Manage Frustration When marketing on the internet there is one guarantee you can count on and that is there will be times, perhaps even days and weeks you will want to pull your hair out. When you chose to become an entrepreneur online you also probably figured success would come overnight and without the trials and tribulations. It is important to realize and remember however you are building a business which takes time and is a process. There will be mistakes made which is a normal and expected part of the process. It is how you react to them that will determine how successful online you become. You must learn to work through the difficult times so that you will be able to enjoy your future successes. Here are 3 highly effective ways to deal with the frustrating times you will encounter when building a business. 1 - Look Elsewhere When you are feeling frustrated sometimes it is simply wise to defused the situation by focusing your attention elsewhere. If what have you encountered appears to be something you can not quickly resolve and your are feeling increasingly stressed then step away! Situations like these can be toxic if you allow your anxieties to mount. It is recommended therefore to divert your attentions elsewhere so you can continue building a business in a productive manner. 2 - Remember Your 'Whys' Another effective tactic to use for 'sidestepping' lingering feelings of frustration and to stay productive is to recall why you wanted to become an entrepreneur in the first place. Remember what it is you are working for and the benefits you will enjoy when you finally do become successful online with your business. This should help brighten your mood and renew your vigor and motivation allowing you to blast through any obstacles that have presented themselves. 3 - Know Thyself Become familiar with the 'symptoms' you feel when discouragement begins to set in since this also signals the start of stress and anxieties. You want to learn to quickly diffuse these feelings before they become too disruptive in your efforts or more importantly, to your health! Seek out something that brings you joy, makes you relax or allows you to be productive in some way. Marketing on the internet teaches you not only about what is involved in building a business but also quite a bit about yourself. Part of what you accept when you become an entrepreneur are the frustrating times you will inevitably encounter. This is a normal part of the building process and one that is necessary in order for you or your business to grow. How well you learn to manage these 'trying' times and work through them will ultimately determine how successful online you become. The 3 suggestions for dealing with your frustrations offered above should help you keep your focus when you are feeling challenged, disillusioned or discouraged. By always keeping your 'eyes on the prize' you will maintain the motivation and encouragement needed to keep you moving forward. It is all about progress, no matter how big or small, and this is what will make you successful online! Forever In His Service - David E. Maxwell
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Social media has become a massive part of our culture. In fact, it has changed our culture. It's changed the way we do business, how we talk to each other and how we entertain ourselves. It's also changed how music fans experience music and how they experience the artists behind the music. So if you are an artist promoting your music on the Internet and you're not already plugged into a social media platform or two, it's time to jump in. If you're not connected, you are quickly becoming disconnected with what's going on around you, socially speaking.
The explosive popularity of social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram demand that you, as an artist, become more immediately accessible to your fans. It's not enough to just have a website anymore although that’s very important. Your fans want to know you, they want to follow you and they want to interact with you. They want to chat with you personally, comment on your music and see what you're doing right now. Your fans expect you to be part of their daily "friend-checking" routine. Your life is interesting to them. Your life is entertainment to them. Your life is a reality show and you didn't even know it! Networking & Building Personal Relationships On one hand, the level of personal interaction social media encourages is a good thing. When it comes to Internet marketing, developing relationships with your fans is a key element. It always has been. But now, as you get more involved with social media and start posting your "status update" several times a day for the world to see, things begin to get personal, perhaps a little bit too personal. How do you cope with this? Having been active in the social media world for a while now, I've discovered the importance of setting boundaries for what I do and do not post for the world at large to read. I have learned that if you cross these boundaries, there can be social consequences. Have you ever really thought about how the words you post come across to your fan base? What you post can drastically change your reader's opinion about you, in both good and bad ways. While a fan might be thrilled to find you on Twitter or Facebook at first, after following your posts for a while they may actually become bored with you, disappointed in you, turned off by you or even angry at you. Social interaction with your fans is a good thing... to a point. But it would be wise to give yourself a few rules to go by; rules to help protect you not only from yourself (you can be your own worst enemy), but also those who follow you that may or may not have your best interests in mind. Here are some things to Consider when Interacting on Social Media. Here We go: 1) Measure Your Words Carefully. And Then Measure Again. Think twice about every word you're about to post before you actually post. When you first get involved in social networking, the