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How to Create a Fanbase From Scratch

Artists MBA, Professional ProgramBack in February, I interviewed Ariel Hyatt about how to create a successful crowd funding campaign.

The first thing you need to build a successful crowdfunding campaign is, well, a CROWD!

It seems obvious, I know – and yet you’d be shocked how often I get this question from people who have 150 names on their email list and want to know how to use kickstarter raise $10,000 to record a CD!

But a fanbase is more than a crowdfunding necessity!  A healthy fanbase will help you to:

  • Fill the seats when you play a venue
  • Buy your CD’s, downloads and merch (also known as making a living)
  • Spread the word about how awesome you are to all their friends and family (take you viral)
  • Build a successful, profitable and sustainable business doing what you love!

So, how do you create your crowd from scratch? In this class you’ll discover:

  • How to use live performance to build your fanbase
  • How to use internet marketing and social media marketing to build your fanbase
  • The 3 mistakes that artists make in creating their list
  • Now that you’ve got fans, what do you do with them?

By the way, these techniques will also work to expand your fanbase if you’ve already got one started!

Additional Resources for this Class:

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Ready to get serious? Enroll in the Artists Marketing & Business Academy Professional Program to access these classes today!

Your Tuition ($79 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Professional level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.

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Next Class:

Ready to get serious? Enroll in the Artists Marketing & Business Academy Professional Program to access these classes today!

Your Tuition ($79 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Professional level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.


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Branding 101

Artists MBA, Foundation ProgramWhat is branding?

Branding is a fundamental marketing concept that is often misunderstood by business owners.

According to Wikipedia:
“A brand is a “Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.”[1] Branding began as a way to tell one person’s cattle from another by means of a hot iron stamp.”

What does it mean in terms of your career, your creativity and your fans?

In this overview of of Branding we will explore:

  • The 2 facets of Branding that you must consider when designing your brand
  • Expressing yourself authentically through your Brand
  • Using your BOP* to establish your BRAND

*BOP – Bold Outrageous Provocative statement of who you are and what you stand for – see Multiple Streams of Art/Music Income for more information about the BOP.

In order to create success in the music business, film industry, show biz, or visual arts, you must stand out from the competition.  The trick is to intentionally design a magnetic brand that attracts your fans/customers/clients to you.

And then make everything you do in your website, your social media, your live performance and your product packaging an expression of your brand.

What is your Brand?  Do you know?

Additional Resources for this Class:

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Enroll in the Artists Marketing & Business Academy to access these classes today!

Your Tuition ($5 for first 14 days then $39 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.

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Your Tuition ($79 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Professional level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.


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Internet Marketing 101

Artists MBA, Professional ProgramSEO! SEM! PPC! Oh My!

The internet has paved the way for the Artist Entrepreneur to create your own career without waiting for the record deal, the publishing deal or anybody to “discover” you. But learning what you need to know and figuring out how to apply it to your business can quickly become overwhelming.

In this class, Debra Russell will give you the basic, fundamental, what everyone needs to know to get started, primer on internet marketing. You’ll discover:

  • What all those initials mean AND what they mean to your business
  • The difference between black hat and white hat marketing methods – or what NOT to do
  • Three quick and easy ways to drive traffic to your website

We know the internet is here to stay. We know that if you don’t have a web presence no one will take you seriously. But having a website isn’t enough. You must learn how to get people to FIND you. And that means Internet Marketing!

Additional Resources for this Class:

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Thank you for your interest. This content is visible to ArtistsMBA Professional, Mastery Program members only. Click here to login.

Ready to get serious? Enroll in the Artists Marketing & Business Academy Professional Program to access these classes today!

Your Tuition ($79 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Professional level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.

Read the Class Transcript

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Next Class:

Ready to get serious? Enroll in the Artists Marketing & Business Academy Professional Program to access these classes today!

Your Tuition ($79 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Professional level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.


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Internet Marketing and the Artist Entrepreneur

Whether you’re in music, film, dance, the visual arts or writing, the presence of the Internet has significantly changed your industry in the last 20 years. For many of the big corporations who in the past controlled your industry, these changes have been terrifying, threatening their very existence.

For the artist entrepreneur, the DIY artist, the internet is the great leveler. It has opened the doors of opportunity that were previously jealously guarded by the studios, record companies and publishers.

But the key question that should be on your mind is:

How do I use the internet to advance my career as an Artist?

