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Tuesday, December 1, 2009
How Effective Are You?
How Effective Are You?
Marketing (WOMM)
2) Share knowledge about products to help peers, Before you get too far in your plan, be sure to ask: How does this involve our existing fan base? And, never forget the value of TRUE BLUE FANS!
Keys to Fan List Success
I. Own Your ListWe can’t say this enough to musicians. Having MySpace or Facebook friends is not a real
fan list. Same with Twitter. They are all great services and each has a different purpose,
but how much of the actual real info do you have of your ‘fans/friends/followers’ on
those places? Can you easily view a list of everyone’s real name, email address, location,
phone number, etc? The answer is NO, yet many musicians forget this because the
service is the hot internet site of the moment and everyone says “Oh, you need to be on
here.”Your band should have a presence on these social networks (more on that in a later
post), but you need to use these services to feed people to YOUR fan list. Fan
Relationship Management services like KSe give clients html code that let them
put a sign-up form on their MySpace, Facebook, website, etc, so their fans can sign up
direct to the band’s own list.Once you have built your own list, you can do amazing things with it that you couldn’t
do otherwise…things like:• Targeting messages by zip code and radius (so you don’t need to blast your
whole list)• Scheduling messages to be sent at a certain time • Grouping fans based on custom criteria (street team, bloggers, groupies, etc) • Tracking your messages to see who opens, clicks, and much more• Tons of other cool features that save you time and build your career.II. Communicate Regularly Most musicians know they should regularly communicate with their fans, yet they are
often at a loss for things to say. We’re here to tell you that you shouldn’t be stuck on
what to say, but rather make sure you talk to your fans on a regular basis! Why do fans
sign-up for your list? To hear from you! Don’t be boring and only tell them about this show, that show, and your new album. Tell
them about YOU. They want to be fans of your music AND you as a person. Talk about
great movies you’ve seen recently. Talk about other artist’s albums you’ve recently
listened to. Come up with a “special” city of the week/month and explain why.When we look at the fan list size of artists who communicate regularly and artists who
don’t, it becomes very clear. The artists who talk to their fans regularly (whether it is
once every two weeks or once a month) have lists that are constantly growing and have
better interaction (opens/clicks). Artists who send an email every few months because
they have “nothing to talk about” are ones whose list sizes either stay flat or actually
decrease.Make sure to use a service, that includes a “Forward to a Friend” link in
the footer of every campaign. This lets fans easily pass your message on to their fans
and services like ours will allow you to track who is doing it. It’s a best practice to take
this info and reward those people that are spreading the word about you. They’re likely
your most avid fans, and rewarding them will incentives to continue to promote
you and your music among their own groups of friends. III. Include Links to Places You Want Fans to GoThis one seems obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many bands do not include a link
to their website in each message. Not only should you be including a link to your
website, but you should have a link to your MySpace/ Facebook/ Twitter/etc profile,
your merch store, a place where they can download your music, your tour dates, and
anything else that’s important. You’ll be surprised how much more traffic you get when
you start including links.A service like ours will make it as easily as possible for clients to include links in their
campaigns. For example, by checking one box, you can automatically include links to buy
your music. We also track every link you put in a campaign, so you can see EXACTLY who
clicked on which link in your message, and when they clicked. This is very valuable info,
and will help you target future campaigns to specific people based on their past actions.
IV. Go ProfessionalDon’t try and do it yourself using outlook/ apple mail/ gmail/ msn/ hotmail/ yahoo/ aol/
entourage/ custom server scripts. Unless your core skills are computer programming,
email/mobile deliver-ability, and related things, you are probably better off leaving the
fan list management to a professional service and focusing on what you do best: making
and playing music. There are a few providers out there (some suck, some are great), and
obviously we’re partial to KSE for a band’s fan relationship management needs.
You want something that’s simple, intuitive, and will help you to easily and efficiently
maximize that relationship between your fans and your music. And you don’t need to
pay an arm and leg these days to get that.
Do People In Heaven Know What Happens on Earth?
By Billy Graham
Q: Do people in heaven know what happens on earth? If so, wouldn't it make them sad to see all our suffering and evil? Isn't heaven supposed to be a happy place? This puzzles me. -- J.McF.
