The Power of Having a Musical Focus

by Bob Baker
Focus. It's not just something you do with a camera. The kind of focus I'm talking about can be one of the most powerful weapons you use to attract fans. Through the magic of focus, you can transform your musical identity from one that is meaningless and forgettable to one that screams for attention.

When you have a strong musical focus, you position yourself as an artist that fills a specific niche and caters to a well-defined audience. The only thing is, most artists don't do this. The average songwriter, for instance, in an effort to craft a hit, creates songs that sound similar to what's being played on the radio. They write about love gone wrong or teen frustration or dealing with lustful urges ... all themes that have proven themselves popular with the masses.

There's nothing wrong with this approach. There will always be a need for predictable pop songs. However, since thousands of songwriters are striving for the same type of hit, your struggle to stand out and be noticed will be all uphill.

To stand out -- especially as an independent artist -- you have to resist those well-traveled paths and find a distinct road that's all your own. Sure, you won't appeal to as wide a range of people, but the fans who do gravitate toward you will be cult-like in their admiration.

Singer/songwriter Brad Belt is a good example of an artist who is using focus to his advantage. "A few years ago I was in Nashville at a music conference. In one of the sessions, a songwriter on the panel mentioned how important it is to write about topics you know a lot about. It got me thinking."

Belt continues, "Since I love golf and play as often as my wife lets me, I figured maybe I should write a golf song or two. I started taking the humorous situations that have happened to me and others while playing and pieced together some golf songs."

After a couple of years of doing this without any particular game plan, Belt realized that he had assembled enough golf songs to do a CD. He did some research on the Internet and found that very little had been done in the genre of golf music. He recorded and mixed the songs in his home studio. Before long, Belt's new release, called Golf Is a Cussin' Game, was born. It features 10 original songs that portray the humorous side of golf and those who play it.

"I had my CD release party at the local country club, where I performed some of the golf songs and told a few jokes," Belt reports. "About 80 people showed up and I sold about 800 dollars worth of CDs and cassettes. I sell them locally at coffee house shows, at golf events and on the Internet at my web site (URL?), Amazon.com, cdbaby.com and cdstreet.com. I'm looking for more golf events to do shows at. If I can establish a reputation, I think I can sell a lot of these CDs. I think niche marketing is a great idea."

Why does this offbeat angle work? Wouldn't Belt have better luck releasing a CD filled with songs that everybody can relate to? Isn't he limiting his reach by having such a narrow range of fans -- golfers?

Not at all.

There are a million other artists clamoring for the attention of people who enjoy radio-friendly pop songs. But there are very few, if any, artists who cater to golfers exclusively. In essence, there's no competition. And it doesn't hurt that golfers can be easily reached through country clubs and golf course events, that golfers are often passionate about their sport, and that they tend to have disposable income to spend on recreational purchases.

Marc Gunn, of the Brobdingnagian Bards, has a similar story. His ensemble performs Celtic music -- traditional Irish and Scottish folk songs. Recently, the Bards found that they were being invited to play at a growing number of Renaissance festivals. These events celebrate the culture of 16th century Europe (think Robin Hood era).

"At long last, we are focusing our music even more by putting out our fourth album, called A Faire to Remember, which features our favorite Renaissance faire songs," says Gunn. "It took a while for us to develop this focus, though. When we started, we just recorded music that our fans loved. But more and more fairs are hiring us, so we decided to focus our music by having a CD specifically catering to faires."

Armed with a CD filled entirely with Renaissance faire music, the Brobdingnagian Bards will surely get hired at many (and perhaps most) of these events. By performing smack dab in the middle of hundreds of Renaissance-era fans, the group stands to sell a lot of CDs to this niche market.

Having a musical focus means having musical impact. So ... what's your focus?
 

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 FREE subscription to Bob's e-zine by visiting http://TheBuzzFactor.com today.

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 FREE subscription to Bob's e-zine by visiting http://TheBuzzFactor.com today.

The One-Dollar Music Marketing Tool

by Bob Baker

Traditionally they come in yellow. But these days you can find them in orange, green, pink, blue and all the other colors of the rainbow. In school you probably used highlighters to flag important passages in textbooks. Or maybe you use them now to note meaningful paragraphs in your favorite how-to titles.