How can you use the internet to:

  • Sell more of your work?
  • Connect with fans outside of your immediate geographic location?
  • Increase the size of your impact?
  • Make a decent living doing what you love?!?

The good news is that the internet is huge and it’s global. The bad news is that the internet is huge and it’s global… There are over 2 Billion internet users in the world.  And there are over 350 Million websites.  Google alone gets 2 Billion searches each day.

So, while it’s critical to have a presence on the internet – how is anyone ever going to find YOU unless they are specifically looking for you and already know your URL (web address)?

Think of it this way, imagine that you are a fisherman and you are fishing in the middle of the ocean in a spot that is teaming with fish.  You would think – well this is easy, right?  I’m surrounded by fish, I should be able to catch dinner, no problem.  So you throw a hook and line out there and wait and wait and wait.

Meanwhile the fish are swimming all around that hook and not a one is biting!  Why?

Because they’re not looking for a hook.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve got the prettiest, shiniest, most beautiful hook in the world.  If the fish aren’t looking for your hook, they won’t bite and you don’t eat!

So, the key is having bait.  Bait that the fish will see, will notice, will be intrigued by enough to bite!  So, it can’t be just any bait.  It has to be the right bait.  The only way to know what bait to use is to get to know your fish really, really well.  Not all fish.  Not any old fish.  But the particular kind of fish you want to catch.

What kind of bait are they looking for?

With internet marketing, the first key to being found is knowing what your fans/customers/clients are already searching for – what are their key words?  But it’s not that simple.  Because if you pick things that are too broad, too general, then you could have millions of other websites also using that same bait, I mean, key word.  And so when your prospective fan is searching, literally millions of websites could come up in response to that search.  And let’s face it, few people get past the first page of a search.

So, simply stated, the essence of effective internet marketing is to be specific enough with your key words, so that when your target market are looking for them, you show up on the top of the list.  In order to do that you must :

  • Know what your target market is searching for
  • Show up on the first page when they search for it.

So, how do you do that?

SEO – Search Engine Optimization – creating a website that the search engines LOVE.

I’ll be talking more about that in my next Newsletter Edition – stay tuned!

How to Manage Your Marketing – The Contact Management System

Artists MBA, Professional ProgramMarketing is creating an environment in which people feel comfortable enough to buy from you,  over and over again.

Sounds like a great idea, right? But what exactly does that mean in terms of day to day actions?  And how do you systematize creating that environment?

Does this sound familiar?

  • You’ve got a pile of business cards on your desk, but you don’t really know what to do with them.
  • Picking up the phone to make marketing calls is terrifying because you don’t really know who to call or what to say when you get them on the phone
  • You know you promised somebody something, but don’t remember who or what or when
  • A prospective customer/client/fan tells you to call back in three months and you promise to, but you know you won’t remember

These are all symptoms of a poor contact management system (or CRM – Customer Relations Management System)!  There’s nothing wrong with you, it’s the system that is lacking!

In this class you’ll learn:

  • Why you need a Contact Management System (and why your memory isn’t enough!)
  • The Key Components of an effective Contact Management System
  • How your Contact Management System feeds into and energizes your larger Marketing Plan
  • A review of some of the 3rd party apps out there and how to choose the right one for you

Additional Resources for this Class:

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Ready to get serious? Enroll in the Artists Marketing & Business Academy Professional Program to access these classes today!

Your Tuition ($79 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Professional level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.

Read the Class Transcript

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Next Class:

Ready to get serious? Enroll in the Artists Marketing & Business Academy Professional Program to access these classes today!

Your Tuition ($79 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Professional level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.


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Social Media – The Art of Engagement

Artists MBA, Foundation ProgramTwitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube – OH MY!

Social Media is everywhere and it’s clear that there are some Artists and business owners in the Arts & Entertainment Industry (including the Music Business, Film Industry and Publishing) who are using it to build real world success.  But there are a lot of people who are overwhelmed and confused by it, and whatever they’re doing isn’t working.

I believe that Social Media Marketing offers you an enormous opportunity never before seen.  For the people using it correctly, their success is no accident.  So, how do you apply it to your business?

In this class, we’ll explore:

  • What is Social Media and why do we care?
  • How to use Social Media Marketing as part of your overall marketing plan
  • The Do’s and DON’Ts of Social Media Marketing
  • The differences between Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube and why it matters
  • How to wisely use your time on Social Media

Additional Resources for this Class:

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Listen to the Class:

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Enroll in the Artists Marketing & Business Academy to access these classes today!