A: Yes, heaven is a happy place -- far more joyous than anything we will ever experience on earth. The reason is because in heaven we'll be safe forever from all evil, and our focus will be on Christ. The Bible, however, does suggest that those who are presently in heaven may be aware of what is happening on earth. In Hebrews, for example, the author pictures a great arena filled with those who have gone to heaven before us, and are now cheering us on: "Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses... let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" (Hebrews 12:1). When Jesus' heavenly glory shone through on the Mount of the Transfiguration as He met with Moses and Elijah, they spoke about events that would soon be taking place on earth (see Luke 9:30-31). Does this mean those who have gone before us into heaven are sad because of what takes place here? The Bible doesn't answer all our questions about heaven -- but we can be certain that there is no sadness among heaven's inhabitants. They see more of God's plan than we do, and they rejoice that some day Satan will be defeated and God's victory over evil will be complete. The most important question you can ask about heaven, however, is this: Are you certain you will go there when you die? You can be, by trusting Christ as your Savior and committing your life to Him as your Lord. Put your faith in Him today.Amanda Palmer Shares Her Secrets
Watch the video after the jump.
THE SETUP: Last Thursday, November 19, Amanda Palmer played a show at The State Theatre, an 800-capacity independent venue in Fall's Church Virginia, ten minutes from downtown D.C. I provide marketing and digital business development consulting for The State.
The State aims to offer a great live music experience, affordable tickets, food and beverages to concertgoers. Parking is free. Some venues pursue an alternate event revenue model where the customer is charged high prices and/ or service fees for all of the above; this approach increases margins and funds aggressive radio, TV and print advertising. Because of The State's fan-friendly approach to doing business, we have to be creative in generating awareness for events. The first step in this is always motivating the artist's fan base via their email list, website & social network presences. We work ideas thru their management and/or label, although nine out of ten times, the label does not get substantially involved in marketing a show. This is somewhat understandable, as labels usually don't make money directly from an artist touring. So we either get artist management on board with an idea, or it doesn't happen. Often, artists and management express surprise that a venue is driving these kinds of marketing efforts.
The ideas we present are fairly simple, and usually involve some kind of fan-artist interaction that is internet driven. Once we settle on the idea, we ask the artist/management to tell their fans about it via their various web presences - Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and their official site.
The State also sends out a weekly email to subscribers about events where such promotions are highlighted. Often, we look to partner with 3rd party music or entertainment oriented sites that are relevant to the artist, outside of the DC market. Sometimes, it's a genre-based site, or perhaps a fan-run blog. Really, what we're trying to do is encourage word-of-mouth awareness at a grassroots level - what used to be referred to in the music business as "field marketing". It's simple: if the idea is good, and the artist works with the venue to promote it to their fanbase, you sell more tickets, and fans come away feeling positive about the artist and the venue. Done properly, awareness for the entire tour is generated.
To do this effectively, you need an artist that is enthusiastic about engaging with fans. When we booked Amanda we felt she'd be more willing to think outside the box than most, as she's been highly vocal about artist/ fan engagement offsetting the diminishing role of record labels. We contacted Michael Hausman Artist Management, who represents Amanda, and pitched a fan conference. The idea was simple: on the night of her performance, Amanda would give a free chat about her experiences in the music business for ticketholders, and answer their questions. The chat would take place at the venue prior to the opening act's performance. We hoped this would be a win for everyone involved; we'd sell more tickets because we had something unique. The early start time of the event meant fans would come thru the door much earlier than normal, they'd have more time to eat and drink and buy Amanda Palmer merch, and the fans themselves would win because the chat was a value-add to the ticket. We got a positive reply from the Amanda camp almost immediately. Hypebot was our primary online marketing partner, soliciting questions from their global readership and generating online press. We also asked our Twitter followers to submit questions, and Amanda Palmer tweeted about the event as well. This was all done in addition to our standard traditional offline promotion (print, flyers, etc.)
When I enthusiastically mentioned to colleagues in the music business that I'd be interviewing Amanda on the night, some were surprisingly negative. "She'd be nowhere without Roadrunner Records", "she's the Queen of T.M.I" - stuff along those lines. One or two felt that the hype around her was unwarranted, relative to her commercial viability - "none of her ego-driven social networking bullshit sells records, the Emperor has no clothes." I have to admit, I follow her Twitter page sporadically, and wondered about the benefit of some of the posts. Information can become white noise, even to the most die-hard fans, unless it is delivered in a measured fashion, and Amanda Palmer didn't seem to have any filter. I really didn't know what to expect when she showed up - how much of her public persona, her "24/7 disclosure" was REAL, and how much was artifice? We'd soon find out.
- a class act.