I'm talking about highlighters. And in case you didn't know it already, you can also put this inexpensive writing instrument to good use in marketing your music. Here are three creative ways to do just that:

1) Highlight important facts on the outside of your mailing package

I once received a press kit on the band Earth Crisis, which was playing an upcoming date in my hometown. On the outside of the mailing envelope, the publicist had handwritten the band's name, the venue name and date of performance in dark ink. Then she highlighted these notes in bright green.

The editors and reviewers who receive packages like this know in an instant what they're about and why they are timely. Especially with regard to media people who already knew of the band, this simple technique helped the group avoid the slush pile.

2) Highlight pertinent dates on your tour schedule

If your band is on tour and promoting a string of dates along the way, you definitely want to notify the media in each city where the group performs. Some publicists craft a separate press release for each city, which if fine. But other bands take a more economical approach: They list every city, venue and date on one sheet, which is inserted into every press kit.

The one-sheet system is fine and dandy, but editors still have to scan over the document in search of the relevance to their specific city. And quite often, these packages are sent to music media in cities not even on the tour schedule - which wastes editors' time searching for a concert date that's not even there.

Which brings us back to a music marketing rule I've hammered home many times in the past: Make it easy for media people to give you free exposure. The harder you make them work, the less recognition you'll get.

The easy solution: Highlight the date and venue that's pertinent to that city. That way, the line will stand out in the overall listing of tour dates. This will take a few more minutes to coordinate when putting together your press kit mailings. But the payoff could be substantial.

3) Highlight standout quotes within your press clippings

Hawaii's Crash the Luau Records recently sent a promo package for the band Tone Deaf Teens. Five of the act's most favorable reviews and write-ups were interestingly arranged on one appealing page.

In addition to that, the most positive and descriptive sentences within each review were highlighted in yellow. It allowed someone reading about the band for the first time to get a quick grasp of what this group was about.

You didn't have to wade through multiple paragraphs and exposition that didn't matter. The highlighted sections forced you to go right to the heart of what Tone Deaf Teens is all about.

Using a colored highlighter to draw attention to the important points you want to get across to the media is a simple but powerful way to stand out.

Why not go out right now and invest a buck or two in your music marketing campaign?
 

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 FREE subscription to Bob's e-zine by visiting http://TheBuzzFactor.com today.

I recently read an online posting in which someone was venting about the apparent apathy of indie music people. He wrote "People tend to be lazy and greedy -- a sour combination. Many people aren't aware of these traits in themselves."

Here are some thoughts on this topic:

I totally agree with that statement. People naturally do take the easy road and think primarily of themselves. That not only includes indie musicians and small label people, it also includes music industry big shots and media people of all kinds.

We can b itch about the sorry state of human beings or we can learn to work with it.

How?

By doing these two things:

1) Make it easy for people to help you.

I used to be a magazine editor/publisher. Like many indie media people, I was overworked and underpaid. Far too many bands sent out sloppy packages without focus and then expected me to do all the work to give them exposure. The bands who gave me what I needed, came up with interesting story angles and made it easy to cover them usually got press (as long as they had a story worth telling).

It's no different with your fans and people in other areas of the music biz. Make it simple and easy for people to get on your band wagon, order from you, etc... and make them look good in the process. Which leads to...

2) Let people know up front what's in it for them.

If all you're doing is asking for handouts and taking, it's no wonder you're coming up short. Use other people's self-interest to your advantage and let them know what you can do for them.

Most bands who try to book gigs talk about how great their music is and how many CDs they've sold. Does that matter to the agent or club owner? Hopefully it does, but usually all he/she cares about is the cash register ring at the end of the night.

I once booked several solo shows by sending out a simple post card with a large headline that read: "I want to help you sell more beer!" Many of the bar and cafe owners who received it were impressed that an artist actually kept their needs in mind. It hit their self-interest square on the head ... and profited as a result.

The bottom line is: Accept the fact that people are human and use their tendencies of laziness and greed to your advantage. Take control of the circumstances, don't be controlled by them.
 

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 FREE subscription to Bob's e-zine by visiting http://TheBuzzFactor.com today.

It's sad to say, but most music marketers approach advertising in a shoot-from-the-hip, spontaneous manner. That quality is great for jamming, but it does little to make the best use of your ad dollars. Whether you're designing an ad for a print magazine or web site, here are six principles you should use to generate real results from your advertising efforts.

