Music Success in 9 Weeks » Darryl Gregory Music

MSi9W – Week 6 (2nd ed.) ~ Newsletter and Fan Communication

Aug 052010

Week 5 (1st ed.) Week 6 (2nd ed.)

Week 5 has come around at just the right time! Newsletter time! Click here to check out this month’s issue and please sign up!

To begin I have to make a confession. Bless me Father for I have sinned – the SIN of SINS in marketing and direct mailing: I purged my email list. Yes… I did. I threw it in the trash, right-clicked on my mouse and it was gone. (OK you PR people, you can get up off the floor now…) Let me tell you why I did this and then you may judge me.

My wife and I moved to Connecticut after living in NYC for many years. While in the city, I had been “sort of playing out” as a solo singer-songwriter, playing a lot of trombone in small orchestras, I was active in a composer’s collective that wrote mostly for Indonesian Gamelan, I was writing for theater and I played bass as a sideman in a couple of rock bands. I was not Darryl Gregory the guy that plays “Hard-edged Country, with a soft heart” and I was not promoting myself as myself.

The names I collected for my list were occasional and varied. Some people liked my serious compositions and some liked my acoustic guitar playing and then some liked to come to the bars to see the band I was playing with. It was a mixed up list and when I trashed it I did so thinking that it couldn’t do anything for me. I wanted to start anew. I wanted a list with names of people that had come to see Darryl Gregory and then wanted to be connected to that entity.

A year ago I started on my songwriting and performing path with renewed energy and a more focused plan. The purging of my email list was just a reaction to my symptom of wanting to start all over.

But I didn’t throw everybody off the island. I kept close friends, a few true fans and some family on the list, but I that only added up to about 30 people. In the last 9-months I’ve grown the list to around 125. I know it will grow as I perform more and get better at collecting names, but I feel that I know what to do with those names once I get them because they signed up to be a part of the Darryl Gregory experience – I’m thinking like a business.

So now that I know who is on my list I can talk to them much more directly than before. The main way I communicate with this list is via my newsletter. I’ve put a lot of time into crafting my newsletter and I still feel like it’s a work in progress and I learn something each time I put it out. It goes out once a month whether I feel I have something to say or not, but usually I do (have something to say that is…).

The key to communication with fans, as I’ve learned from Ariel Hyatt and others, is to be a giver, not a getter. You should be a consistent bringer of news and tidbits about yourself and your services. You should also interact with the reader and ask them to do things for you and with you. This last bit is what I’m still working on and it was reinforced by reading Chapter 5 of MSi9W. After reading and re-reading Chapter 5, I decided to ask my readers help me out with my next CD project. I’ve invited them to following my blog postings about the CD process, listen and comment on song demos and help me decide which songs will go on the CD.

I always have my gig schedule and I start off with an introduction that I try to write as if I had that person sitting right in front of me. I always include a blurb about what I’m listening to on my iPod and I recycle my blog posts in my newsletter which is a great way to get readers to go back to my website. One huge piece of advice that I have for newsletter writing is to proofread and rewrite – yes I’m a teacher. I can’t believe all the mistakes I catch when I proof my writing.

One last thing about getting the emails out to your list: management software. I’ve tried several “list management” services to get the letter out and I’m still up in the air about them. Right now I’m using Constant Contact just because it is very easy to use and their templates were simple and direct. CC also has a good name collection system that allows me to give away my mp3’s via email. It’s drawback is the expense. There are cheaper management systems out there like ReverbNation, but they’re not as flexible nor do they have as many analytical tools as Constant Contact or Vertical Response or MailChimp. So you get what you pay for or don’t pay for. Here’s a good site to help you compare services www.email-marketing-options.com

Let me know what you think of this month’s newsletter and I’m off to Chapter 6.

MSi9W – Week 4.3 ~ Blogging, Podcasting, Twitter and Flickr… Oh My!

Music Success in 9 Weeks 2 Responses »

Jul 312010

And… perhaps a final word here about Twitter and Flickr.

It has taken me almost a year of using Twitter to really grasp it. I’m not a social person, I do badly at parties and mixers and schmooze events, but I understand the necessity and I usually can hold my own for a bit. People tell me that I’m quiet, but I prefer to think that I am ‘verbally efficient’. I comment and talk about things that I know something about and things that interest me.

OK, that said, how does it apply to Twitter? Well Twitter is a lot like a cocktail party: a lot of little conversations going on. Some of them are interesting but most of them are silly mutterings that have nothing to do with anything I want to talk about or comment on. That’s OK, I will politely listen. But at some point I have to get in on a conversation and start making relationships. I do this by retweeting peoples’ statements that are relevant to me and commenting on statements that I feel I can add to. I mentioned in the last post (week 4.2) that bloggers just want to be recognized for what they do; so do tweeters. It is ‘micro-blogging’ after all. You get a Tweeter’s attention when you comment or RT and then they follow you and at some point want to know more about you. YOU = MUSIC = GIGS = CD SALES —> or so the story goes.

