice is here for the taking for any independent musician who discovers this book." -Micah Solomon, President and CEO of Oasis CD Manufacturing.
Munrab Entertainment wants to hold the world's
first "Canine Concert," an event where the music
is played at a sound level only dogs can hear.
In order to find the right band for the canines,
Munrab is asking people to vote on what they
think their dogs want to hear. It's all explained at--
www.CanineConcert.com
This is how you start a viral marketing buzz.
You focus on fun and you hide the selling.
Then people will spread the news like a virus.
As always, think about how you can apply this concept to your own music promotion activities.
-Bob
P.S. Do you own my original best-selling Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook? If so, consider also getting the second book in the series, Guerrilla Music Marketing, Encore Edition. "A treasure trove of hard-earned advice is here for the taking for any independent musician who discovers this book." -Micah Solomon, President and CEO of Oasis CD Manufacturing.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
The Hunted Become the Hunters
You know the story. There are huge cultural and economic shifts taking place in the music business. Just read the news stories to get up to speed.
One of the biggest changes involves the evolution of the tech-savvy, modern music consumer. Here's what I mean:
Old-School Music Business
Back in the day, record labels would determine who the ideal audience was for a given act. Then they would hunt down those specific types of fans via targeted radio stations, magazines, concert venues, retail outlets, etc.
Years ago, music consumers had limited ways of gaining access to new music, so they relied on commercial, programmed media sources to filter new artists to them. Some adventurous fans made the extra effort to dig for new music via "alternative" sources such as fanzines, college radio stations, mix tapes, etc. But most people weren't willing to work that hard to discover fresh sounds.
So music consumers were mostly prey -- reactive to the efforts major labels made to track down fans and feed them the latest music.
New-School Music Landscape
Today music fans are in control. They rely less and less on programmed, spoon-fed media sources and are finding it easier than ever to discover new music on their own. Using an iPod, MySpace, satellite radio, Internet downloads, podcasts, TiVo and more ... members of the digital generation are determining what they want to hear, when they want to hear it, and how.
Consumers who in the past were primarily hunted down by the music industry system have now become proactive hunters, empowered to choose the music that's best suited for them. This shift has thrown the creation, promotion and distribution of music into a tailspin.
As an indie artist, what should you do in this environment?
You should still understand who your ideal fan is and actively seek them out. Simultaneously, you need to put yourself in the best position to be "discovered." Not by a record label A&R rep, but by a curious music fan in search of his or her new favorite song or artist.
What can you do to be "captured" by the new music hunters?
Note: The idea for this blog post came while listening to the Future of Music podcast. Check it out.
-Bob
P.S. MySpace.com has become a major player in this cultural music shift. To make sure you make the most of MySpace Music Marketing, visit this page.
One of the biggest changes involves the evolution of the tech-savvy, modern music consumer. Here's what I mean:
Old-School Music Business
Back in the day, record labels would determine who the ideal audience was for a given act. Then they would hunt down those specific types of fans via targeted radio stations, magazines, concert venues, retail outlets, etc.
Years ago, music consumers had limited ways of gaining access to new music, so they relied on commercial, programmed media sources to filter new artists to them. Some adventurous fans made the extra effort to dig for new music via "alternative" sources such as fanzines, college radio stations, mix tapes, etc. But most people weren't willing to work that hard to discover fresh sounds.
So music consumers were mostly prey -- reactive to the efforts major labels made to track down fans and feed them the latest music.
New-School Music Landscape
Today music fans are in control. They rely less and less on programmed, spoon-fed media sources and are finding it easier than ever to discover new music on their own. Using an iPod, MySpace, satellite radio, Internet downloads, podcasts, TiVo and more ... members of the digital generation are determining what they want to hear, when they want to hear it, and how.
Consumers who in the past were primarily hunted down by the music industry system have now become proactive hunters, empowered to choose the music that's best suited for them. This shift has thrown the creation, promotion and distribution of music into a tailspin.
As an indie artist, what should you do in this environment?
You should still understand who your ideal fan is and actively seek them out. Simultaneously, you need to put yourself in the best position to be "discovered." Not by a record label A&R rep, but by a curious music fan in search of his or her new favorite song or artist.
What can you do to be "captured" by the new music hunters?
Note: The idea for this blog post came while listening to the Future of Music podcast. Check it out.
-Bob
P.S. MySpace.com has become a major player in this cultural music shift. To make sure you make the most of MySpace Music Marketing, visit this page.
Friday, April 14, 2006
MySpace Music Marketing: The eBook
If You Promote Your Music on MySpace, Or Are Thinking About It ...
You Need to Read This!
MySpace is now one of the top five or ten most popular web sites on the planet -- right up there with Google, Yahoo and Ebay in total visitors and page views. Click here to see the latest web rankings.
This should go without saying, but ...
If you aren't promoting your music on MySpace yet, you need to start -- fast!
If you already have a MySpace artist profile, you need to make the best use of it so you get the maximum exposure possible.
For the past few months I've been researching MySpace and uncovering how the most successful acts use it to reach thousands of fans, make connections, and advance their music careers.
What I discovered along the way is that most artists misuse the many free features that MySpace offers and simply don't squeeze the most potential out of them.
