The
Power of Personality
by Bob Baker
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.
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.
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.) 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:
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
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. 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!
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 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 by visiting http://TheBuzzFactor.com today.
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