The other thing that I’ve learned about Twitter is how to automate it. Since I’ve set up my Google Reader I can extract blog posts that are relevant to me and tweet about them. I do this using TwitterFeed.com. Another way to automate tweets is by scheduling them using Hootsuite or TweetDeck. Whenever I write blog post I use excerpts from the post as tweets that I then schedule across the week so that I keep drawing attention to my post.

There is a lot one can do with Twitter just ask @Carlalynnhall author of Twitter For Musicians. I have a gig coming up in Ohio and I’ve intentionally started following some Clevelanders in hopes that they will come to the gig. I’ve only mentioned the gig once and NEVER directly to them. But I’ve struck up a relationship with them and when I really start tweeting about it I hope they will then ask me what’s up and what the details are.

Flickr. I’m still on the fence about it. I’ve set up an account, but it doesn’t excite me. I can post pictures to my Facebook Fan page and to my Tumblr blog. People can also see them and comment on them. So what is the difference? Perhaps you can leave a comment telling me?

OK – on to week 5 and my newsletter. Good timing because it is the first of the month and time for a new issue to roll out!

MSi9W – Week 4.1 ~ Blogging, Podcasting, Twitter and Flickr… Oh My!

Music Success in 9 Weeks No Responses »

Jul 282010

(This post and the consequent chapter 4 posts are a combination of Chapters 4 & 5 of the 2nd edition of Ariel’s book which I did not have at the time of this writing…)

This topic is going to require multiple posts this week, I can feel it. I’ve read through Chapter 4 several times and I’m just starting to map out my strategies and schedule my work.

Let’s start with Blogging and Podcasting. I’m a blogger and I’m a podcaster, so I know a bit about both. The question is how to get MY music on other people’s blogs and podcasts? If the average blogger/podcaster is like me then they are probably a combination of the following:

music-lovers
music-thinkers
musician-helpers

they most likely have:

day jobs
families
not a lot of time

they are also:

independent
somewhat organized but not efficient
happy to help, but don’t like being ‘sold’ or ‘pushed’

bloggers and podcasters don’t always ‘Do it for the Money’, but:

they do like praise
they do like FREE stuff
they do like to be recognized
they do like to be mentioned

While I may have an insight into who a blogger/podcaster may be, I still need to find them and create a relationship with them. Here’s my strategy so far:

Create my Google Reader
Subscribe to and follow blogs and podcasts found on delicious.com
Keep track of podcasters and bloggers from the CyberPR’s newsletter
Schedule weekly times to comment on blogs and listen to podcasts
Create a database spreadsheet of blogs and podcasts
Follow up

It’s all about the relationship and community. I plan to release a CD in the summer of 2011 and now, almost a year in advance, is the time to sow the seeds.

To be continued…

MSi9W – Week 3.1 ~ optimizing your website

Music Success in 9 Weeks 2 Responses »

Jul 232010

Week 3 of Ariel’s challenge was deceptive. The challenge is all about optimizing your website and as I read through the chapter I was thinking to myself – I’ve already done this… Next chapter – But hold on a minute there, let’s really read the book and go over what is being said step by step without the ego getting in the way. I’m glad I did.

First of all, I do my own web design, so there is no one to blame but myself if anything is amiss. I just recently redesigned my site to bring it up to snuff with what is happening in the online world: interaction. The key components are conversations, relationships and engagement. I had a static html site that had music and picture and a bio PLUS I had a blog. Both of those entities were not serving their master (me) as they should have so I combined them into one site using WordPress and an amazingly customizable theme called Suffusion by Sayontan Sinha. Now my blog and html pages are in the same place and each drives the other. When people read my blog they check out my music and when they come to check out my music they read my blog. The other great thing about this set-up is that the site is not static – the content changes as I post new blog material. This attracts the search engine bots (SEO hoo ha) which in turn increases my web presence.

So as I stepped into Week 3 I didn’t think there was anything new to learn, but it was good to go back over the site and see if improvements could be made.

Step 1 – Add your pitch to your homepage
Well right off the bat I had something to do! I redid my header with the pitch and loaded it back up. Now it has “Hard-edged country – with a heart” smack dab in the middle! I also updated my Twitter page and Facebook fanpage with the pitch I worked on in week 2. I also added a music widget to my front page that stays with each page click as well as having a music/discography page. The problem with these is that they are Flash based and don’t show up on iPhones. Something to be tackled.

Step 2 – Site loads in less than 3.5 seconds
Yep – Thanks WordPress!

