It’s not me, it’s you.
Hearing crickets on your posts & waiting for your streaming numbers to increase? Here is a list of reasons no one cares about your music & how to change that.
You’re listening to Episode 15 of the Music-Preneur Mindset Podcast.
Hey there! You’re listening to Episode 15 – Why No One Cares, where we’ll discuss why it feels like no one seems to care about what it is you offer and how to change that.
I’m your host, Suz – a mindset coach to help freelancers and DIY musicians become full-fledged music-preneurs by building sustainable careers in music.
I’ve been building businesses for the last 12 years or so, but I’ve only been what I would consider a successful entrepreneur for the last few years.
That’s because for too long I was stuck in broken mindsets when it came to earning money and getting people to care about what I was doing.
There are a lot of other reasons why my past businesses didn’t get off the ground. I explain a few of those reasons in Episode 3 – How I Parted Ways With My Business Partner & Stayed Friends and I’m sure I’ll dive into other
reasons in future episodes, but for now, let’s stick with how I’ve failed in the past to get people to care.
Even once I started The Rock/Star Advocate, it took time for me to realize what made people pay attention and how I could keep that attention on what it was I was offering.
I spent endless amounts of time stating facts about the importance of self-care and promoted all the new services I was offering and all the ways I spent my time to create change in the music industry.
I spent all my time telling musicians what they were doing wrong and what I failed to do was connect with them over the ways they were feeling when things weren’t working out for them.
I am not a musician, so I had to figure out other ways to relate to what they were going through, rather than just tell them about what I offered.
In hindsight it makes perfect sense, but when you’re in it, the best ways to get people’s attention can feel so counter-intuitive.
You assume that if you tell everyone as loud as can be, as many times as can be, that you’ve got something they’ll want they’ll join in. But it doesn’t work like that.
It may be your music or your business, but when it comes to marketing your music or your business, it’s the one thing about you that shouldn’t have anything to do with you. You see?
As much as we tell you to brand you, or market you to your fans, we’re really telling you to market them back to them. What that means is if you want others to listen to your music, get them invested in YOU {not your music} and do so by showing how they can relate to you.
Be the mirror to their own life. Show them themselves in your story.
Just think about the last commercial you saw.
For me, it was a Lysol commercial. It was about using their wipes to keep germs away from the family during the Flu season. It started with two young girls playing in the sandbox and one sneezes and continues clapping along with her friend.
Then it shows the mother in the kitchen, wiping down all of the other girl’s belongings as to prevent those germs from spreading inside the home.
Lysol then goes onto provide scientific data that illustrates its brand is approved to kill 50% more types of germs than the other leading brand {Clorox}. It ends with some nonsense about keeping the family healthy, and so on.
Their commercial is set up to tell a story that their customers can immediately relate to and the facts they provide are there to help the customer make an informed decision for their life.
Clear calls to action with a relatable connection – germs are spread in schools and parents try really hard to keep those germs from spreading. Lysol makes it easier for parents to stop the spread of germs.
Simple.
Effective.
Over 2 & 1/4 million people like & follow its page on Facebook.
They run contests that say, “10 schools will each win 10,000 Bonus Box Tops! Enter the Lysol Spread Holiday Cheer Sweepstakes today for a chance to win for your school!”
The contest is designed to help the community as a whole, it’s not about serving the company {even though it absolutely does}.
Notice that Lysol doesn’t say, “We came up with a brand new product – disinfectant wipes – go buy them today!”
Lysol also doesn’t say, “Now selling disinfectant wipes. Share this post!”
And if you were to follow them on their pages, Lysol executives wouldn’t have an auto-Direct Message set to say, “Thanks for the follow! Go buy our wipes!”
They’re not saying, “Help us sell more containers of wipes!” or “Be the 100th person to buy these new wipes!” because it’s not about the company, it’s about the consumer.
Whether you are selling music or merch or services, you are selling a solution. It could be a solution to brighten up their sad day or, if you’re performing a cover song, a solution to allow them to feel nostalgic, and so on.
Another thing I want you to do when you have time is check out the Instagram profiles of Gary Vee and Sue B. Zimmerman. Links to both pages are in the show notes.
Both are well-known coaches/speakers who are experts at building engaged superfans – fans who follow their every word and buy all their products the minute they are available.
