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5 key skills of the D.I.Y. Rock Star


This post loosely accompanies Gab & Jam 299. 5 key skills of the D.I.Y. Rock Star



These are some of the skills we’ve been working on around here lately, because we have spent decades working on the music, but weren’t sure how to get it TO people without these key skills. This episode is inspired by Creative Juice podcast, ep 278: https://play.stitcher.com/episode/305181953


Check out the episode for the full discussion.

What does it mean to be a "D.I.Y. Rock Star”?

When we say “D.I.Y. Rock Star,” we mean artists who are releasing music and building a fan base by themselves and WITHOUT any major label support. We should add that these tactics can work with artists in ANY stage of their empire building journey; from those just getting started, those who are in the middle of their journey, or folks like us, who have been releasing music for decades, but are trying to allow those fans to help financially support our art. We should ALSO add, that this is for the touring and the non-touring artists, as well as for ALL genres.


Needless to say, the FIRST major step in the D.I.Y. Rock Star journey is completing the art. –We can all agree that this is the foundation for your creative empire. –However, if you are ever going to get your art to people, to connect with fans, and/or to take advantage of possible artistic opportunities, you WILL need to use a variety of methods to do so. THAT’S where THIS topic comes in. If you can increase your skills in THESE key areas, you will see more success with drawing people into your music and to be able to reach them on a regular basis, when you have new material, for instance.



Here's our newest Obtanium Flow t-shirt design: https://bit.ly/obtflwtshirt623


 

Here are 5 key skills of the D.I.Y. Rock Star:


1. Advertising

In order to get your music out to potential fans, you will need to market it to people you do not know. This is what we mean by “advertising” and this includes paid advertising (like through Facebook or Instagram) AND it also refers to organic traffic to your music (using your content posted on social media platforms, etc.). –We learned more about advertising when we had the coaches in our 2022 “artist mentoring” experience set up a Facebook ad funnel (that still runs daily to this day). (Here’s the post about our experience: https://bit.ly/217artistmentorrevealblog ) –Advertising is a key way to quickly expose your music to a wide variety of people, which you can welcome into your musical world where you can continue to communicate with them, sharing band updates, your live performances, and/or upcoming music releases.





2. Email marketing

Learning more about setting up your band’s email list, attracting people to join, and sending communications to these people on a regular basis is KEY to growing and deepening your connection to your fan base. –We talked earlier about being able to reach out to your fans, THIS is what makes that possible more easily. Relationship building is a core “hack” to a successful artist career and email marketing is an easy way to stoke that fire. (If you are wondering if it’s worth it to bother with email marketing, check out THIS post, which gives you a deeper explanation: https://bit.ly/254emaillistblog )



3 Reasons why you need an email list (as a D.I.Y. Rock Star): https://bit.ly/254emaillistblog



3. Offer creation

If you want to make a life in music, it is important that you let your fans know that their financial support is welcomed. This is why putting together offers to your fans is an important skill to master. Whether it’s your live show tickets, your band t-shirts, or your vinyl, it should easy for the people who enjoy your music to want what you have to sell, especially if it complements your brand. That’s why we’re working hard to do better about creating new t-shirt and sticker designs regularly, so that our people will have a reason to reach into their pockets again and again, in order to buy what’s new to our band store. We’re hoping that you all try to have SOME way that your people can support you financially, since we ALL know that doing this D.I.Y. Rock Star thing is NOT free, right? Learning more about how to do create offers, know when to offer, and know what to offer better is DEFINITELY worth your time.



Why be one more than one social media platform? https://bit.ly/Ep141moresocmedblog



4. E-commerce plumbing

We’re just going to say it; every band should have a store. Period. Just like we talked about above, there should be some central place that you can invite your fans to in order to buy your merch. Learning how to set up your store—and sales funnels (like we talked about in item 1)—can make the difference between you being able to make music your living and it being a hobby. So, it stands to reason that the more you can learn about how to do it, the more money you stand to make. –And I will admit that we have a store, but over the years, it has grown a little disheveled, so we are talking to ourselves when we say that THIS post is a reminder to get back in there and clean it up and clear it out—items need to be updated, some need to be deleted, items better categorized, and descriptions reworked. However, we do have one and we are hoping that you taking advantage of the fact that you fans want to connect with you on a deeper level and buying your merch is an easy way to do that, which is why this item is a key skill for the D.I.Y. Rock Star.