most natural thing do to is to just "be yourself" and post your true feelings, thoughts and opinions about everything under the sun. This can be a two-edged sword when it comes to how your fans perceive you. Your fans like your music because they relate to it somehow and as a result on some level they think they know and understand you. But the truth is, they don't know you at all. That means that with every word, thought or opinion you post there is the potential to taint someone's image of who you are. Always measure how your words match up with your public image. If you write beautiful songs about love and peace, but your posts are filled with cynical ramblings, harsh language and sexual innuendo, how does that affect your fans image of you? Destroy your fans image of you and you will cost yourself future sales. So, before you post your opinions on this or that, always make sure what you post is truly how you want to represent yourself to your fans. This means you should… 2) Use cautions when posting controversial subjects. That is, unless those very things define who you are as an artist. If your music is political by nature, you can be political in your commentary. If your music is not political, and you spout off in a negative, cynical way about politics or the leadership of your country, you'll likely put off some of your fans who may respond as if you are attacking them personally. The same is true about religion. If your faith in God defines you and your music, then by all means be that person of faith. Don't hold back. Being controversial can be good for publicity, but when you're trying to develop relationships with your fans, going on and on about your political, social views can be the very thing that turns them against you. Be very careful not to use your status update as your own personal soapbox. Just be aware of what you post, how it might come across, and whether you're OK with how it effects others' perceptions of you. The question I always ask myself before posting something potentially controversial is; "does what I'm about to write define me as an artist and a person? or am I just venting?" My politics, for example, has nothing to do with my music. So I keep my thoughts on politics to myself, generally speaking. I am not defined by my politics. I am defined by my faith in God, however, so I, personally, have no problem praising the Lord in my status updates. I just do it tastefully. Not every post I write says "Hallelujah," but I'm also not afraid to thank God publicly for a beautiful day. It's all about balance, and being watchful of your public persona. SUGGESTION: When it comes to politics, especially, I understand how hard it can be to restrain yourself from venting your political frustrations in your status update. If you find you simply can't restrain yourself, let me suggest you create another outlet specifically for your political rants. Perhaps a Twitter account specifically set up to let you express your political views, one that doesn't have your name on it. Then you can have the satisfaction of expressing your opinions to the world at large without destroying your relationships with fans of your music that have an opposing viewpoint. 3) Stay Positive. Don't Worry. Be Happy. Listen, no one likes a complainer. Don't use your status update to tell the world how lousy you feel, how stressed out you are, how hard life is, how unfair you've been treated, how misunderstood you are or how much you hate your job. People tire of whiners quickly. Do you enjoy listening to people complain? Neither does anyone else. Complaining is the fastest way to lose friends and followers (in real life too). Whatever you do, when you post a status update, be positive and encouraging to others. Present your life as good, blessed and happy, even if it isn't at every single moment. If you are a joyful person, people will be drawn to you. When you post, do so with a smile, and you'll make your reader smile. Smiling is good. 4) Be Interesting. Be Inspiring. If you're going to update your status to tell the world what you're up to, find ways to make your posts exciting to read, even if it's just the way you phrase something. Don't post an update that says… "checking e-mail" or "watching tv" or "just chillin'" Blah. Who cares? Be creative. Be imaginative. Be specific. Make every post count and mean something. If the post you're about to write isn't something you'd care about if someone else wrote it, then why bother writing it yourself? Make sure that, from your readers' perspective, you lead a very interesting life. If you don't feel like your life is very interesting, then do something about it. Don't just sit there staring at the TV. Make your life interesting. It's in your power to do so. Then talk about it in happy, positive ways. Make your life sound like the "dream life." Your fans don't expect you to be dull. Life is too short to be dull. Don't be dull! 5) Watch Your Back. Guess what? Not everyone who follows you is a "fan." Did you know that people might follow you who don't care about you or your music? It's true! It's easy to forget this sometimes. You just happily post away assuming everyone loves you and thinks you're terrific. But you never know who's following you, and not everyone who follows you is friendly toward you. People who are curious about how you do business might follow you. You ex-girlfriend with a grudge, stalker boyfriend or an overzealous fan might follow you. People looking for ways to tear you down might follow you. People who want to test your integrity might follow you. People who are looking for good ideas might follow you. People who want to copy what you're doing might follow you. Always be aware that people might be following you who don't have your best interests in mind. So don't be giving away all those family/trade/business secrets and don't be too revealing about yourself. Don't give your enemies ammunition to use against you. 6) Keep Your Private Moments Private. Doing something cool and fun with your family? Use social media to tell people about it after the fact, not before. Don't post a status update saying… "Taking my wife and kids bowling at Bowlers Lanes in a few minutes. Should be fun!" That will just invite curious fans to come down and join you. Might be OK. Might be weird. Instead, wait until you've finished your family outing and then post a message about the great fun you had earlier in the evening. There are, of course, times when you want your fans and followers to meet up with you somewhere; when you're playing a show, or just a special meet and greet with fans. But keep your private moments private. 