While Gary Vee posts inspirational & motivational words of wisdom, he’s also excellent at posting content that pushes his community to take ACTION in a way that serves him immensely without making it about him.
He promotes his products by focusing on how they help his fans. Take for instance a contest he often runs on his page. He makes sure it is SUPER easy & clear for people to participate.
He posts a photo of him pointing to the 3 dots on the app that, when pressed, allow followers to turn on notifications for his posts. He then says:
“I’m going to give away 10 signed copies of my new book “Crushing It” and do a 10min FaceTime one on one with one lucky winner of the #60secClub tonight. EVERYONE – set your notifications right now by hitting the 3 ••• and then “turn on post notifications.” Notifications give you the best chance to get the post right away. The way you play the #60secClub is you have to leave a comment within 1 minute of me posting and use the hashtag #60SecClub. Who’s in? Who’s gonna win?”
By creating the #60secclub and #firstinline he is building a sense of community around those who comment on his posts within 60 seconds of him posting or who are first in line to buy his new book. He is allowing his superfans to proudly identify themselves and be rewarded in the process.
Instagram expert and consultant, Sue B. Zimmerman, boosts her followers by leaving an incredibly helpful tip or trick for her followers and says things like “Tag 3 friends in the comments below who could use this tip.” She
doesn’t say “Share this with 5 people” or “Follow me!”
She doesn’t make it about her, she makes it about how her followers can help others by sharing the tip with them AND she tells them exactly how to do it – tagging their friends in the comment.
When she promotes other people on her page she tells her followers to “go follow them for amazing info on ____ and tell them @theinstagramexpert sent you in the comments!” What this does is tell her followers how someone else can help them AND if the follower leaves a comment saying she sent them over, that person’s followers are now exposed to her profile.
There are usually 3 main reasons fans/followers won’t engage with a post, video, or song. Reason #1 is you haven’t shown them what’s in it for them. Reason #2 is that they’re not sure how to best engage/show support. Reason #3 is that they haven’t seen enough consistency from you to invest their time.
Remember that engagement is an emotional connection. For someone to be inspired to leave a comment they have to feel connected on some level to the post.
If people feel called to help someone out or leave their opinion on a matter AND know exactly how to go about doing that, they will.
They will spend money when a product or service can solve a problem for them OR when they feel invested in the person selling the product/ service.
If you are inconsistent in your messaging or not regularly engaging yourself, they will feel it on a deeper level and think twice about spending time emotionally investing in you.
Why buy your whole album if they don’t on some level trust you’re sticking around? They can stream your album for free with no risk to them, emotionally or monetarily.
To own music has now become a sign of support from fans. For them to take the step of actually owning the content, they have chosen to invest in an artist when they could have just streamed the music for free.
It’s a statement of trust.
I always tell the story of Ashlee Simpson selling 1 million records in one week. If she didn’t have a reality show for 8 weeks leading up to her release people would have never felt emotionally invested in the outcome of her story – which happened to be her album.
People didn’t buy the album necessarily because they liked her music. They bought it because they became invested in her story and just like any friend or family member of yours who comes out to your shows or buys your EP without having to hear it beforehand, viewers bought her record in the first week without much thought or convincing.
The show had spent 8 weeks selling Ashlee to the viewers, not necessarily her music. They became invested in her story and the album was another piece of that story.
After all, the lead song was called Pieces of Me and the album was called Autobiography. That’s not a mistake or coincidence.
For a more updated example – think about anything the Kardashians put out. They sell millions of products simply because they’ve been sharing their lives consistently for over 10 years and people have invested their time and energy into their story.
Purchasing their products feels like investing in a continuation of their story. It doesn’t mean their make up line or clothes are better than their competitors. People aren’t buying the products, they’re buying the brand.
Love them or hate them, their reality show has made them relatable to viewers. Even though they live a lifestyle most would only dream of they show the everyday interactions within their family that many can connect
to on some level.
I’m not saying go out and do a reality show and I’m not saying sell out just to sell your music. What I am saying, however, is start to take notice of how marketing really works.
If you’re posting online & promoting your music or services and you just can’t seem to get the kind of engagement you want, consider these questions before posting:
#1 Have I made it too much about me?
If so, try rewording the post so that it involves the audience and/or relates to what they may feel/think/experience.
#2 Have I been clear on how I’d like them to engage?
