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Add You - How to Make A Great Press Kit - A Musician's Guide
Radio ads. Billboards. Wall Posters. Yellow pages. Pamphlets. Leaflets. Brochures. TV commercials. Newspapers ads. Magazine ads. Pop ups. Fax Outs. Hiring a fat guy to stand out on the street corner during traffic with a big sandwich board three blocks down the street from your restaurant. Pitching the media to do stories about you. Standing at a big flashy booth at a trade show giving away free pens. Blinking web ads. Direct Email. Cold calls. Direct Mail. Driving down the street, slowing down in front of pedestrians, rolling down your window and asking them, “Hey, you wanna buy a home stereo?”That last example actually happened to me last week while walking down the street in downtown Chicago. It was ridiculous!And it got me thinking: what do all of those marketing techniques have in common?A few things, really:• They suck • They annoy people • They cost money • They waste money • They waste trees • They are antiquated, boring and ineffective marketing channels created around interruptionInterruption, I say!And they don’t work any more.Because people are
Include quotes and/or press clippings as you generate them. A good quote from a reputable source (not your brother-in-law) can add a lot of credibility to your press kit. It lets the reader know that you have already been reviewed and your material is worth listening to. Ninety percent of press kits unfortunately end up in the trash, some good quotes and posi
You will need to develop trust and credibility to be successful, not only on eBay but in your business life as well. Trying to build a trusting relationship with someone you've never even talked to is extremely difficult, and this is what you will have to do when selling on eBay. I cover many ways to develop trust throughout my eBay selling book, but I will hit on a few simple ways to quickly become a credible source of information in this article. The first is as easy as choosing an appropriate eBay User ID. If you are selling wedding accessories, your eBay User ID should not be "crazyjoe_3568". This is not the type of place most people would want to shop at for their wedding. Now if your eBay User ID is "YourDay" or "WeddingAccessories", people are much more likely to trust your products and service over crazyjoe_3568. If people are more likely to trust you, they will be more willing to bid higher for your items.The lesson here is that the first impression is the most important and to be honest in all your business ventures. If you are comfortable with yourself and the business you operate, then knowing that you provide a high level of service
What is a Press Kit:
First of all, there is nothing magical about the term “press kit”. All we are talking about is a little background on you/your band, some basic facts, good quotes about your music, a couple of good pictures, and a sample of your music. You will use this to send to newspapers, lawyers, radio stations, A&R reps, promoters, and anyone else who is willing to spend five minutes reviewing your material. Additionally, on the internet you will hear about an electronic press kit, or EPS. An EPS is the exact same thing as a conventional press kit, except it is downloadable as an electronic file instead of a hardcopy form which must be mailed.
The main purpose of the press kit is to generate interest in the artist and their music.
What to include:
Include a limited amount of background information on yourself. It is fine to say where you are from, but no one really wants to hear about every singing performance you did during elementary school. Sometimes less is more.
Talk about your music. Who do you sound like, and who does your music remind people of. The reader needs to be able to have a good idea of what your music sounds like just from your description. Be thoughtful and feel free to be a little funny here (but stay professional). Saying something like your band sounds like a cross between “Maroon 5 and Green Day after 20 cups of coffee” helps the reader understand. Remember, if you don’t generate enough interest in the first minute, they will never listen to your demo.
Talk about what you are good at. What makes your band special and different from others? What skills and experiences do you bring to the table? Remember if you are looking for a record deal, you need to prove to your reader that you have all the right ingredients for them to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars marketing you. Launching a new artist is risky, so you need to help the record exec understand why you are a solid investment.