1) Have an objective or purpose for your ad

If you're running an ad just because everyone else is, or because you have a new release coming out and it's the thing to do... slow down. Beyond that, what's your real objective for advertising? Is it to get people to go to stores and buy your new CD, add people to your mailing, solicit mail order sales of your recordings, promote a live show? Don't expect an ad to work miracles and accomplish multiple objectives. Pick one purpose for any ad, then make sure the design of it works toward that end.

2) Remain consistent with your theme and design

Choose a look and attitude that will stay the same for weeks, months, maybe even years to come. Having a consistent design and feel to your ads burns an impression of your music into the minds of consumers. And that's exactly what you want to do!

3) Start small

Don't think your ad has to be bigger than the other guy's (or gal's). A lot of marketers let their egos steer their ad decisions, not rational thought. A series of small ads run regularly over time will have 10 times the impact of one or two full-blown, full-page ads that people never see again.

4) Make the offer prominent

After you decide on the marketing objective for your ad, create a corresponding offer that will inspire readers to take action. Examples: a free catalog, a $3 discount, free CDs for the first 50 people, etc. Then make sure that offer is prominent in your ad. Don't bury it like some of the ads mentioned above.

5) Stick with a budget

Figure out how much per month or per quarter you can budget for advertising and then stick to your plan. There are two reasons:

1.) So you don't go nuts and blow your whole bank roll on advertising, and ...

2) So you don't get side-tracked and skip advertising when you need to be.

As you may know, I don't think you always have to be running display ads. But during those months when it's in your best interest, make sure there's a system in place so you don't miss publication deadlines and lose out on the exposure.

6) Always include complete contact info

There's no excuse for leaving out your address, phone, fax, e-mail and web site info. If you have them, list them!

Before you rush to slap together another ad, look over these music advertising tips. You'll be glad you did.
 

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 FREE subscription to Bob's e-zine by visiting http://TheBuzzFactor.com today.

As you surely know, one of the primary ways to present your band or record label to the industry is through a solid press kit. I've spent a great deal of time over the years preaching about the art of crafting effective bios, cover letters, press releases and more. Of course, those tools provide an excellent way for media people to READ about your music, but they still have to HEAR it to be truly sold.

With that idea in mind, here are four tips to help you get your promo kit noticed and your music heard by the media:

1) Send CDs More Than Cassettes

After having received many thousands of packages over the years, I can tell you that CDs are by far the format of choice. And for all the obvious reasons: sound quality, convenience and the ease of cuing up individual tracks. Some time, just for fun, pop in a cassette you're not familiar with and try finding the beginning of the second song ... then the third song. It's frustrating and time consuming. So you can imagine how thrilled overworked media people are when they have to awkwardly skip through a tape to get a feel for a new release.

Note: If you think everyone receiving your press kit is going to play your recording all the way through, guess again. Most of them will breeze through it to determine if your album is worth a more in-depth listen. CDs make this process infinitely easier. And that's your job: to make it as easy as possible for people to give you press, radio airplay, paid gigs and more.

2) Prioritize Who Gets What

If you want to reach a lot of media sources and simply can't afford to send everyone CDs, do this: Send your CDs to the high-priority contacts and places most likely to respond. Send cassettes to the rest. You can also have a third category of lower-priority contacts to which you simply send, for instance, your bio and a photo. In the cover letter that goes with them, ask the recipient to contact you if they want a free review copy. That way, you're only sending your CDs to the people who really want them.

3) Take Off the Shrink Wrap

It may seem like a minor thing, but it does take some effort to pry off that impenetrable plastic that surrounds new CDs and cassettes. Imagine being pressed for time and having to wrestle with a dozen (or more) of these babies at one sitting. Again, make it easier for people to enjoy your music and you will be rewarded!

4) Include Complete Contact Info on Everything

I'll admit it, I'm a contact information freak. If you're going to be a lean, mean, independent music-marketing machine, you must do everything you can to get people (both industry folks and fans) to connect with you. Sending out your press kit and then expecting people to go to work figuring out how to get in touch with you is pure idiocy.

Cover letters get separated from bios. Photos get removed from press releases. J-cards drift away from the cassettes they identify. Put your contact info on everything! Think of your music marketing tools as frisky puppies that love to break from the leash and run away. They need identification tags so the people who find them know who they belong to.

I hope these ideas motivate you to make it easier for others to listen to your music and help you succeed.
 

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 FREE subscription to Bob's e-zine by visiting http://TheBuzzFactor.com today.