People are busy and prefer to be told exactly what you’d like them to do. Don’t make them
think too much & stick to clear calls to action such as “share this with 2
friends by tagging them below!”
#3 Have I been consistent enough with them online?
People notice more than you think & can tell when someone is unreliable. If you’re inconsistent with your posting or responding to those who have engaged, on a deeper level they can sense you as someone they can’t depend on &
therefore hesitate to invest their time & energy in you.
Always remember to be clear & specific in what you’re asking your followers to do and be appreciative of their time by engaging them and acknowledging them when they’ve taken time to leave a comment or share your post.
Do not treat engagement as something that’s to be expected. Realize how many posts people see in a given day, how much information has been thrown at them through their phone & computer screens, how many ads are vying for their attention.
The fact that they took time to leave a comment is not something to be taken lightly. Engagement begets engagement so keep the conversation going.
Also remember that for every fan who leaves a comment, there are at least 10 others who may not be saying anything but who are watching.
The way you treat someone who leaves a comment or engages with you is not just noticed by the person who left the comment, but by those who still have yet to participate.
Keep in mind the impression you want to leave on them. Show them you’re someone who appreciates others’ time and input.
If you’re not quite sure how to spark this engagement or get more conversations happening on your page, you’re in luck!
For this week’s freebie I’ve created 20 Ways to Get Fans to Care. It’s a worksheet meant to inspire ways for you to increase engagement on your pages.
Keep in mind the tools companies like Lysol and folks like Gary Vee and Sue B. Zimmerman use – be specific and make it about the follower.
You can access this worksheet for FREE by going to www.therockstaradvocate.com/ep15 and downloading it.
Links to all other examples we mentioned can be found in the show notes as well on that page.
Thanks so much for listening, Rockstar! I hope you’ve found this information helpful and empowering.
Marketing is never easy. It takes time to understand some of the principles we went over in today’s episode. The best way to learn how to implement these tools is to start studying the brands and people you invest in.
Ask yourself what made you click on that follow button or buy that album or see that show or subscribe to that podcast.
Start to notice how you are being marketed to and what’s working, as well as what’s not.
Being aware of what’s around you can be an invaluable tool.
If you enjoyed what you learned today, you can access all current episodes using your podcast platform of choice, including iTunes & Spotify, or by visiting www.therockstaradvocate.com/podcast.
If you’d like to get more clear on your message when attracting & building your audience while becoming more aware of these tools, I invite you to check out a new 3 week pop-up course I’m hosting with Cyber PR founder, Ariel Hyatt beginning this coming Monday, March 12.
Ariel is an extremely accomplished and sought-after publicist in the music industry and has written many books on engagement & marketing, including her latest book – Crowdstart – in which she goes into great detail about how to master your message on social media and get people excited to invest in that message.
We’ve decided to team up together after an incredibly successful book launch we co-hosted the other week in which we made it all about the attendees and what they wanted from the experience.
You can check out all the details at bit.ly/cyberrockstar. Currently, if you’re listening to this episode on the date it’s published, you can get the both of us PLUS copies of our books – Crowdstart & The Rock/Star Life Planner – all for under $100. Price of the course goes up on Thursday, March 8, at Midnight EST.
As always, feel free to email me at any time: suz@therockstaradvocate.com.
Until next time, Rockstar! Have a wonderful week and I hope to see you back here next Wednesday so we can get grounded to get rising! Take care.
Key Highlights
- The best way to get people’s attention [02:00]
- How Lysol reaches customers [02:57]
- How Gary Vee engages fans [05:10]
- How Sue B. Zimmerman grows her following [06:52]
- The Ashlee Simpson & Kardashian Effect [09:13]
- Questions to consider before posting [11:00]
- Time-sensitive info about my new course with Ariel Hyatt of Cyber PR [14:14]
Start getting your fans engaged & taking ACTION!
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Links/Rocksources
- Theme music brought to you by DC-based Indie/Pop band Sub-Radio
- More podcast episodes can be found here
- You can download a copy of the episode’s transcript here
- You can sign up for Ariel + Suz’ Facebook Pop Up Course here
- Check out Ariel Hyatt’s latest book, Crowdstart
- Follow Gary Vee on Instagram here
- Follow Sue B. Zimmerman on Instagram here
Thanks for listening!
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