7) Don't Ignore Your Fans. Respond With Enthusiasm. When you start posting frequently, fans and others will respond with comments of their own. Respond back, acknowledge them and be positive and encouraging. If folks respond to your comments and you repeatedly ignore them, some are bound to take it personally. Always engage your fans. If they comment on a song or an album of yours, thank them and let them know you appreciate it. Tell your fan their comment made your day and in doing so you'll make their day. Just think - every day you can chat with dozens of total strangers, encouraging them to share your music with their friends and family. Do you realize the power of this? If a hundred people are following you, that's a hundred people you can ask, via your status update, to spread the word about your music. With social networking, you always have a crowd at your fingertips. Work the crowd. Social media is a great thing, and a fantastic way to stay in touch with your fans on a day to day basis. But words are powerful, lasting, and shape people's perceptions of who you are. So always be watchful of how you present yourself in writing. Think twice before you post, stay positive, be enthusiastic and avoid being negative or boring. Digital Audio Workstation (D.A.W.) Most music producers know there are many recording software programs available today. Just to give some examples being utilized incorporates Steinberg Cubase, Propellerhead Reason, Ableton Live, Apple Logic Pro, Audacity, Cockos Reaper, FL-Studio, and Pro-Tools, which numerous producers consider to be the industry standard, as it should be. Some of the applications are intended and designed for DJ’s. While others are utilized for broadcasting, live performances, and digital musicians who may not play a single instrument. If a person has the creative skills to hear, imagine, and learn the functions of the software, then all they need to do is copy, paste, point, and click. Why I Use Sonar X3 Producer Like many, in the beginning, I started out with one of the easiest free D.A.W. that’s still on the market today. I’m talking about Audacity. The software was good for recording basic vocals and some instruments. However, it fell short in the mastering department, which was very limited or didn’t exist at all for high tech use. I’ve tried several others and eventually ended with Sonar X3 Producer. Price wise, a Digital Audio Workstation may vary according to its functionalities. Since the software are tailored to meet the specific needs of specific users, you can expect to see the price fluctuating according to the purpose and brand. That leads me back to the reason why I use Sonar X3 Producer. Not only does it meets my needs, the price is right as well! Customizable Skylight Interface enhancements As a musician, music producer, and sometimes DJ, I fell in love with the versatility of Sonar and what it had to offer. It comes loaded with presets that helps with the workflow so you can quickly move forward with your creative process. It has many virtual instruments, Vst-Plugins and effects, mixing and mastering tools to polish your recordings for CD Quality. It has a built-in step sequencer and even a Matrix View that enables you to create mixes on the fly. It can chop up samples like the Digital MPC’s. It is fully MIDI compatible with all MIDI Keyboards and Controllers. It’s also great for live performances. Even more, Sonar X3 Producer has a fully functional Video Production suite. So, if you’re a producer of audio and/or video and you are looking for a good recording software that gives you more bang for your buck, I recommend Sonar X3 Producer or the upgrade Sonar Platinum. Below is an instrumental track that David created using Sonar X3 Producer. To hear more music and the quality of this awesome Digital Audio Workstation, visit. Exclusive Demo The realities of a dream
Is there a dream in your heart that you just can’t shake? Can you see yourself doing something and you can’t get it out of your mind? God has placed specific dreams and visions inside every person. He has a plan for your life and the aspirations that you just can’t seem to get out of your heart are clues to what you were created to do. By identifying your dreams, keeping them alive and coming up with a plan to execute them, your dreams can become a reality. When I talk about dreams, I’m not just talking about the visions you see when you go to sleep at night. While those are dreams, and God may speak to you while you sleep, the dreams I’m referring to are those hopes, longings, and aspirations in your heart. They are those series of images that continually replay in your mind about something you desire to accomplish. Ways to keep your dream alive Your dream may be an idea for a business, a particular field you want to go into, an invention, book or avenue that utilizes your talent. Maybe you have a dream to sing, dance or be an artist. Or, you may dream of being an independent business owner in a particular area. Whatever your dream is, if God gave it to you, He will make a way for it to become a reality. First, recognize that your dream will be accompanied by an image or vision inside of you that you can’t get rid of. It is important that you keep the dream before your mind at all times. This will keep it active in your heart. Ways to keep your dream alive include thinking about it every day, writing it down in detail, cutting