Include quotes and/or press clippings as you generate them. A good quote from a reputable source (not your brother-in-law) can add a lot of credibility to your press kit. It lets the reader know that you have already been reviewed and your material is worth listening to. Ninety percent of press kits unfortunately end up in the trash, some good quotes and posit
Keeping in touch can dramatically increase business, when done properly.It’s a fact that your customers are your best leads. This means that the most likely people to purchase your products and/or services are the ones who have paid for them before. It’s also a fact that it costs far less money to keep a customer than it does to go out and get a new one. These are the two reasons that using direct mail to keep in touch with your customer database is a must. There are a few principles to follow when marketing to contacts in your company database that can maximize your bottom line.Rule #1 - Collect all of their information. It sounds like a no-brainer but you would be surprised. The more information that you have on your customers, the more likely it is that you will be able to get in touch with them to let them know about specials or to remind them it’s time for their next service. Also, don’t neglect to ask for your customers' email addresses, most everyone has one and most will give it up pretty easily.Rule #2 – Don’t treat your customers like prospects. Make sure when you collect the information in your database you differentia
The main purpose of the press kit is to generate interest in the artist and their music.
What to include:
Include a limited amount of background information on yourself. It is fine to say where you are from, but no one really wants to hear about every singing performance you did during elementary school. Sometimes less is more.
Talk about your music. Who do you sound like, and who does your music remind people of. The reader needs to be able to have a good idea of what your music sounds like just from your description. Be thoughtful and feel free to be a little funny here (but stay professional). Saying something like your band sounds like a cross between “Maroon 5 and Green Day after 20 cups of coffee” helps the reader understand. Remember, if you don’t generate enough interest in the first minute, they will never listen to your demo.
Talk about what you are good at. What makes your band special and different from others? What skills and experiences do you bring to the table? Remember if you are looking for a record deal, you need to prove to your reader that you have all the right ingredients for them to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars marketing you. Launching a new artist is risky, so you need to help the record exec understand why you are a solid investment.
Include quotes and/or press clippings as you generate them. A good quote from a reputable source (not your brother-in-law) can add a lot of credibility to your press kit. It lets the reader know that you have already been reviewed and your material is worth listening to. Ninety percent of press kits unfortunately end up in the trash, some good quotes and posi
The absolute foundation of your small business is your image. The way potential clients and/or customers perceive your business sets the stage for the way your product or service is recognized and ultimately judged. Image is everything and it will affect your business either positively or negatively.What do you want people to think about when they see your image? When they see your logo, business card, brochure or website, what will they think? Cheap? Expensive? Professional? Successful? Expert? Amateur? Failure?It doesn't matter if you have been in business six years or six days, the failure to recognize just how important your image is and just how much people will judge you based on that image, is a huge mistake. It is a mistake that will have a lasting impact on the long-term success of your small business.People's perception tends to become their reality. How much do you charge? Is your product or service the best? Would people be crazy not to do business with you? Are you the most experienced and most qualified professional in your industry?Does your image convey this? Does it say, "we are the best and we pay attention
What to include:
Include a limited amount of background information on yourself. It is fine to say where you are from, but no one really wants to hear about every singing performance you did during elementary school. Sometimes less is more.
Talk about your music. Who do you sound like, and who does your music remind people of. The reader needs to be able to have a good idea of what your music sounds like just from your description. Be thoughtful and feel free to be a little funny here (but stay professional). Saying something like your band sounds like a cross between “Maroon 5 and Green Day after 20 cups of coffee” helps the reader understand. Remember, if you don’t generate enough interest in the first minute, they will never listen to your demo.
Talk about what you are good at. What makes your band special and different from others? What skills and experiences do you bring to the table? Remember if you are looking for a record deal, you need to prove to your reader that you have all the right ingredients for them to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars marketing you. Launching a new artist is risky, so you need to help the record exec understand why you are a solid investment.
