Marketing

How often have you thought, "I'm really good at what I do, I shouldn't have to market myself." In all honesty you are probably quite good at what you do, but the problem is that not enough people know about you and like most people you are reluctant to talk about your accomplishments. "It feels like bragging," you think. "Doesn't it make me seem unprofessional?"

If thoughts like these often cross your mind, ask yourself this - who are the biggest names in the music business? As musicians, who might be considered unquestioned experts, those with maximum credibility? Now, how did you get to know about those people's work? Did you hear them on the radio see them on TV, read an article or book about them, hear them interviewed, learn about them on the web? Or perhaps you were told about them by others who had seen them perform.

The point is that these well-known musicians became well-known because they showcased themselves, usually in multiple ways. They shared stories, examples, and ideas about the work they had been doing this with a wider audience than just their friends and family. You know about their work because they showed it off. I'll bet it never occurred to you to call them unprofessional for doing it.

Showing off your work doesn't have to sound like, "Aren't I great?" You are a performer that is what you do! There are a host of very dignified and appropriate ways to let a wider audience know how good you are without ever saying so. Here are a few you might try.

Writing songs - Putting your expertise in writing and sharing it your target audience is a powerful and very professional way to let more people know about your unique talents.

Performing - Appearing in front of an audience allows you to perform your material with three different audiences, the people who attend your gig, the people you specifically invite, but can't attend, and the people you tell about it before and after.

Media interviews - Landing interviews is not that hard to do if you remember to start small. Begin by approaching easy targets like newsletters, (start your own) local gig magazines, newspapers, and local radio.

Testimonials - Whenever you do a good performance, ask the venue to write you a simple thank you note describing what you did make it a memorable gig. Then make their words available on your web site, or other marketing materials. Let them tell others about how good you were, and you won't have to say it yourself.

Building a portfolio - Collect photos, examples, and other evidence of your performances and display them on your web site, or in a marketing kit.

Creating products - Packaging your work into merchandise that audiences can take home and listen to gives them a compelling way to keep you in mind.

In short pick just one of these ideas to pursue and make a plan to showcase what you can do for a wider audience. If you truly want to spend less effort on marketing yourself, start letting your prospective audiences know how good you really are.

Acknowledgement:

www.aandronline.com