out pictures of things pertaining to your dream and pasting them on a board to look at, and talking about it with trusted friends. The Word of God says that whatever you imagine to do will not be restrained from you (Genesis 11:6). When you continually keep your dream before you, it will consume you and drive you to take action. The distance between your dreams and reality is called action After you realize there is a particular dream in your heart that must become a reality, you’ve got to construct a plan to bring it to pass. Just because God gave you a dream doesn’t mean it will automatically happen; there is a part you must play in the process. First, get before the Lord and ask Him to direct your steps. Acknowledge Him as the giver of the dream; then and ask Him to give you wisdom regarding your dream and how to accomplish it. God is faithful! When you take the time to seek Him, He will give you the steps to take that will lead you down the path of seeing your dream come to pass. The Holy Spirit is your Helper; however, you are the initiator. When you take a step, God will meet you at your point of action. Each step you take will bring you closer to the end of your faith. Allow your troubles to work for you Remember that when you have a dream, others may not support you. In fact, there will be people who will actually try to hinder you because of jealousy. Joseph is an example of that. He was a dreamer, yet he made the mistake of telling his brothers about his dream. As a result, they hated him and sold him into slavery (Genesis 37:5, 8, 28). Even though they tried to stop his destiny, they weren’t able to. Joseph still found favor in the midst of his trials and eventually, the dream God placed in his heart did come to pass. Don’t allow challenges or the negativity of other people to stop you. Trouble will come when you set out to fulfill your dreams. However, you can allow that trouble to work for you instead of against you. It will develop you above its ability to affect you if you stay focused on what God has called you to do, and stand on His Word. Most of all, never stop dreaming because when you stop dreaming, you stop living. Hold On I want to encourage you to hold on to your dreams. Hold on to that thing God has put in your heart that you just can’t shake. Remain faithful to Him and do your part; He will bring your dream to pass. If there is one thing clear about music and the internet, it’s that there are no clear options for distribution. Rather, there are hundreds of varied strategies that may work depending on who you are and what your situation is. Creativity and understanding of how the web works are the two things that will help you the most.
Free Music Can Spread Faster & Further In this article I aim to show that you can profit by giving away your music for free. To most people the idea of releasing free to use music may sound crazy and unprofitable, but when looking at the bigger picture it turns out to be a very smart move. You have to understand that this is a great way to spread your music when you release it for free, especially if this is your debut and you are just starting out. In most cases you wouldn’t be making much from selling it anyway. Just like in any business, you need to have a customer base before you can make any profit. CD’s Are Making A Transition Assuming you are a musician or singer who can perform live as well as produce studio recordings, the ways to make money in the modern music environment will not be from CD sales. If you follow the trends and news of music reports, you will notice that CD sales have been on the decline for quite some time now. This is partially due to the many types of streaming platforms were people can listen to music for free. The CD as a concept is slowly but surely disappearing, as music is no longer released on disks and more emphasis is being placed on EPs and singles. These are harder to sell for considerable profits, and by offering them only for payment, you limit how many people will obtain them. Instead of trying to go against the unstoppable giants of illegal file sharing and music downloading, go with it. Give your music away and watch it spread as far as it can. Keeping in mind that you could only make so much off it anyway, in the beginning at least, the positives outweigh the negatives. Free Music Doesn’t Mean Give It Away Freely In return for passing out your music free of charge, you obtain promotion and reputation in return. You can also exchange free music for emails to build a fan list. In other words, you get more fans. Fans are what lead to profits down the line if you are a musical act, and they are the most important thing when it comes to the business side of the equation. So the move is to get your music out there in any way that you can if you think it will lead to promotion and new fans. New fans can lead to increased music sales, concert ticket sales, and music placement in commercials or films, especially for music producers and that is when the money will bring you passive income and royalties. But if you started off selling a few CD’s for $10.00, you would be sitting around with $50.00 and five fans. That $50.00 is nothing compared to the long term income obtainable from establishing yourself as a popular musical act. Think About Monetization So when you are thinking about how to make money with your music, think about how to get fans before you think about monetization. Look for sites like Epidemic Sound that work to get people’s music out there and their names recognized, and use any tool you can find. There are many ways for you to monetize your music on various streaming platforms, like YouTube, SoundCloud etc, etc… However, for me to share with you how to do this goes way beyond the scope of this article, so I will save that for another time. Creativity in promotion is the name of the game on the internet, and it’s the key to getting your music heard. This is crucial information that will help you succeed as a music industry professional.