Include quotes and/or press clippings as you generate them. A good quote from a reputable source (not your brother-in-law) can add a lot of credibility to your press kit. It lets the reader know that you have already been reviewed and your material is worth listening to. Ninety percent of press kits unfortunately end up in the trash, some good quotes and posi
Barcode Scanners are hand-held or stationary devices used to read information contained in a barcode. These devices are connected to a computer through any type of port. Scanners cannot do calculations; they only capture the barcode into letters or numbers. Information, once fed into a computer is processed by the computer’s software. A barcode scanner consists of a code reader and decoder. The reader throws light on a barcode and measures the amount of light that is reflected back by the barcode. This light energy is converted into electrical energy by a scanner. The electrical energy in turn is changed into data in the computer.Barcode scanners are available in many different varieties. They can be hand held and hands free, wearable, rugged, scan engines, laser or digital. Pen-wand scanners are perhaps the simplest types of such devices. They have to be kept in direct contact with the barcode and held at a precise angle. A pen-wand scanner is moved over the bar to read it. General purpose scanners are generally used at checkout counters and hospitals and are also used to process identification documents. Certain other kinds of scanners, like ru
Talk about what you are good at. What makes your band special and different from others? What skills and experiences do you bring to the table? Remember if you are looking for a record deal, you need to prove to your reader that you have all the right ingredients for them to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars marketing you. Launching a new artist is risky, so you need to help the record exec understand why you are a solid investment.
Include quotes and/or press clippings as you generate them. A good quote from a reputable source (not your brother-in-law) can add a lot of credibility to your press kit. It lets the reader know that you have already been reviewed and your material is worth listening to. Ninety percent of press kits unfortunately end up in the trash, some good quotes and posi
Your business will not succeed unless you sell the product or service you are offering. That is the goal of any business, whether large or small, home based or brick-and-mortar. And you will not make sales without advertising. It’s a proven marketing fact that all sales begin as an advertisement. Home based business sales are no exception.Without advertising, you are limited to word of mouth to draw new customers. Even if you have a website, no one will find it without advertising. You are just one person, and there are limits as to how may people you can reach through word of mouth. You need to post business ads in many venues to draw people to your product, service, or business.When writing business advertising copy, you need to keep your goal in mind. Do you want the reader to visit your website and make a purchase, send their email address to become a contact, or schedule an appointment for the sales pitch? If you do not succeed in your goal, your ad is considered a failure.Internet advertising gurus have identified a four-step process to writing good advertisements. The opening of the ad should attract your reader’s attention.
Include quotes and/or press clippings as you generate them. A good quote from a reputable source (not your brother-in-law) can add a lot of credibility to your press kit. It lets the reader know that you have already been reviewed and your material is worth listening to. Ninety percent of press kits unfortunately end up in the trash, some good quotes and positive reviews can create the momentum necessary to get heard, and who knows – maybe even become famous.
You can go with one page dedicated to a bio (biography), and a separate page focused on quotes about your music, or you can combine the two into what some people call a “one pager”. My personal preference is to boil everything down to a tight one pager. My desk gets cluttered and papers get separated. If you have you quotes separate from your bio, there is a possibility that I could misplace one or the other. With the advent of digital photography and high quality color printers, it is even possible to include a small picture on your one pager to make it even more complete.
Make sure the overall language and tone of the press kit is consistent with your image. If you have someone help you write your bio, make sure they have heard you music and know what you are all about before they hand you something that might sound great, but isn’t about the real you.
Include a couple of different 8x10 pictures that show off different features about you and your band. Include shots that would be appropriate in a news article, but also highlight your key assets from a visual perspective. Your press kit should look professional, but your pictures should reflect your style and music, so you pictures can be much more crazy and creative. Make sure you clearly label the picture with you name and contact information.
If you don’t have good pictures of your band, one of the best ways to get some is to go to a modeling agency and ask for a referral to a good local photographer. These photographers are often willing to do some great work for around $300 for the whole package. Make sure you get an agreement upfront that you own the copyrights after the shot and get the high resolution digital images on CD (with a copyright release you can print these photos at any major retailer). A photographer who does work with models is very different from a photographer who takes family pictures. They have a much better idea of what you want, they will encourage your creativity, and they are much more willing to give you the copyrights.
A current gig sheet can also be useful showing where you hav
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