3 Summer Music Promo Tips: https://bit.ly/232summerpromoblog


5. Sales

This skill ties with the “offers” and “e-commerce” items above. Learning as much as you can about sales tactics and copywriting will help you better able to understand how and when to put things up for sale. We know that this is a skill that doesn’t come naturally for MOST of us D.I.Y. Rock Stars, but in order to be able to finance your creative empire building, you will need to learn as much as you can and implement this key skill.




 


So, will we do it again? HELL, YEAH! 🙌🏾 In fact, our NEXT livestream is scheduled for Friday, August 25, where we will debut for Bourgeoisie Paper Jam’s next single “Lovely Mystic (Obtanium Flow)” We will also premiere the music video live and on-air—unless you are a member of our Patreon community. (If you’re in our Patreon, you will see the video one week earlier. Join here.)


81+ types of social media posts: https://bit.ly/277socialmediapostsblog



If you need to do social media, here are 10+ social media tips: https://bit.ly/socmediablog




Need Contest Ideas for D.I.Y. Rock Stars? https://bit.ly/contestideasblog




What about you?

What skill do YOU think is MOST important for the success of a D.I.Y. Rock Star?

Leave it in the comments below.




 


 

Did you know that along with putting together our next album, we are working on our first book?

Here’s the link, if you want to pre-order: https://bit.ly/prejippiebklanding


 

Here’s what we’re into now:

· We’re featured in Variety Magazine! https://bit.ly/featuresxsw2023

· The video for “Every Heartbeat” is doing well in Indonesia! https://bit.ly/everyheartbeatvid

· The Tony Webb "Funkalicious" video is going crazy in Honduras, y'all! https://bit.ly/twebbfunkaliciousvid

· One of our videos for our song, “Tell Me What You Want,” is going gangbusters in Vietnam! https://bit.ly/tellmewhatyouwantvid





If you like this, you might enjoy:

· Basic Recording Studio Setup: https://bit.ly/246basicstudiopost

· What to do when real life interrupts your artistic process? https://bit.ly/241reallifeblog

· 7 Strategies for rebounding from creative burnout: https://bit.ly/239digoutofburnoutblog

· How to give better interviews (for D.I.Y. Rock Star): https://bit.ly/236betterinterviewsblog

· How to give better live performances: https://bit.ly/219betterliveblog

· How to collaborate better (for D.I.Y. Rock Star): https://bit.ly/Ep163collaborateblog

· How to write quicker, but better (for D.I.Y. Rock Star): https://bit.ly/228writebetterblogpost

· Should you ever play for free? https://bit.ly/214playfreeblog

· 17 Tips for taking better band photos—ESPECIALLY if you taking them yourself: http://bit.ly/betterbandphotos



 

NOW:

New single, “One Love (Find a Way),” by Bourgeoisie Paper Jam http://bit.ly/BandCampPMG and

follow on Spotify at https://bit.ly/bpjspotfollow



 

More Ways to experience B L O O M I N G P R E J I P P I E :

· All things “Obtanium Flow”: https://bit.ly/bpjobtflwlinks

· Gab & Jam podcast: https://bit.ly/gabandjamhq

· Soundcloud (music): https://soundcloud.com/prejippie

· Join the Bourgeoisie Paper Jam Street Team! https://bit.ly/BPJstreetteam

· Prejippie Patreon: https://bit.ly/PMGPatreon

· Be the NEXT D.I.Y. Rock Star Handbook Pre-order: https://bit.ly/prejippiebklanding

· Funky Happy People (Who Listen to a Variety of Genres of Music) Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/funkyhappyjoin

· Be the Next D.I.Y. Rock Star Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/diyrockstarjoin


Please subscribe. Thanks. http://bit.ly/youtubesubprejippie

Until next Monday, here’s wishing love, peace, and chicken grease!




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