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Should the number of fans and followers matter (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star)?


This post loosely accompanies Gab & Jam,

253. Should the number of fans and followers matter (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star)?


I know! It SOUNDS counter-intuitive and ALMOST sounds “unartful,” because I have been the FIRST to say that I don’t care how many fans, followers, and likes we have, but the truth is that it DOES matter for all of the following reasons—and MORE!



 

6 Reasons why the number of fans and followers matter:


1. Be honest about WHY you’re posting.

If you are putting enough of the effort to put music up on a social media website, then it seems that you WANT folks to see it, so you can remind yourself of that early on and save the bullshit! In other words, if you DIDN’T want folks to see it, you WOULDN’T have bothered uploading and posting…. If the “art” is the ONLY point of doing it, then keep it in the basement or in the closet and don’t share. However, the fact that you’re sharing means you want SOMEONE to like it, so stop taking the high road and admit it as you post.


And because art is a part of a social construct, where it is about engaging in what you do in a greater relationship with others, it is reasonable—even for the deepest introvert—to want others to enjoy/reflect upon/give feedback to one’s ideas. THIS is part of the art cycle and THAT’S not a bad thing, so admit it.



2. You are selling your music

Though we don’t like to believe it’s so, as D.I.Y. Rock Stars, we are in the business of selling our music and our brand; our personality, our look, and our message. As business owners, you need to have customers, or rather, folks who “buy” who you are. And let’s be honest again, making and sharing things costs money—there are distribution fees (if you’re releasing the music through CD Baby) and site storage fees (if you’re posting regularly on SoundCloud) and, we haven’t started talking about ad money! –See our artist mentoring journey for more about that: https://bit.ly/217artistmentorrevealblog .


Ultimately, it is your mission to draw people in who would buy your music and merch to keep you in the business of making and sharing your music. So, it’s helpful if you get used to trying to find ways—that are authentic to you and your brand—to engage with and delight those who might be your potential customers. That’s where likes, shares, and followers come in. (Include a screenshot of one of the ad results; https://bit.ly/217artistmentorrevealblog )


In the end, though, even if you don’t need money to put out the music—because maybe you are only utilizing free sharing platforms (like Facebook and Twitter), you will still need money to live. Having a roof over your head and food to eat is not free, so you WILL need to decide how to make the money; that’s when likes, shares, and followers might be of interest to you.


(—To be COMPLETELY honest, our goal is to simply have the music “pay for itself,” so that we DON’T have to continue to take “day job” money to keep it going, so THAT’S why we’ve started to TRY to cover those costs at least. )


—While we don’t want you to confuse selling your music to “selling out,” but, just like you decide the extent that you are willing to go to for your day job, we’re saying you DON’T have to be willing to compromise your vision to try to attract people to your music. In fact, folks will likely be MORE drawn to you for being who you are naturally, than they are if you are trying to emulate something that you don’t vibe with. So, DON’T go out to make a rap album, if that’s not your musical voice, but try to use what is your essence to attract folks.



Here’s some info on branding, if you’re at that part in your journey: http://bit.ly/brandingassetblog



3. If you want to “reach” people

We don’t know of ANY artist who puts music out that does not want to find those fans that are “feeling” them. Having impact is one of the MAIN reasons you bother posting on social media. However, the magic algorithm decides how MANY folks see your posts—and your music—by how many likes and views your video gets within the first few hours. THIS means that you will NEED someone to like it, watch it, share it, in order for MORE people to even see it. –Even though you have nearly 5k friends on Facebook, if no one seems interested in your post in those first few hours, less than 6%—or less than 300 folks!—will see your post. –And to be BRUTUALLY honest, social media experts estimate that about 2% of your content is seen by your friends—which is less than 100.


Likes, shares, and comments assure that your content is seen by those folks more and then your post is even more likely to be shared with even more folks, as a result. So, the feedback from your friends determines how many other folks see your posts on a regular basis. No one wants to be sharing into the abyss, so that’s why getting folks to like a post early on is really important.



Haters are your elevators: https://bit.ly/Ep117haterspod


4. If you want to show progress

After all, how will you know if all your hard work is paying off of you growing your creative empire? Gaining followers, subscribers, etc. are some ways to gauge an increase in influence. It means that more folks are digging you, your content, and, hopefully, your music. –For us, after nearly 6 years of running this more aggressive, sustained online persona, and though we only try to focus on one at a time, it is nice to look at our overall stats—from ALL of our many social media profiles—and see that we are adding people to our tribe. And they are paying attention to what we do. It makes us proud and shows us that our hard work is paying off, and also reminds us to keep our feet on the gas, so that we can do even better. –Our current goal is to increase our Spotify followers, so if you’d like to help us achieve this goal, here’s the link: https://bit.ly/bpjspotify



Here's why you want to be on more than one social media platform: https://bit.ly/Ep141moresocmedblog


5. Use that data to leverage for new opportunities

Let’s face it; people give to those that “have.” By being a more well-liked artist, the folks who are looking for someone to represent their product/cause/venue will call you quicker if it seems like you ALREADY have a crew and/or impact. By having gathered a tribe that pays attention to you, you will already be higher in the running for someone looking to access “your people.” Such a collaboration becomes a win-win for the person approaching you and your band. It means that they don’t have to start from scratch trying to assemble the individuals that you already have, so why not work with you? By having that data of likes, followers, shares, comments, and subscribers, you can “win” faster at getting attention from someone looking for a cooperative opportunity.



How to turn your critic into your coach: https://bit.ly/231criticcoachvid



6. It’s an indication that you’ve been hustling

When folks come to your website and/or your social media, if there is ALREADY activity, it show that you trying to bring people to your art. —Believe it or not, THAT’S important to fans, too. They don’t want to feel COMPLETELY alone in their support of you. –To get to your corner of the universe and find that you are engaging with the folks that you have worked hard to gather is impressive and makes people want to be a part of the good vibes too. (--At least, THAT’S the way we feel when we roll up on artists that we perhaps hadn’t heard of and find that there is an entire ecosystem around their music. We try to stay connected, check in to see what they’re doing more often, and, sometimes, begin to share what they’re doing on groups that we run where what they do fits well.) So, don’t discount how powerful it is to just START, but then to also CONTINUE, so that you coalesce a community of people who will naturally engage with your posts, your music, and your channel.



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



What do YOU think? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic! Talk to us in the comments below.



Here’s what we’re into now:

· Tom Ray’s Art Podcast: https://bit.ly/tomrayspodcast2june2022

· “Sugar Fit” on Darkest Corners of the World Podcast S2 E3 http://bit.ly/sugarfitdarkestpod

· “Flying High” (from “Sugar Fit” album) on Toes in the Sand Playlist http://bit.ly/toesplaylist

· “Sugar Fit” on his Spotify “Indie: Undiscovered But Brilliant: Vol. 3” http://bit.ly/SugarFitonPlaylist2

· “Sugar Fit” on No Sugar Radio http://bit.ly/nosugarradiosugarfit


 

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

· First Music Video? 10 Best Websites for Free Stock Video Footage: http://bit.ly/freestockvideosprej

· Further Confessions: I Hate Video Editing: http://bit.ly/ihatevideoediting

· “YouTube Frenzy: But the Beauty of this Rabbit Hole” http://bit.ly/youtubefrenzy

· “Tips for Competing with Yourself (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star)” http://bit.ly/Ep94BV2019blog20

· “Tips for Video Making (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star)” http://bit.ly/Ep86BV2019blog12


 



Funk album, “Sugar Fit,” 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 “Sugar Fit”: https://bit.ly/SugarFitlanding

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

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

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

· 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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