Post by EmpireOfOne on Feb 22, 2007 18:40:50 GMT
The idea here is to create a document which could be sent to new artists when they sign up. Using this information would help them set up their profile, learn how the community works, and avoid common mistakes when trying to reach 50k.
I imagine that we can put together a pretty decent list of what should be in this "Artist Welcome Kit", and then let the SAB guys take it and make use of it in any fashion they see fit.
As we add to this thread I will try to summarize the ideas and update this very first post. If I miss something let me know. It will be rough at first but (hopefully) get better as I edit.
Welcome to SellaBand!! As a new Artist on this site you must be filled with questions like: What do I do first? How do I get new fans? How do I convince fans to believe in my journey to 50k? Well don’t worry, you are not alone, and these are very common questions.
Let’s start with the most basic question: “What is SellaBand”. Primarily this site is all about musicians interacting with fans. You are a musician; your fans are what drive you. Your fans are what make you successful. And here, like nowhere else, your fans can help you get your career underway. In other words, you can’t let the money aspect of the site intimidate you. Instead all you need to do is focus on your fans, focus on bringing your music to as many people as you can, and the money aspect will start to take care of itself.
Ok that was the easy part, now how do you start building that fan base? Well there are many, many things you can do, so why don’t we break it down into blocks and prioritize. First let’s go over what things you can do immediately after getting signed up.
• Try to get 3 songs up as soon as possible along with pictures and information. If you leave out your info, or only post 1 song, the potential believers aren’t going to feel like they know you well enough to invest in your career. Posting just a link to you external website is not enough either. People want to know that you are serious about your music, and creating a complete profile page is the first thing they will notice.
• Bring your first believers with you. If making music is your dream, then don’t be afraid to ask your friends and family to help you get started by becoming your first believers. When people who know you show that they believe in your music then it makes it much easier for total strangers to also believe in you.
• Believe in yourself. You can also create a believer account and invest in yourself. Nobody expects you to have a lot of money, but $10 or $20 when you can afford it tells people that you are serious about reaching 50k and making that cd. You will also get an increased share in your own profits this way.
• Don’t forget your fans from your live shows. If you perform live shows, tell those fans that you are trying to raise enough money to make a professional cd. Some of them may be willing to become believers and help you reach that goal.
• Web friends can believe too. If you have your own website or a MySpace page, put your SellaBand profile link on there. That way, anyone who hears your music and likes it, knows where they can go in order to invest in your career.
Great that should get you started! See…it isn’t so tough to get going. Now you’ve got a complete profile, you have a little bit of a fan-base ready to support you. Now how do you start moving up the charts? How do you get NEW potential fans to listen to your music? How do SellaBand believers expect you to interact with them? Again there are many different ways to do this, so let’s go over some of them.
• Let people know you are here. Check out some of the other bands on the site, especially ones who make music comparable to yours. Give them feedback the way you would want them to do for you. Make note of who their believers are and visit the profiles of those believers. Some believers like you to contact them directly, some don't. Check their profile when in doubt. If they welcome messages, give them an invitation to hear your music.
• Always use the public “post comment” unless you really have something private to say. The public viewable comments will get your name in front of everyone who visits that profile. It is free advertising for you. In addition, most people on the site only want private messages to be from other community members they already know. Getting private messages that say “I’m new listen to me” may turn off many potential fans.
• Observe other artists on the site, and learn from them about what works and what doesn't. Some do promotions or autograph things for their fans. Others schedule live shows with fellow SAB artists. These other artists are in it for the same reasons you are, and even if you never make a single dollar, these connections with other musicians could change the way you see your life.
• If possible rotate in new songs when you can. Keep your page fresh and interesting and people will come back. Fans love new music from their favorite artists. Even if you can’t afford professional recordings, the fans will still like to hear from you.
• If you have a video camera, give making videos a try. It gives fans a way to feel closer to you, which will strengthen their belief in you. Check out some other great video makers for tips: Second Person, Mysti Mayhem, etc.