No one other than Amanda Palmer and her label know the details of why their relationship broke down, and of course, we only had her for one night. But I have to say - I don't get it. This is an artist with a hugely loyal fanbase, who works her ass off, who personally uses all the modern tools available to grow and retain her audience, who puts on an incredibly musical show with no autotune, lip synching or any other bullshit crutches. Someone who has time for every fan, who helps develop worthy upcoming artists, who has visibility on the upswing, who is tremendously clever - and the record industry can't support or build on this? Palmer, who seems to bear no grudge towards any record label, was stoic about it, basically stating that labels just aren't set up to support artists like her anymore, that they can't help. That they're too focused on the selling records part of it, they still haven't adapted.
There have been tons of articles written about how the labels are dinosaurs, soon to be extinct, to the point where that conversation is not interesting anymore. If you want to see something really interesting, go to an Amanda Palmer show. I say this especially to those who may be doubtful of her sincerity, wary of the value of her online efforts, cynical about the attention she generates for herself. See her perform, look at the audience, observe the relationship, the give and take. See how much work she puts into it. Forget the technology, social networking, Twitter, 360 deals and all the other baggage of the "new music business". Go to an Amanda Palmer show, and observe. You'll learn a lot more about where things are going in music than you will by reading articles.......including this one!
Special thanks to Hypebot and reader Kevin J Ryan for his question, and also to Michael Hausman Artist Management for their help in putting this event together. The following Youtube videos were shot by one of our Twitter winners, Wojo4hitz.Are You Grateful for Everything?
Gratitude and humility send signals to all who meet us that we’re all connected to something larger than life itself.
MOG $5 Music Subscriptions To Launch Dec 2
MOG’s premium music service, MOG All Access, will go live at 7 AM PST December 2nd. MOG promises a deep on-demand library for $5 a month with free trials offered at launch. Having grown skeptical that real revenue can be generated by free ad supported music services like Spotify, all four major label groups have signed on.
MOG's $5 price is a major selling point, but struggling Napster matches MOG's price with a 3 month commitment and adds in free mp3's. What could set MOG apart is its interface; and a sneak preview shows a design that borrows heavily from iTunes and Spoitfy with strong playlist and music discovery features.
Watch the MOG intro video:
Amanda Palmer Shares Her Secrets
Watch the video after the jump.
THE SETUP: Last Thursday, November 19, Amanda Palmer played a show at The State Theatre, an 800-capacity independent venue in Fall's Church Virginia, ten minutes from downtown D.C. I provide marketing and digital business development consulting for The State.
The State aims to offer a great live music experience, affordable tickets, food and beverages to concertgoers. Parking is free. Some venues pursue an alternate event revenue model where the customer is charged high prices and/ or service fees for all of the above; this approach increases margins and funds aggressive radio, TV and print advertising. Because of The State's fan-friendly approach to doing business, we have to be creative in generating awareness for events. The first step in this is always motivating the artist's fan base via their email list, website & social network presences. We work ideas thru their management and/or label, although nine out of ten times, the label does not get substantially involved in marketing a show. This is somewhat understandable, as labels usually don't make money directly from an artist touring. So we either get artist management on board with an idea, or it doesn't happen. Often, artists and management express surprise that a venue is driving these kinds of marketing efforts.
The ideas we present are fairly simple, and usually involve some kind of fan-artist interaction that is internet driven. Once we settle on the idea, we ask the artist/management to tell their fans about it via their various web presences - Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and their official site.
The State also sends out a weekly email to subscribers about events where such promotions are highlighted. Often, we look to partner with 3rd party music or entertainment oriented sites that are relevant to the artist, outside of the DC market. Sometimes, it's a genre-based site, or perhaps a fan-run blog. Really, what we're trying to do is encourage word-of-mouth awareness at a grassroots level - what used to be referred to in the music business as "field marketing". It's simple: if the idea is good, and the artist works with the venue to promote it to their fanbase, you sell more tickets, and fans come away feeling positive about the artist and the venue. Done properly, awareness for the entire tour is generated.