Different bands have different ways of coming up with promotional strategies. Many bands take a look at how their favorite successful band is promoting itself... then borrow some of those tactics to apply to their own marketing campaign.

There's nothing wrong with that. It's perfectly acceptable to model the steps others have taken to move up the ladder.

However, you do run the risk of blending in with the mass of bands trying to get ahead.

To stand out, you must take a fresh approach and do something different from what everyone else is doing. But you don't have to reinvent the wheel. In fact, I suggest that you still borrow successful marketing techniques -- only you borrow them from non-music fields. Good ideas are everywhere. Sometimes, the best ones are not in the obvious places.

Here's an example. Enterprise Rent-A-Car is one of the biggest and most successful rental car companies. Enterprise became successful because it catered to a specific niche within the industry -- insurance replacement vehicles. If you're involved in an accident or your car goes into the shop, you need a rental car to drive until yours is fixed. And that's the type of rental upon which Enterprise built its empire.

So what high-tech marketing technique do you think Enterprise uses to get that business? The answer: donuts. That's right, employees from local branches regularly visit repair shops in their area and bring free donuts for the shop workers. It's simple, it's cheap and it keeps Enterprise at the top of the list when repair shop customers need rental cars.

Could you borrow this tactic to promote your music? How much would you be appreciated if you took free donuts (or pizza, candy, etc.) to your favorite record store, nightclub, radio station or music publication?

From now on, be on the lookout for marketing ideas from any and all sources -- hair salons, dentists, dance troupes, fast food joints, plumbers, you name it.

Looking at the music industry for new ideas is fine. But don't overlook the wealth of ideas you can borrow from other industries as well.
 

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 FREE subscription to Bob's e-zine by visiting http://TheBuzzFactor.com today.

Whether it's the second gunman on the grassy knoll, the alien mystery at Roswell or what really is hidden within the high-security confines of Area 51... conspiracy theories abound. Many of us are amused by the speculation, while hard core buffs examine every nuance looking for clues to support their version of the story.

If you'll notice, all of these conspiracy theories involve some type of dastardly deed or cover-up. Someone is out to brainwash us or hide the facts from the public. After all, "the truth is out there," according to X-Files scripture. I never seem to hear people suspecting, for instance, a conspiracy by furniture salesman to stuff money into the nooks and crannies of the couches they sell. Yet I always find change under the cushions when I clean. Hmm... maybe they're secretly... Oh, never mind.

There's another kind of conspiracy conjurer. You know the type. The artist, musician or writer who believes the deck has been stacked against him or that nobody will ever give her a break. "This town is just not artist-friendly," he/she proclaims. "This sucks. Why bother?"

To listen to these people, you'd think the radio stations, theatre groups, art galleries (or whatever venue applies) were all part of a sick joke, trying to obliterate creative growth. And just like the bigger conspiracy nuts, they find clues and plenty of ammo to support their claims.

"See, that guy never returned my call," they announce. "I can't buy a job in this town." Anything even remotely inconvenient that happens to them lends credence to the devious master plot.

Here's a fun little game that I challenge you to play. It's called the Inverse Conspiracy Game. For one entire day, I encourage you to go through the day believing wholeheartedly that there is a conspiracy involving you. Only with this Inverse Conspiracy, the whole world and everyone in it are involved in a conspiracy to help you succeed.

If you're familiar with the recent Jim Carey movie "The Truman Show," you know what I mean. In the film, everything that happens to the main character is a preplanned scene -- only he has no idea it's fabricated.

So for one day, imagine that everyone is pitching in on a secret mission to help you. There's a positive reason behind everything that happens to you. Even seemingly negative events are put into action in order to propel you toward a reward that's just around the corner. And it's your job to break the code and figure out exactly how the world intends for you to use what happens to your advantage.

True, this isn't your father's conspiracy theory. It will take some brain work to reorient your mental perspective -- especially to keep it up for an entire day. But just think how this shift in attitude might alter your progress. You'll be forced to view everything in a far more constructive light. And when bad things do happen, it will be your mission to find the hidden opportunity (instead of more reasons to stop trying to reach your creative goals).

Give this inverse conspiracy theory a try. You can always go back to looking for evil schemes and cover-ups. In the meantime, you just might discover an alien on a grassy knoll waiting to help you succeed.
 

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 FREE subscription to Bob's e-zine by visiting http://TheBuzzFactor.com today.