Step 3 – No Flash Intros
Been there, done that. I spent a lot of time with previous sites, learning Flash programming and in essence becoming an animator – not what I want to do. Flash does not allow Google to search your site, it loads slowly and doesn’t show up on iPhones.

Step 4 – Have a consistent look and feel throughout the Net
The cool thing about WordPress is that it takes care of CSS issues for you. Therefore your site looks consistent from page to page. I’m still working on the consistency from entity to entity. My Twitter page is not exactly like my website, but it has the same vibe. Facebook is what it is and it can’t be changed, but the content is consistent.

Step 5 – Give Away an Exclusive, FREE mp3/video
What’s in it for me? (wiifm?) I try to look at my site from a fan’s perspective. what do I get for signing up to this guy’s list? After I sign up is there anything else to get for free? I have satisfied those questions with a capture box that gives 2 FREE unreleased songs for signing up and then I give away other freebies via my newsletter (week 5).

One thing that I am still grappling with is the ease of signing up. Right now I require a first and last name, email, city and zip. I want that info so I can target my emails, but is that asking too much of people? I personally wouldn’t mind giving it, but perhaps I should make it optional. What do you think?

Step 6 – Make it clear, set them at ease
The process of signing up for my list is clear. I use Constant Contact for my list management and after they sign up in the capture box it takes them to a splash page that asks for the required info and also to confirm their email address. Then they get a welcome letter with the link to the free tracks. It’s hard to tell what is too much for some people. How many clicks is too many before they abandon the process?

All the fans on my list know that they can unsubscribe at any time. Constant Contact is great about making that clear. It’s disturbing that I still see musicians (that I personally know) still using the old email paradigm: fill up the To space and hit send. I then see my email along with 75 other email addresses in the note about the next gig. In this day and age that’s just bad form.

Conclusion
It was helpful to go over this checklist while looking at my site. Since I design my sites I always ask fans, my wife, fellow musicians and anyone who will assist me to take a look at the site and give me feedback – like having a song critiqued – you need different eyes to look at the site.

Please let me know what you think! Leave a comment with your advice, critique or <praise>. Oh and please sign up for my newsletter at thee top of the page – you get 2 FREE tracks!

MSi9W – Week 2.1 ~ my 15 second pitch… strike one!

Music Success in 9 Weeks 2 Responses »

Jul 152010

When you’re trying to figure out who you sound like don’t ask yourself. Don’t rely on your own ear which is being filtered through your ego and your cranial bones. Ask your fans, your audience your wife your brother and even the guy who really dislikes your music. Ultimately it’s the people to whom you are playing that are the judges of what your music and voice remind them of and how they can make the connection. And it’s all about the connection.

At the beginning of the year I asked my mailing list, posted a question on Face Book and even emailed a few close friends to ask them who they thought I sounded like and who my songs reminded them of. Here’s the list I got:

Johnny Cash
Bruce Springsteen
Greg Brown
Steve Earle
John Mellencamp – (one I had never considered, but intrigued me)
Tom Petty (?!?)
Tom Waits (hmm…)
Fred Eaglesmith
The Jayhawks (sound-wise)
John Hiatt

Some of these choices I was aware of and some not so (like the Mellencamp suggestion). This list has come in handy not only in crafting my pitch, but also in the way I interact with my audience and how I use social media. When I play a in new area I will search Twitter for people who are listening to these artists and follow them. I’ve gotten a few (not a lot) people to come to gigs based on this information.

As for the pitch. I figured that my sound is an amalgam of these artists and there are some things they do that I do as well and you can “taste” that in my songs. So I thought about taste and recipe and cooking and I came up with this:

Take a little Mellencamp
Flavor with Springsteen and Earle
Throw in some Cash and a pinch of Hiatt
Cook it up over a hot flame
Sounds like Darryl Gregory
Tasty!

I like it and it’s catchy. I can say it to someone who asks what I sound like and I get a laugh and the beginning of a conversation. But as I was working on the second week of Ariel’s book I decided that I also needed something a bit more to the point and a bit more hook-y. My music leans towards the alt.country side of the dial and when I play with a full band it can be quite swampy. Yet… I have a bunch of songs that are just plain sweet. So I came up with this tag line:

Darryl Gregory
Hard edged country with a soft heart

So Ariel suggests that we commit to the pitch. We should put it on newsletters, Face Book, Twitter, press releases, in fact everything we create that comes in contact with a possible listener (check out the updated header on this blog). This is something that I will put into action and in fact this has inspired me to create a new business card. I already had one for my studio (Blue Cave Studios) but not one for me as a performer. I went to VistaPrint.com and put one together. Here it is:

I like being referred to as a raconteur – a story teller. I didn’t order a lot of these cards, so let me know what you think and if there are any tweaks you would suggest.

~Darryl

Older Entries Newer Entries