I searched far and wide for useful how-to information on MySpace music marketing ... and couldn't find any. So I decided to publish it myself. Therefore, to help you reach thousands of new fans and make valuable music biz contacts on MySpace, I just published a 65-page, first-ever, one-of-a-kind report called ...
Get the full story at my new web site, www.MySpaceMusicMarketing.com.
-BobWednesday, April 12, 2006
The Science of Music Marketing & Money
Recently I took my daughter to the St. Louis Science Center and unexpectedly came away with some valuable lessons that could help you promote and profit from your music. Let me explain ...
You've no doubt been to these science center type of places. If not, similar principles apply to museums and other tourist attractions.
Much of the St. Louis Science Center is open to the public. If you don't mind walking a bit, you can park for free, bring the family, stroll around, and enjoy three floors of hands-on activities.
However, there are more things to do at the Science Center.
Stay tuned. I'll have more on this in an upcoming blog post.
-Bob
P.S. If you haven't grabbed your copy yet, be sure to get my new e-report, called Indie Music Marketing Secrets. It's free.
You've no doubt been to these science center type of places. If not, similar principles apply to museums and other tourist attractions.
Much of the St. Louis Science Center is open to the public. If you don't mind walking a bit, you can park for free, bring the family, stroll around, and enjoy three floors of hands-on activities.
However, there are more things to do at the Science Center.
- For $3, your child can spend an hour in the Discovery Room.
- For $7, you can attend one of the Omnimax theater movies.
- For $12, you can gain access to the main exhibit (currently featuring artifacts from the Titanic).
- For $65, you can go on a "Glided Segway Tour" of Forest Park.
- For $75, you can get a one-year family membership to the Science Center and get free parking in the lot right next to the center and free (or discounted) access to the activities listed above.
- For $1,000 or more, you can join the Albert Einstein Society as a Science Center financial supporter.
- First, free access to many parts of the venue gets people in the door and interacting with what the Science Center offers.
- Second, once it exposes guests to the environment (after creating an enjoyable free experience), the Center makes offers to "upgrade" people to its paid services.
- Third, the Science Center offers a variety of entry points where patrons can spend money -- from as little as $3 to many thousands of dollars.
Stay tuned. I'll have more on this in an upcoming blog post.
-Bob
P.S. If you haven't grabbed your copy yet, be sure to get my new e-report, called Indie Music Marketing Secrets. It's free.
Wednesday, April 5, 2006
Push-Pull Marketing, Beatles Style
Seth Godin posted a blog bit a few days ago that has been making the rounds. He points out that even the Beatles -- one of history's all-time Super Groups -- were not an overnight sensation.
Then Seth showed this image ...
... and made this observation:
Seth also notes that once crowds started responding (with radio airplay, packed houses and screaming females), the Beatles continued to push their message and music back out.
Here's the second image from his blog:
It demonstrates the "Push-Pull Marketing" concept that I spoke about during my recent workshop in Austin. Effective promotion is all about an ongoing series of Push and Pull activities.
At first, it's mostly Push. You're busy getting your name and your sounds out there by any means necessary. Then people find out about you, respond and are Pulled to your web site or live show.
At that point, you collect their names and e-mail addresses, which gives you the opportunity to Push a more tailor-made message back out to fans. Those efforts inspire your fans to once again be Pulled back to your site or gig.
Again, it's a never-ending cycle of Push-Pull-Push-Pull-Push-Pull ...
So ... make like the Beatles, and push and pull yourself to success!
-Bob
P.S. For details on how to push-pull your music online, check out my special report 50 Ways to Promote & Sell Your Music on the Internet.
"At the beginning, they were playing two or three clubs a day, dives, making a few pounds if they were lucky. Not for a month or two, but for years and years."
Then Seth showed this image ...
... and made this observation:
"Outbound marketing in every possible direction. Auditions for record labels, rejections, pitches to media outlets, concerts on spec, concerts for anyone who would show up. This is classic marketing, stuff that's easy to forget when we listen to the Shea Stadium concert or see the Flickr guys on the cover of 'Newsweek.' It's easy to imagine that suddenly, everyone knows you, wants you and makes it easy for you."
Seth also notes that once crowds started responding (with radio airplay, packed houses and screaming females), the Beatles continued to push their message and music back out.
Here's the second image from his blog:
It demonstrates the "Push-Pull Marketing" concept that I spoke about during my recent workshop in Austin. Effective promotion is all about an ongoing series of Push and Pull activities.
At first, it's mostly Push. You're busy getting your name and your sounds out there by any means necessary. Then people find out about you, respond and are Pulled to your web site or live show.
At that point, you collect their names and e-mail addresses, which gives you the opportunity to Push a more tailor-made message back out to fans. Those efforts inspire your fans to once again be Pulled back to your site or gig.
Again, it's a never-ending cycle of Push-Pull-Push-Pull-Push-Pull ...
So ... make like the Beatles, and push and pull yourself to success!
-Bob
P.S. For details on how to push-pull your music online, check out my special report 50 Ways to Promote & Sell Your Music on the Internet.
Monday, April 3, 2006
The 4 Keys to Music Success
On the latest episode of the Artist Empowerment Radio Podcast, I discuss:
-Bob
- The four keys to music success
- Three things you should be doing with your creative output
- The four reasons people pursue music (and why it's important to know where you fit in)
-Bob
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