Week #6 - Connecting With Your Fans Via Your Newsletter Lists & Conducting Surveys #MSI9W2

My friend Sam has a great quote on one of her profiles - "Sometimes you just need to fall and build your wings on the way down."  She's so right, and really I should've had that in my head 2 weeks ago.  But we're back on the wagon now.

This chapter was ridiculously intimidating for me.  Right off the bat it talks about how you've got to think of your fans as customers.  I don't have a problem with that concept at all, but how do I start thinking about my FRIENDS as customers? 

See, I'm still at that burgeoning stage in my career where the vast majority of my supporters are my friends.  Being that I come by the name "The Friendship Borg" honestly (Resistance is Futile, you Will be assimilated), I know a LOT of people.  I think of everyone I know as a "Friend."  If someone is only an acquaintance in my mind, it means I haven't talked to them that much. Asking my friends to buy Happy Happy was extraordinarily hard for me - I mean, shouldn't friends get comp copies?  But really, if my FRIENDS aren't willing to buy my CD, how can I expect anyone else to?  Besides, if it were the other way around, which it often is, I wouldn't let them give me free copies.  So it's all just an excercise in placing value on my art. 

Also, this chapter made me deal with the nagging feeling I've had for weeks that I'm putting the cart before the horse.  I don't think I'm nearly as far along in my career as this book is designed for.  The chapter talks about having mailing lists of at least 1000.  I have 23.  While I LOVE the number 23, I think this is definitely an area to work on (and thankfully is the subject of the next chapter).  Somehow, the Universe kept sending me little tweets of encouragement about how I'm a work in progress and I need to recognize that.  This afternoon I finally broke from that rut when I read an article suggesting that all musicians record tracks for the Holidays and it made me think "Hey, what if I write a great little song and put it out as a bribe MP3 for the season?"  Of course, being that I'm Jewish, Christmas is *so* not my thing.  But I've started on a Chanukah song that I think will appeal to more than just the Tribe.  Think "The Christians & The Pagans" crossed with "A Lonely Jew On Christmas" and you've got a good idea.  So I'll start playing that song out next month, and tell people they can get the MP3 by signing up for my mailing list.  Genius. 

The main excercise in this week's chapter is to send out a newsletter, which I have done.  TaDa!  If you didn't get it delivered to your inbox, well, that's because you aren't signed up for my mailing list.  It's super easy to do - just put your email address into that little box on the right and hit "submit."

On a personal note, if you haven't seen it in any of the other places I've posted it we managed to raise $426 towards Claire's efforts in memory of her husband, Dave.  I'm so proud and thrilled to have accomplished this.

I'll get the next post up in the next few days, before I head to the FMC Policy Summit.  That is a Promise.