Rie Asked:
What is the most-effective viral marketing plan? Should you brand yourself online? Today, I answer questionnaire I received from Rie Sheridan Rose who wrote: “I am doing a platform building challenge, and today's task is to interview an expert. You are the best marketing guy I know. Would you be willing to do an email interview–like ten questions–about marketing and Kickstarter in particular, because I may need to do some projects soon, and you always do so well.”
Find out more about Rie Sheridan Rose at http://riewriter.com/
My Response:
My marketing is successful pretty much attributed to dedication and persistence. Fortunately for me, I love marketing! As it's the music business, I realized (Pointer #1) that 50% of my time needed to be spent on music, and 50% needed to be spent on business.
Pointer #2: Use your time wisely! One key thing for me in freeing up my time was taking my evening TV time and using that for marketing. Spending a lot of time educating myself on marketing was a key in my success, as well as teaching what I'd learned to others.
Pointer #3: What is the most effective method of viral marketing? Word of Mouth is the clear winner, though Podcasting is a good runner-up. Video can be even better than Podcasting, but it requires a lot more tech-saviness.
Pointer #4: Free! Giving stuff away for free is important, as I believe that if you give music away, people will return the value in the future. Podcasting has sort of taken over, but I still give away music and encouraging it.
Pointer #5: Writing is a great way to boost marketing online, as the internet is based around writing. So when you can summarize and add keywords to your podcast titles or notes, that'll help you in the long-run. It'll help attract your target audience through the beauty of search-engine optimization.
How important is personal branding? It was hugely important for me – using your name can be good for a personal brand, but it's easier to promote a band name or pseudonym. Branding needs to be reflected in your website and bring your style to the forefront. But do what's natural – if you're not a podcaster, don't podcast! If you don't like writing blogs daily, don't blog!
When it comes to marketing, how important is a website? And having multiple focused ones vs. one main one? I'd recommend only having one. While I have several to utilize search-engine optimization, it's easier and more streamlined to manage a single website. This also helps focus you and your fans onto your brand. I'll create mini-sites for special projects, which can be helpful to promote one thing, but you need to focus your energy on one thing. Finding your target audience and catering directly to them can help a lot!
To subscribe, go to iTunes, or go to Celtfather.com where you can also join my mailing list to download a free album. This show is sponsored by my Patrons of the Arts. You can support my music, podcasts, and creative endeavors for as little as $1 per month. Go to marcgunn.com/patron and get bonus content. Post feedback in the shownotes, use the hashtag #celtfather on social media, or email me marc@marcgunn.com
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