Day 26 : No, not Diddy's boy band...

The holiday season is having its way with me. I always come up with great marketing ideas right in the middle, but I've finally accepted that these may be for next year. You can test, though.

And I'm feeling the wonders of the digital download. Not so much for myself, but it's nice not to be stressing about how many more shipping days are left. Downloads allow fans to shop Christmas morning and immediately get what they need. T'ank you, e-junkie. I'm also discovering the wonders of Etsy and Ebay.

Spent a few hours cutting my holiday tunes into :60, :45, and :90 instrumentals, so I can offer them to my voice over clients as instant audio ads or multimedia trailers. Think about doing this. If you want to get into licensing, think about which part of your song would make great background music, which would have impact in an ad. This is a more creative process than you think, and it's fun to repurpose yourself in a new way.

I'm on a ton of podcasts right now, too. Need to get a definitive list set up. Will probably post it at Too Cool for the Yule. Lookie how I'm keeping up on my websites, kids, it's a new me!

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Day 25 : Little Things

Sometimes it's just the little things. Sometimes they're all you've got at the moment.

Today I downloaded the newest version of Derek Sivers' Music Marketing Tips e-Book to get a refresher of marketing ideas. I've had most of these I'm sure for years and years, printed out and spiral bound from back when they were on the CD Baby site, but it's nice to update, and Derek is always a fun and informative read.

I'm printing it out now on bright green paper just for fun. It'll be easy to spot in the room, so I won't forget about it!

My gut is telling me something big is on the horizon, but the to-do lists lately have been full of the kind of stuff you just have to plug away at to accomplish the greater whole. It can get mundane. I'm trying to not focus too hard on the outcome yet. I don't want to get attached to it until I really see the direction all of my efforts are going.

So right now, it's the little things that are keeping me going.

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Day 24 - Much Ado about To-Do Lists

I have three white boards that I keep running lists on throughout the day/week/month/session. The monthly-calendar is convenient for tracking upcoming clients, and future-pacing my work. The big one that's on an easel in the middle of the office keeps my partner and I on task with CD projects and day-to-day operations, letting us easily check off whose done what for the day, and plan ahead for the next day where we can both reference it. I have another good sized white board in the recording room, so I can keep track of tasks associated with a particular session or project that I'm working on in the moment.

This level of organization is a bit nerdy, but truly helpful. I tend to get lost under the heap of written to-do lists that start stacking up every day if I keep them on paper, and my partner and I are never able to be completely on the same page that way (so to speak).

Plus, once a task or item is erased, it's gone, never to weigh me down again (unless it's a recurring task). It feels good to see it go, and it's eco-friendly, because I haven't created any waste in doing it.

Getcha one. At least one. Seriously, it rocks.

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Day 23 : The Circle of Life.

:::insert a very tamed Elton John belting the "Lion King" theme here:::

I'm just going to do it that way. I don't have the energy to YouTube it tonight!

Is the holiday season your busiest? I can't really say that it's physically more demanding than any other time of the year for my business, but mentally, and maybe even emotionally, it takes it out of me. The marketing plan changes up to take advantage of "the perfect gift" of one of our CDs, or one of those studio services someone's been saving up for. You don't get that opportunity any other time of the year, so you don't want to squander it.

But, in reality, it's just a different working vibe, not really a more demanding one.

This year we get to enjoy more time with our holiday CD we recorded last year, and since it was already done, we've gotten to actually form a marketing plan that isn't completely last minute. I'm not used to this feeling! It's like an accomplishment all on its own. Our preparations for our February release are underway already, too. It almost has me convinced that high pressure deadlines don't prove your salt as much as how much calm planning and preparation you bring to the table.

So, I have come full circle in that way. It's a change I'm ok with.

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Day 22 : Global and Local Warming is Killing the Corporate Climate.

It's a global economy. I've gotten to work with a ton of great companies, mostly based here in the US of A, but some in Canada and across a few big ponds, too. It's fun, because I'm mindful of what I choose to do, so I know my work is supporting things that I support, too.

If there's one thing that the past year or two have taught us (auto and music in"duh"stries, I'm looking at you), it's that this over-the-top corporate atmospheres just don't have a place in our world anymore. The more people sucking the life out of a business, the less that actually gets done.

Instead of having these big bureaucratic entities creating fat in a business and slowing every process down, filling it with red tape, or delaying it so long that it's no longer relevant, I see more and more people instead whittling down their businesses to lean, progress machines, with direct networks to the other businesses or freelancers that will get their tasks done, feeding the economy and keeping everyone proactive.

People get so excited at a straight answer, a direct time-frame, a job completed. I know, seems silly, doesn't it? Isn't that what a business is supposed to do? But so much of what most businesses do is just...idle. Motion is the key.

So that's where I've been the last few days. In motion. How about you?


(Oh, and here's how I feel about the auto in"duh"stry. Check out the info on the video link for more back story).

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Day 21 : Always have enough shipping boxes.

Today's message is pretty literal. We spent a lot of time today looking for a proper shipping box. So I ordered a ULine catalog so we can avoid this in the future.

My very awesome partner recently launched his luthier/guitar repair shop, and I will use the rest of my post to sing his praises. In the words of his latest client, "As they say in the kung-fu movies, "Your skills are superb!" ". I've known this all along (Paul built my custom Strat, and has done setup and repair work on every other guitar in our collection), but it's awesome to see everyone else in the world getting hip to his mad skillz.

I'll be setting up his shop page on our site over the next few days. Look for it!

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Day 20 : You - The Walking Billboard

Since so much about my business seems to have changed over the last couple of months, a bit of a makeover was in order this weekend for our billboard. And by "billboard", I mean "me", since I'm the walking representation of my business to the outside world.

It's easy, especially when you're dealing mainly with clients and customers online, to forget that when you're out among the general populace, you're still representing your business. Especially when your business is "you" (musicians--heed this), how "you" appear has an impact.

I don't subscribe to the 'normal business attire' aesthetic. I don't have a normal business, so why should I? But I don't want to be a slob (it goes along with the ethos that "just because you can work in your PJ's doesn't mean you should"). So the modern girl got herself a few modern pieces. Thanks to Mr. Recessionpants, I hadn't been able to do that in awhile, and my studio gear was, to be blunt, no longer modern enough to earn that tagline. So there.

This is a pretty superficial post on the surface, but there's a lot to be said for how the right suit or the right pleather pants make you feel pretty good, which in turn makes you stand a little taller, and do your job a little better (even if your job includes wailing into a microphone). Don't let yourself slip into wardrobe doldrums. It's not good for the clients!

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