Bob Baker's "The Buzz Factor" Delivering music marketing tips, self-promotion ideas and more since 1995 - http://TheBuzzFactor.com/ April 15, 2003 - Vol. 9, Issue 10 In This Issue: - Iraqi Information Minister's New Music Biz Job - Four Ways to Attract More Music Fans Faster - The Rave Party Continues __________________________________________________ See the end of this message for details on how to get on and off the Buzz Factor mailing list. __________________________________________________ UNLEASH THE ARTIST WITHIN "Bob Baker's advice on harnessing and expressing your creativity comes from someone who's pursued his dreams, made mistakes and shares wise lessons. If you have been putting off a creative project, buy this motivating book and you'll soon get cracking!" -Marcia Yudkin, author, "Six Steps to Free Publicity" and 10 other books, www.yudkin.com For more info: http://bob-baker.com/buzz/unleash.html __________________________________________________ WELCOME! Don't let Uncle Sam's tax deadline get you down, my little Buzz Factorling. It's springtime -- when all musicians' hearts turn to thoughts of music making and self-promotion. Over the next couple of issues, I'd like to cover some music marketing basics -- the important concepts and mindsets I believe you need to have to successfully promote yourself as an indie act. This issue kicks things off with an article I wrote some time ago and never posted to my web site. Read "Four Ways to Attract More Music Fans Faster" and ask yourself if you've really made the most of each of these crucial steps. If you're in the mood for a good laugh ... I envy the smart and funny people who write the parody news stories at TheOnion.com. What a great gig that would be. Well, recent events got me thinking, and I wrote my own Onion-like news item and posted it to my site. Take a look, and share it with others if you want ... Iraqi Information Minister Lands a New Job in the Music Industry => http://www.bob-baker.com/buzz/iraqmusic.html Have a successful, fun-filled week! -Bob __________________________________________________ => SPREAD IT AROUND Forward this issue to your friends and music associates. Encourage them to subscribe. It's easy ... and it's free! __________________________________________________ => 4 WAYS TO ATTRACT MORE MUSIC FANS FASTER Attracting more fans. Admit it, that's what music marketing is all about -- getting more people to come to your shows and buy your CDs. And hopefully, getting a lot more people to do those things. Why else do you work so hard to travel and play as many places as you can? For what other reason do you meticulously write and record songs? I don't believe the reason is so you can practice and keep up your chops in obscurity. It's not because you want to impress influential managers or A&R people. You work hard because you know you have something of value to offer ... and you want to reach as many people as possible with your music. Marketing is the thing that helps you reach that goal. But marketing is also a subject that confuses a lot of musicians. Songwriters and band members the world over know they need to promote themselves. But many don't know where to start, much less know how to continue effectively. Does this describe you? Do you ever feel like you're spinning your wheels, not sure exactly what you should be doing next to market yourself? If so, this would be a good time to cover some basic marketing concepts for independent musicians. The VFW Hall Principle Let's say you went to an average U.S. city (such as Kansas City or Denver) and you rounded up 1,000 people and gathered them in a giant VFW hall. These 1,000 folks would be randomly chosen and made up of people from all ages, genders and backgrounds. Next, you'd distribute information about your act to these people and play tracks from your new CD for them. After this direct exposure, what are the chances that one person out of those thousand would be attracted to your music and identity enough to buy your CD or come to your next show? Most musicians, regardless of what style they play, should feel pretty confident about being able to win over at least one new fan from this group of 1,000. That's a one-tenth of one percent conversion rate. Now let's multiply that formula by the entire U.S. population of 285 million people. One-tenth of one percent would be 285,000 people. Mind-boggling, isn't it? That would be enough fans to make you a bonafide star. Next, switch gears and consider how major labels market themselves. They select and promote acts that they feel have the potential to appeal to 10 or more of those same 1,000 people. Then the labels spend millions of dollars in what I call shotgun advertising. They spray their marketing message over a targeted chunk of the population (which often amounts to many millions of people), knowing well that only a small percentage will be interested enough to respond and become fans. Sometimes, this widespread tactic works well enough to sell lots of CDs and concert tickets -- but it's very expensive. As an independent artist, you can't afford that type of marketing campaign. But you know those potential fans are out there, and you know that you can be successful by connecting with far fewer people than a major label requires. It's just that your ideal fans haven't found out about you yet -- and you're not quite sure how to find them. What's a frustrated musician to do? The answer: You must find creative, low-cost ways to go directly to those one-in-a-thousand fans. Don't waste your time and money promoting yourself to people who will most likely never embrace your music. Here are four steps to take to reach new fans: 1. Define Your Distinct Musical Identity You must have a firm grasp on what your music is about. And you must be able to define it clearly and quickly. What are your strongest