Your Tuition ($5 for first 14 days then $39 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.

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Your Tuition ($79 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Professional level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.


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Marketing 101

Artists MBA, Foundation ProgramMarketing is fundamental to your success. If you’re out to make a prosperous living doing what you love, it just won’t happen without marketing.

Yet few artists spend much time learning this foundational set of skills. And many people (not just artists) have a serious misunderstanding about marketing and sales, what it is, how it works and how to do it ethically and artfully.

In this class you’ll discover:

  • The 3 biggest misconceptions about Marketing
  • How to use marketing to create lifetime fans and a sustainable career
  • What it takes to create a Marketing Plan and implement it in a systematic and repeatable way.

Without promotion something terrible happens … nothing!
P.T. Barnum

You can create the most brilliant product, but if nobody knows about it, you will not succeed.

Additional Resources for this Class:

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Enroll in the Artists Marketing & Business Academy to access these classes today!

Your Tuition ($5 for first 14 days then $39 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.

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Next Class:

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Your Tuition ($79 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Professional level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.


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Copyright and Trademark Basics an Interview with Jeff Fabian

artists-marketing-business-academy-interview-with-expertsTrademark and copyright protection are fundamental components of a sound business strategy for all artists and professionals in the Music Business, Visual Arts or Film and Television Industry. But do we have to be lawyers to understand the basics? Jeff Fabian says “NO!” and he is going to going to prove it to us in this month’s Interview with an Expert!

 

In this class you will learn:

  • The difference between Copyright and Trademark and how it pertains to you as an Artist
  • How to protect your rights as an Artist
  • How to avoid costly errors when using other people’s intellectual property (e.g. covering a song)

Protecting your work and your brand identity is critically important to your success.

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Jeff Fabian

Jeff Fabian is the owner of Fabian, LLC, a boutique law firm that assists musicians, creative industry professionals and entrepreneurs in trademark, copyright and contract matters. His experience includes copyright registration maintenance and licensing, trademark protection and enforcement, and contract drafting and negotiation for record deals, music licensing agreements, online music distribution, and more. Visit fabianwrites.com for more information, or follow Jeff on Twitter: @fabianwrites.

Multiple Streams Step 7: Strengthen Relationships

Artists MBA, Professional ProgramAll the principles you’ve put into practice and hard work that you’ve done in the previous steps come together in this 7th Step of the Multiple Streams of Income business model.

Your pink spoon and product funnel draw them deeper into relationship with you.

The research you’ve done on your niche, their language and preferences and your contribution of solutions to their problems, needs and desires, draw them deeper into relationship with you.

It is in this step that you turn them from prospects and customers into clients and lifetime fans.  It is here, that you transition them from fans into your greatest street and sales team.  It is in this step that you create your community.

And it is through your community that you really make an impact on the world.

In this class, you’ll discover:

  • How to synthesize all the work you’ve done
  • How to deepen your relationship through your email newsletter and social media
  • And what to do with them once you’ve got them on board!

Additional Resources for this Class:

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Ready to get serious? Enroll in the Artists Marketing & Business Academy Professional Program to access these classes today!

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Multiple Streams Step 6: Convert Prospects

Artists MBA, Professional ProgramA lot of marketing and sales programs talk about how to Drive Traffic – and we cover that critical area in Step 5.  But if all you do is get people to “Like” your Fan Page or even sign up on your email list – you will not succeed.

The key to success in your business is to engage with your prospects.  You must convert them into customers and from there into clients and fans.  So how do you convert prospects into customers, clients and fans?

In this class you’ll learn:

  • The importance of WIIFM
  • How to build rapport to create a buying environment
  • How to overcome your resistance to asking for the sale

Having big numbers on your Facebook Fanpage, Twitter followers, Instagram or even your email list won’t fill the seats, pay the bills or create your successful career.  You have to convert prospects into customers.

Additional Resources for this Class:

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Ready to get serious? Enroll in the Artists Marketing & Business Academy Professional Program to access these classes today!

Your Tuition ($79 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Professional level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.

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Next Class:

Ready to get serious? Enroll in the Artists Marketing & Business Academy Professional Program to access these classes today!

Your Tuition ($79 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Professional level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.


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