Getting your music placed with a solid publisher or library is a great first step and getting your first placement or two is an even greater step forward. But your work doesn't stop there. In a way, this is just the beginning. For music to get licensed, it has to be the right piece of music at the right time. This is why sometimes songs will sit in catalogs for long periods of time, inactive, and then all of a sudden get licensed into one or more projects. This is just the nature of the business. But if you know what projects your publisher is pitching to behind the scenes, you can write more music that is a good match for projects they're pitching to. Now obviously everything you pitch won't get placed, but if you do this enough and you're on target with your music, some will. You'll also be building up your catalog so that in the future you'll have even more tracks to pitch to future projects. So if you're working with a publisher or library don't be shy to ask them about what their music needs are. There are people out there who will want to help you meet your goals. Find them! Want an in depth education on the music licensing business? The A-Z Of Music Licensing is the most clear and concise program available on how the music licensing business works. In addition to detailing exactly how the business works and the steps you need to take, I also include a comprehensive directory of people working in the industry so you also have information on who to submit your music to - information that is vital! For an in depth education on how to navigate your way through the maze that is the music licensing business and start generating money with your music, Click On >>> "The A-Z Of Music Licensing". Promotion is probably one of a musician’s worse enemy! I say this because it’s the part most people get wrong, intentionally, or not. There are people who take the time to record the perfect CD, pay to have it mastered, have an excellent cover, get it into shops worldwide, then just sit down and wait for their CD to sell. But it hardly does. Why? Because they hardly promoted it! You can’t expect people to walk into a record shop and buy your music. You must let people know it’s there and give them a good reason to buy it! The same goes for selling your music on the internet.
Doing It Your Self Now I know for most, you may not see yourself as a sales person. That’s OK! Most musicians don’t. But I’ll tell you now, without including some form of promotion in your campaigns, whether you do it yourself or hire someone else to do it for you, awareness will not get very far. So how much promotion do you need for a successful new release? Well, that would depend on the size and type of the project. One thing’s for sure, you should be promoting your release between 2 – 4 weeks prior to the release date. Start out by establishing a rapport with your followers and audience. As you get to bring more awareness about who you are as a person, then you can mention your upcoming project without too many details. Whatever you say, don’t advertise yourself as someone who merely wants to sell music. Make a serious connection! You are dealing with real people that like to have a real social connection. Then, as the date gets closer, offer more details while making a bigger deal out of it. Creating anticipation and a buzz is a great way to pre-sell your music. If done correctly a nice portion of your sells should come within the first week or so. Keep in mind that the quality of your music and the demand for your style of music must be factored into sales. New Release Suggestions Just before releasing your CD, you should carry on spending the time to promote it. It’s a good idea to appear on live radio shows, get interviews, create content marketing with insight into the songs, link flyers to Landing Page, use music entertainment news platforms, get a professional music review, promote music by guest blogging, and anything else you can fit in. Simply writing a post on a music forum will not get you the amount of exposure and sales you’ll need to even cover the cost of making your music project. Even an article in a popular magazine often isn’t enough by itself. So, think bigger! People react better to buying when they’ve seen your promotion in different places. They become curious about your product. That means you need to be everywhere your customers are! Please don’t make the mistake of under promoting your music. If you’re going to put the effort into recording and releasing your music, the least you could do is let it reach its full potential! |
AuthorBy David E. Maxwell |