musical traits? What sets you apart from other acts? What attitude or social statement do you make? Being a generic rock, pop or hip-hop act won't cut it. Dig deeper and discover your unique identity. When you do finally reach some of those rare potential fans, don't lose them by not being clear about who you are. 2. Describe Your Ideal Fan Once you have a handle on who you are musically, it's time to paint a clear picture of your ideal fan. Can you articulate how your fans dress, where they work, what TV shows they watch, what they do for fun and who their favorite cultural heroes are? Observe the types of people who come to see you perform and note what they have in common? Knowing precisely who your fans are will dictate what avenues you use to reach them and how you communicate your message once you do reach them. 3. List Ways of Getting Access to Your Fans Once you know exactly what type of music fan you're going after, start making a list of the various resources these specific people are attracted to. What magazines and news- papers do they read? Where do they hang out? What radio stations do they listen to? What retail outlets do they frequent? What web sites do they surf to? What e-mail newsletters do they subscribe to? For example, if your fans are mostly Harley riders, go to a search engine like Google and start entering keywords related to motorcycles. Evaluate the search results and compile a list of the many good sources you uncover. 4. Network and Promote Your Music Armed with this targeted list of contacts, get busy! Send e-mail press releases to niche media outlets. Contact the webmasters and editors of appropriate publications. Post messages in specialized forums. Visit and interact via the web sites of similar-sounding bands. Contact organizations and charities related to your musical niche. In short, go to where your ideal fans are. And market yourself through these outlets relentlessly. Why waste time and money trying to promote to everyone ... when you can save money and be far more effective by going directly to those valuable one-in-a-thousand fans? Reprint Rights: You may publish this article in your e-zine or on your web site as long as you include the following author bio/blurb at the end of the article: Bob Baker is the author of "Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook," "Unleash the Artist Within" and "Branding Yourself Online." He also publishes TheBuzzFactor.com, a web site and e-zine that have been delivering marketing tips and inspirational messages to music people of all kinds since 1995. Get your F-R-E-E subscription to Bob's e-zine by visiting http://TheBuzzFactor.com today. __________________________________________________ => THE RAVE PARTY CONTINUES "I recently read the 'Guerilla Music Marketing Handbook' with great enthusiasm. Thanks to you, my to-do list has quadrupled! The nature of your ideas is amazing -- from one idea comes ten!" -Jenn Lindsay, www.jennlindsay.com More info: http://bob-baker.com/buzz/music_marketing.htm "I just finished reading 'Branding Yourself Online.' You did a marvelous job of really spelling it out for the marketing- challenged, and the year-long list of marketing activities at the end is nothing less than inspired! I'm so charged up to go out and put many of your tips to use. So big thanks!" -Suzanne Falter-Barns, author of "How Much Joy Can You Stand?", www.howmuchjoy.com More info: http://www.bob-baker.com/buzz/byo.html "Bob Baker's 'E-zine Music Marketing' is a powerful tool that no band should be without -- full of creative ideas, insightful perspectives and ideas on the power of great communication. With so many interesting ways to deliver information and promote sales, this report can help any band create a devoted, committed fan base and move to the next level." -Michelle Herrington, Nashville publicist, www.michelleherringtonpr.com More info: http://www.bob-baker.com/buzz/quiz.html __________________________________________________ => EXCLUSIVE GOODIES FOR YOU Remember, as an e-zine subscriber, you get access to the Buzz Factor Premium Content section, featuring special articles, e-zine back issues and other goodies. Find it at http://www.bob-baker.com/buzz/zine/pc.html =========== Cool Music Stuff You Need =========== Killer Press Kits: The 29 Most Important Elements in Creating Sizzling Music Publicity Materials http://www.bob-baker.com/buzz/presskits.html Guerrilla Music Marketing Power Course http://www.bob-baker.com/buzz/gpc.html For the go-getter who wants it all -- more than 600 pages of marketing ideas and self-promotion tips. Three powerful resources, one awesome discount! 2003 Windrift Music Songwriting Competition http://www.windriftmusic.com/2003 Earn Cash as a Buzz Factor Affiliate Make 40% on every copy sold through your affiliate link! http://www.bob-baker.com/af/BuzzAfil.html Get Your Own Domain Name for Only $15 a Year http://www.bob-baker.com/buzz/url.html __________________________________________________ Current circulation: 8,634 subscribers To START getting The Buzz Factor, send an e-mail to subscribe@thebuzzfactor.com with the words "Subscribe Buzz" in the Subject line. Or visit http://TheBuzzFactor.com/ __________________________________________________ REPRINT PERMISSION Would you like to run some of the content from this issue on your web site or in your e-zine? You may do so for free as long as you add the following credit: "Reprinted from Bob Baker's The Buzz Factor, featuring free marketing and self-promotion ideas for songwriters, musicians and bands on a budget. Visit www.TheBuzzFactor.com for details." __________________________________________________ The Buzz Factor is published by Bob Baker PO Box 43058 - St. Louis, MO 63143 Phone: (314) 758-7578 - E-mail: bob@thebuzzfactor.com http://www.TheBuzzFactor.com/ (c) 2003 by Bob Baker - All Rights Reserved |