To do this effectively, you need an artist that is enthusiastic about engaging with fans. When we booked Amanda we felt she'd be more willing to think outside the box than most, as she's been highly vocal about artist/ fan engagement offsetting the diminishing role of record labels. We contacted Michael Hausman Artist Management, who represents Amanda, and pitched a fan conference. The idea was simple: on the night of her performance, Amanda would give a free chat about her experiences in the music business for ticketholders, and answer their questions. The chat would take place at the venue prior to the opening act's performance. We hoped this would be a win for everyone involved; we'd sell more tickets because we had something unique. The early start time of the event meant fans would come thru the door much earlier than normal, they'd have more time to eat and drink and buy Amanda Palmer merch, and the fans themselves would win because the chat was a value-add to the ticket. We got a positive reply from the Amanda camp almost immediately. Hypebot was our primary online marketing partner, soliciting questions from their global readership and generating online press. We also asked our Twitter followers to submit questions, and Amanda Palmer tweeted about the event as well. This was all done in addition to our standard traditional offline promotion (print, flyers, etc.)When I enthusiastically mentioned to colleagues in the music business that I'd be interviewing Amanda on the night, some were surprisingly negative. "She'd be nowhere without Roadrunner Records", "she's the Queen of T.M.I" - stuff along those lines. One or two felt that the hype around her was unwarranted, relative to her commercial viability - "none of her ego-driven social networking bullshit sells records, the Emperor has no clothes." I have to admit, I follow her Twitter page sporadically, and wondered about the benefit of some of the posts. Information can become white noise, even to the most die-hard fans, unless it is delivered in a measured fashion, and Amanda Palmer didn't seem to have any filter. I really didn't know what to expect when she showed up - how much of her public persona, her "24/7 disclosure" was REAL, and how much was artifice? We'd soon find out.
- a class act.
No one other than Amanda Palmer and her label know the details of why their relationship broke down, and of course, we only had her for one night. But I have to say - I don't get it. This is an artist with a hugely loyal fanbase, who works her ass off, who personally uses all the modern tools available to grow and retain her audience, who puts on an incredibly musical show with no autotune, lip synching or any other bullshit crutches. Someone who has time for every fan, who helps develop worthy upcoming artists, who has visibility on the upswing, who is tremendously clever - and the record industry can't support or build on this? Palmer, who seems to bear no grudge towards any record label, was stoic about it, basically stating that labels just aren't set up to support artists like her anymore, that they can't help. That they're too focused on the selling records part of it, they still haven't adapted.
There have been tons of articles written about how the labels are dinosaurs, soon to be extinct, to the point where that conversation is not interesting anymore. If you want to see something really interesting, go to an Amanda Palmer show. I say this especially to those who may be doubtful of her sincerity, wary of the value of her online efforts, cynical about the attention she generates for herself. See her perform, look at the audience, observe the relationship, the give and take. See how much work she puts into it. Forget the technology, social networking, Twitter, 360 deals and all the other baggage of the "new music business". Go to an Amanda Palmer show, and observe. You'll learn a lot more about where things are going in music than you will by reading articles.......including this one!
Special thanks to Hypebot and reader Kevin J Ryan for his question, and also to Michael Hausman Artist Management for their help in putting this event together. The following Youtube videos were shot by one of our Twitter winners, Wojo4hitz.Monday, November 30, 2009
Sending Effective Email Newsletters
As an artist, there is no end to the number of social media outlets where you can send
updates to fans through. From Twitter, to Facebook, to MySpace, it’s hard to judge
which networks your fans pay attention to the most (let alone the time it takes to keep
info consistent across all of them!) Email newsletters are different because not only has
email consistently proven to be the most effective direct marketing channel to fans, but
email also offers artists the ability to better target each fan.Writing effective email newsletters can be tricky though. So, I want to share some
thoughts on what makes a great email newsletter vs. a boring one that fans are going to
not pay attention to.First, the most important thing, whether you are releasing a new song/album,
promoting an upcoming show, or just want to say hello to your fans, is to set a goal for
what you want fans to take away from your newsletter. In the marketing world we call
this a “Call to Action” and it basically means you've got you're fans attention for about
30 seconds (at best) so you want to make it as clear and obvious as possible what
exactly you want fans to do once their done reading your newsletter. Examples of calls‐to‐action could be a link to iTunes to encourage fans to buy your new
single, a link to buy tickets to a show (even better if it is targeted to their area), or even
just a link to a YouTube video of your music that you want them to go watch. Your
newsletters call‐to‐action can be whatever you want it to be, but make sure you are
only putting in 1 or 2 so fans don't get confused – and ALWAYS be sure that you are
making it easy and obvious for the fan to understand the action you want them to take!
Now that you know you need one or two clear "Calls to Action" in your newsletter, it's
time to cover how you can encourage fans to read your whole newsletter, and thus
really get to know what it is you want them to know/do... Effective email campaigns strike an important balance between text and visuals (ie.
photos, graphics, etc). Tons of boring text is going to lose the attention of your fans fast,
and an overwhelming collage of visuals may get their attention but really isn't going to
help you reinforce your "Calls to Action". As such, you need to find a happy medium
between text and visuals. Pictures from the road and links to videos express much more
than a block of text, and can be skimmed through quickly, which is good ‐ and when you
pair these kinds of visuals/links with text that gives context then your newsletter is sure
to be a winner!