Bob Baker's The Buzz Factor

Here's an item from the Buzz Factor e-zine archives. I think this one is worth a second look. And if you're celebrating it in your part of the world, have a great Indie-Pendence Day weekend!

A lot of people who subscribe to my Buzz Factor e-zine, read my books and attend my workshops tell me that once they shift into a brainstorming mode, the self-promotion ideas come faster than Billy Joel behind the wheel of a Mazarotti. My first piece of advice regarding this fantastic state of mind is:

Buy a notebook or journal and capture these thoughts by writing them down. Don't expect to remember everything later. That rarely works. Grab ideas while they're hot.

If you're driving when inspiration strikes, carefully pull over and scribble down your thoughts on a gas receipt, fast food bag or whatever is handy. If you're in a bar or restaurant, use a napkin. If you're in the shower ... well, be creative and find a way to record those great ideas.

Once you have a master list of earth-shattering, career-boosting concepts, things don't get any easier. Now you probably feel as if you have so many options, you don't know where to start. Most music people get so flustered at this point, they do nothing. Or they do a little bit of everything all at once and spread themselves too thin, with nothing to show for all their hard work.

Well, I believe in keeping things simple. Don't overwhelm yourself. For starters, there are two things you should do every week, if not every day:

1) Write, record and perform great music. This is no secret. The most creative promotion ideas in the world will do nothing to help mediocre music. So work on your music making craft constantly. All it takes is one killer song to light a fire that will sustain an entire career.

2) The second thing you should do almost every day is to take steps to connect with and attract more fans. Don't get sidetracked with technicalities and industry connections and stuff that doesn't matter. Keep a constant focus on fans.

Now, what about those specific big ideas you have for getting exposure, selling CDs, etc.? Get out a calendar that covers the next 12 months, and start writing down your best ideas and the times of the year they would work best.

Think this through and move things around on the calendar until you've got one or two great ideas listed for each month. Doing this will give you a promotional roadmap so you know the best ways to spend your time and energy every month. Your efforts will be more focused this way and more likely to generate results.

Don't just wing it and leave things to chance. This is your career and livelihood at stake here. Set priorities. Create an action plan. You can always tweak and alter the plan as you go. But having one in the first place gives you a starting point and a direction ... and a reason to get busy and start promoting your music now.

So formulate a plan -- your ideal plan -- then ... get out there and promote yourself!