The Working Musician- Networking

Do you know who will be attracted to your product? What is the demographic for your product? How do you communicate to these clients?

In the past there were mailing lists and phone calls; and musicians relied on agents more. Embrace the present where you can have a retail store front for almost nothing.
I built a web site as an experiment for fun and with no knowledge of HTML or how to build a web site. Here were the overall costs. A web domain name cost me $14.00 for two years. The web program was Web Studio 4.0, a simple drag and drop program that allowed music examples, pictures, slide shows and more. The cost was $60. I simply upgraded from Web Studio 2.0 given to me at Best Buy with a new computer purchase as a lure to purchase the larger program. Hosting the domain was free on Go Daddy if I allowed ads to run on the top banner. The web site was $74 and my time. The site is www.therequestline.com.
A YouTube site is free. A Google business calendar is free. An email address at Gmail or AOL is free. There are many great bargains for your own domain name, hosting the site and email. Email and web sites are the beginning elements of electronic networking. We will give you more details later. These initial postings are an over view.

Social networking is the best. If you are performing live, are you getting to know your audience. Do you interact with them in between sets? Do you trade email addresses? There are numerous organizations that the buyer of your product attends. You need to investigate these organizations and attend them if you can, or advertise in their subscriptions.

I recently attended a networking organization of professional wedding planners. A harpist moved to this area six months ago. She performed for free at the meeting and offered a marketing package with a CD and small brochure in it. She had lunch with the organization, mingled, and met as many people as she could in three hours.
Four weeks later I went to a meeting of catering executives. She was there again, performing and distributing her promotional materials. I called her to see if she was available for some future events that we contracted. She wasn't! She will be one of the busiest harpists in this area. In future postings I will give you some of these organizations.

Robbie Schlosser is the leader of a local Dixieland Band. He networks with almost every organization that could use his services. I've known him for 21 years. He has always marketed his band. He has a website, a blog, Facebook and utilizes an email list. We are speaking of the present, not the past. Did you think people stopped booking Dixieland Bands and Swing Style Jazz Bands? Ask Robbie and he will tell you there is always a market for good music. He knows his product; he believes in his product; he markets and sells his product and he is earning a full time living as a working musician.

Collect email addresses and use them with discretion. Don't waste time with jokes.
Network with musicians for work recommendations and contracting. Network with potential clients with emails consisting of appearances, new services to offer and a newsletter. Group your emails into distribution lists. Personal emails are the best.
You don't have to give your email list to everyone. Use the BB or blind copy option to protect your email list. A good email list is one of your most valuable marketing tools. Work on it. Refine it. Update it. We will discuss this topic in greater detail.

Here is a homework assignment. If you don't have a website begin researching web sites by using a Google or other search engine and search for the product you are offering. If you are a music teacher put "piano lessons in (your area or nearby)".
See what comes up. Keep changing the search words. Try 'learn piano' 'music lessons in your neighborhood'. Do it for a half hour and record your results or save them as favorites for future research.

As people find this blog, comment on what you want to learn or share. We will be going into more and more detail as days go on. Share this blog address and pass on the invitation to comment.