I imagine that we can put together a pretty decent list of what should be in this "Artist Welcome Kit", and then let the SAB guys take it and make use of it in any fashion they see fit.
As we add to this thread I will try to summarize the ideas and update this very first post. If I miss something let me know. It will be rough at first but (hopefully) get better as I edit.
Welcome to SellaBand!! As a new Artist on this site you must be filled with questions like: What do I do first? How do I get new fans? How do I convince fans to believe in my journey to 50k? Well don’t worry, you are not alone, and these are very common questions.
Let’s start with the most basic question: “What is SellaBand”. Primarily this site is all about musicians interacting with fans. You are a musician; your fans are what drive you. Your fans are what make you successful. And here, like nowhere else, your fans can help you get your career underway. In other words, you can’t let the money aspect of the site intimidate you. Instead all you need to do is focus on your fans, focus on bringing your music to as many people as you can, and the money aspect will start to take care of itself.
Ok that was the easy part, now how do you start building that fan base? Well there are many, many things you can do, so why don’t we break it down into blocks and prioritize. First let’s go over what things you can do immediately after getting signed up.
• Try to get 3 songs up as soon as possible along with pictures and information. If you leave out your info, or only post 1 song, the potential believers aren’t going to feel like they know you well enough to invest in your career. Posting just a link to you external website is not enough either. People want to know that you are serious about your music, and creating a complete profile page is the first thing they will notice.
• Bring your first believers with you. If making music is your dream, then don’t be afraid to ask your friends and family to help you get started by becoming your first believers. When people who know you show that they believe in your music then it makes it much easier for total strangers to also believe in you.
• Believe in yourself. You can also create a believer account and invest in yourself. Nobody expects you to have a lot of money, but $10 or $20 when you can afford it tells people that you are serious about reaching 50k and making that cd. You will also get an increased share in your own profits this way.
• Don’t forget your fans from your live shows. If you perform live shows, tell those fans that you are trying to raise enough money to make a professional cd. Some of them may be willing to become believers and help you reach that goal.
• Web friends can believe too. If you have your own website or a MySpace page, put your SellaBand profile link on there. That way, anyone who hears your music and likes it, knows where they can go in order to invest in your career.
Great that should get you started! See…it isn’t so tough to get going. Now you’ve got a complete profile, you have a little bit of a fan-base ready to support you. Now how do you start moving up the charts? How do you get NEW potential fans to listen to your music? How do SellaBand believers expect you to interact with them? Again there are many different ways to do this, so let’s go over some of them.
• Let people know you are here. Check out some of the other bands on the site, especially ones who make music comparable to yours. Give them feedback the way you would want them to do for you. Make note of who their believers are and visit the profiles of those believers. Some believers like you to contact them directly, some don't. Check their profile when in doubt. If they welcome messages, give them an invitation to hear your music.
• Always use the public “post comment” unless you really have something private to say. The public viewable comments will get your name in front of everyone who visits that profile. It is free advertising for you. In addition, most people on the site only want private messages to be from other community members they already know. Getting private messages that say “I’m new listen to me” may turn off many potential fans.
• Observe other artists on the site, and learn from them about what works and what doesn't. Some do promotions or autograph things for their fans. Others schedule live shows with fellow SAB artists. These other artists are in it for the same reasons you are, and even if you never make a single dollar, these connections with other musicians could change the way you see your life.
• If possible rotate in new songs when you can. Keep your page fresh and interesting and people will come back. Fans love new music from their favorite artists. Even if you can’t afford professional recordings, the fans will still like to hear from you.
• If you have a video camera, give making videos a try. It gives fans a way to feel closer to you, which will strengthen their belief in you. Check out some other great video makers for tips: Second Person, Mysti Mayhem, etc.
). In that case it might be better not to number them, but use bullets instead, because we probably have to put them in a different order later. Once these points are added to the first posts the others can remove them from theirs (or just delete their entire post), so that we don't get a lot of duplicate information in this thread ..although for some artists it would not hurt if they read it twice 