Bob Baker's The Buzz Factor
Music marketing tips and self-promotion ideas for independent songwriters, musicians and bands.
Bob Baker's Indie Music Promotion Blog
News, notes and ideas on music marketing, self-promotion, artist empowerment and more
July 06, 2007
What Should I Write Next? You Decide!
As you probably know, I've already published a lot of books, reports and audio programs on music marketing and artist empowerment. Some people say I'm prolific. But to be honest, I'm often frustrated because I haven't produced more.
The list of titles I'd like to create is more abundant than the time available to write them. So I need your help. Right now, please take a moment and go to this page and vote for the topic you'd like me to write about next.
I've whittle down pages of possibilities to my six favorite titles. But I need you to help me decide which one to focus on and complete next. Select your favorite and see how it stacks up against how other people have voted.
You'll find the Choose My Next Title mini-poll page here:
www.bob-baker.com/buzz/poll.html
If there's a topic you'd like me to write about that isn't covered in the poll, leave a comment on this page below. I'd love to hear your ideas.
Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it!
-Bob
Did you enjoy this blog post? Subscribe now and get all of my newest ideas delivered by email or RSS feed. Learn how here.
Make the most of the world's biggest social networking web site with this great primer on MySpace Music Marketing. Available in paperback or ebook format. Get more details here.
The list of titles I'd like to create is more abundant than the time available to write them. So I need your help. Right now, please take a moment and go to this page and vote for the topic you'd like me to write about next.I've whittle down pages of possibilities to my six favorite titles. But I need you to help me decide which one to focus on and complete next. Select your favorite and see how it stacks up against how other people have voted.
You'll find the Choose My Next Title mini-poll page here:
www.bob-baker.com/buzz/poll.html
If there's a topic you'd like me to write about that isn't covered in the poll, leave a comment on this page below. I'd love to hear your ideas.
Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it!
-Bob
Did you enjoy this blog post? Subscribe now and get all of my newest ideas delivered by email or RSS feed. Learn how here.
Make the most of the world's biggest social networking web site with this great primer on MySpace Music Marketing. Available in paperback or ebook format. Get more details here.
posted by Bob Baker @ 10:18 AM
8 comments
Feed Me
What About Bob?
Bob Baker is an author, indie musician and former music magazine editor dedicated to showing musicians of all kinds how to get exposure, connect with fans, sell more CDs, and increase their incomes.
Bob's Books
Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook:
201 Self-Promotion Ideas for Song-
writers, Musicians and Bands on a Budget
55 Ways to Promote & Sell Your Book on the Internet
A easy-to-read overview of online marketing
- Killer Music Press Kits
- 70 Ways to Promote & Sell Your Music on the Internet
- Music Marketing & Publicity Crash Courses
- Indie Music PR Bootcamp
- Killer Music Web Sites
- How to Triple Your Music Income This Year
- Online Music PR Hot List
- How to Make a Living as a Full-Time Musician
- Do-It-Yourself Internet Music PR & Publicity
- How to Use Video to Promote Your Music Online
- How to Publish Your Own Indie Book
FREE Music Tips Ezine
- Get Bob's Free Music Marketing Tips by Email. Find out more.
Connect with Bob on
Reprint Rights
- Click here if you'd like to run some of Bob's posts on your own blog, web site or e-zine.
Previous Posts
- Two Great Tele-Classes in July
- 5 Music Sites You Should Know About
- Prince Pisses Off UK Music Retailers
- Subscribe to Indie Music Promotion Blog
- 6 Ways to Fix Online Music Radio
- Internet Radio Day of Silence
- The Hottest Music Trend Right Now
- The Top 4 Music Sellers
- Bob on NPR's 'Morning Edition' today
- Hilary Clinton & Celine Dion on Viral Marketing
Favorite Music Blogs
- Derek Sivers
- David Hooper
- Andrew Dubber
- Music Think Tank
- Ariel Hyatt
- Artists House Music
- Musicians Cooler
- GarageSpin
- Bob Lefsetz
- Hypebot
- Music Industry Report
Copyright 2004-2010 Bob Baker
Bob,
I think creating a killer web site is a great topic to write about next. It's also very timely for me, as up til now I've been relying mainly on my artist page on myspace to build my fanbase. Now I need a real artist web site.
In any case, whatever you decide to write next, I'm sure it will be great!
How about how to communicate with fans. I've always wondered how aggressive one should be or is there a cooler way to say buy my songs on itunes now!
Also, samples of press kits for different genres.
Definitely press kit samples. I know what should go in one, I've even made one. However, I've never seen a press kit that was done by someone who knows what they're doing, nor has anyone else I've met.
Hi Tiffany,
Thanks for the feedback. Actually, I already have a resource like that called "Killer Music Press Kits." It comes with a whole file of samples, too.
Check it out at www.bob-baker.com/buzz/presskits.html
Cheers!
Bob
Hi Bob,
The topic I'm after is similar to that of 'Guerrilla Music Marketing Action Planner: What to Do, When to Do It, and How', so that's the one I voted for.
What I'd (really, really, really) like to see you write about is Timing. There's so many facets you could talk about with that topic. For example, off the top of my head:
-Gigs or radio, which should you go after first? Naturally the majority of people would say gigs, but wouldn't it give you an advantage when negotiating shows if you already had radio play on your side?
-How long before a gig should you send reminders to your mailing list, Myspace and other social networking friends, and so on and so forth? 1 day? 3 days? A week?
-Another thing about gigs, how long should you wait before performing in the same venue again?
-When is the best time/s to release something? A lot of the majors take advantage of the Christmas season and have big name artists out around November and on wards. I think this could be a bad time for indie artists as not only are you competing with them, but Christmas spending as well, and if you're not a household name, there isn't much chance of a relative/friend/etc buying your release as a gift for someone.
Etc
Best regards!
-D
Hi Bob
Well I've voted for the Action Planner as I found your Guerrilla Marketing book absolutely brilliant. However the killer website book would also be really useful too.
Happy writing Bob
Anonymous D,
Great questions! I'll answer one of them indirectly here:
How long should you wait before performing in the same venue again?
It's different for every act, but as a general rule, here's the evolution of live shows for an indie artist:
- At first, your goal is exposure. Hardly anyone knows about you, so you get in front of people as often as possible: Opening for popular acts at traditional venues, headlining smaller venues, playing on the street, house concerts, whatever.
- Start locally and spiral out. Make an impact in your immediate area and then target cities in the region you also want to periodically play.
- As your popularity grows you slowly make yourself less accessible. Instead of gigging every week in each town, maybe limit it to one big show every month. That way, if fans want to see you, that's their only chance that month.
You'll be happier and more prosperous, and venues will love you.
Hope this helps.
-Bob
I THINK YOU SHOULD DO SOMETHING ON THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE MUSIC KNOWN AS THE SONGWRITER
THANKS GEORGE HICKS SONGWRITER