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The Power of
Personality in your Music
Promotion
by Bob Baker
©2008
When
you promote yourself via e-mail or with the words you
use on your web site, you have a choice. You can be
straight-forward and matter-of-fact (also known as bland
and boring). Or you can communicate with
pizzazz. |
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Case in point: My friend Gregg
Hopkins plays in a band called The Melroys. He could
have sent a run-of-the-mill e-mail to promote a recent
show, including the rudimentary club name, address,
phone number, etc. Instead, he sent
this:
Git
yerself down to the Broadway Oyster Bar tonight where
The MELROYS will present our little Rock and Roll
fandango. The food is delicious, the adult beverages
are cool and refreshing, the music will be swinging,
and you'll fit right in with the other beautiful
people there. Showtime is 9-1. See ya
there!
Gregg Hopkins
TheMelroys.com
P.S.
Any person peeved by perpetual pestering such as this
posting will be promptly purged from this list upon
proper petition.
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Ya gotta admit, this short message is a fun
read -- which leads one to assume that a Melroys
live show will be a fun event. And that's smart
marketing. (The only thing I might add is an
address and phone number of the venue for those
fans who might not know where it
is.) | |
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So
don't be afraid to show your personality. In fact, go
out of your way to do something fun or different or
creative any time you communicate with the public about
your music. Got it? Good.
Use Hypnotic
Descriptions
Here's
another example from a longtime musical pal, Michael
Schaerer. In this recent e-mail, he does a great job of
painting word pictures of the venues he plays and
describing what it means to him:
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We'll be at Felix's starting around 9:30
Saturday night ... if it's anything like last week
was, it'll be a full-fledged rock concert ... and
it'll sound better than most of them too! It's
really like seeing your favorite band in your
living room. So intimate and powerful at the same
time.
Come early for a fine dinner, or eat late
... the kitchen is open 'till close, baby. You
really need to come out to Felix's and see why
it's so popular! Call 'em at 314-645-6565. Felix's
rules. Period.
On Sunday, Amy Miller and I close out my
work week at the Tin Can Tavern on the south side.
We play 9:00 to 11:30 or so and we like playing
together so much that we usually have to be told
to quit! Great new songs, and Amy just sounds like
an angel ... amazing. Please attend.
www.TinCanTavern.com or 314-865-3003.
Last week
was a great week for me. So many people came and
enjoyed my music that I was overwhelmed. Thank
you, really. It means everything to me.
Michael
www.msgstl.com |
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This
example is so powerful for many reasons. The way Michael
describes the places he plays, you can't help but want
to go and experience the vibe yourself. And you know the
venue owners have got to love the ringing endorsements,
too.
Finally, as Michael illustrates in his last
sentence, always remember to thank your fans. They're
the reason you're doing more than just playing music in
an empty room. Without people to listen, enjoy and
support you, your creative process would be a lot less
satisfying. So be sure to regularly express your
gratitude.
Bob
Baker's Best Selling Handbook
Your Comfy, Cozy
Computer
The
challenge when promoting yourself online is this:
There's only so much human warmth you can get from a
computer. Anything you can do to make your online
communication more warm and fuzzy will make you stand
out and be more appreciated.
No one
does this better than Derek Sivers and CD Baby. If
you've ever purchased music from cdbaby.com, you've
probably received this shipping confirmation e-mail --
one of the classic "power of personality" messages
you're likely to see:
Your
CD has been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with
sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a
satin pillow.
A
team of 50 employees inspected your CD and polished it
to make sure it was in the best possible condition
before mailing.
Our
packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush
fell over the crowd as he put your CD into the finest
gold-lined box that money can buy.
We
all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the
whole party marched down the street to the post office
where the entire town of Portland waved 'Bon Voyage!'
to your package, on its way to you, in our private CD
Baby jet on this day (date inserted here).
I
hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. We
sure did. Your picture is on our wall as 'Customer of
the Year'. We're all exhausted but can't wait for you
to come back to CDBABY.COM!!
Thank you once again,
Derek Sivers, president, CD Baby
the little
CD store with the best new independent
music
Now
that's powerful .. and effective! Think twice before
sending your fans another e-mail message. And always
remember the power of personality!
. |
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about the author >>
Bob Baker is
the author of "Guerrilla Music Marketing
Handbook,"
"Unleash the Artist Within" and "Branding
Yourself Online." He also publishes The Buzz Factor, a
web site and e-zine that deliver marketing tips,
self-promotion ideas and other empowering messages to
music people of all kinds. Get your FREE subscription to
Bob's e-zine and a look at his great resources for
advancing your music career
here.
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