Official Music Video for “I Luv U” released!!
The 9-Step DIY Fan Funding Checklist
The following is an excerpt from the e-course “In The Key Of Success: The Five Week Jump-Start Strategy”. You can get the rest of the course here to jump start your career today!
The next opportunity I want to suggest to you is asking your fans to pay for your new album. From June 2010 to March 2011, I raised over $25,000 in fan donations to fund the production of my record ONE UP. It’s possible, people. But no one will give you a dime if your campaign is “I really really want to make a record- please give me money!”. You need to create an opportunity for your fans that will inspire them to participate.
I offered different levels of donation from $50 to $5,000, which meant bigger prizes for those who donated more. Play big! Never think no one will ever give little old you that much. You will be surprised. The prize for a $1,000 donation was singing with me on a song. This is an experience exchange. Someone did donate $1,000 to my record, and she told me the studio experience was worth it ten times over. A couple also donated $5,000 and I wrote a song for their wedding anniversary (in addition to giving them the other levels’ benefits: a free mp3, credit in the album, a signed poster, a homemade brownie, etc.). Again, I gave them an experience, a memory, something unique for them to have forever. These are the things to offer your fans to make it personal.
The gist of my fan funding campaign:
- I set up a one-page landing site using basic HTML that users would see first before
heading to my website. (Mine is still live so you can still see it even though it’s hidden.) - I set up a PayPal account to accept donations on my own time table, on my own
website. - I sent out a monthly email to my fan list with the SPONSOR button and link in the
email (the fewer clicks the better) telling people what I was up to and how they
could be involved. - Once people started giving, I gave them regular updates on the recording process-
photos, sound clips and webisodes to keep them in the loop and to let them know their money was going to good use. You could even throw your donors a party!
It may also be a good idea to get some feedback from a handful of fans before you start the project. Ask them what they would want as incentive to give to your record. You will learn what is valuable to fans and then be able to offer them exactly what they want!
“What about a fan-funding site like Kickstarter?” you ask? The debate about sites like Kickstarter can go on for days. My biggest concern is that some sites challenge you to make a certain amount of money by a certain deadline, and if you don’t meet that goal, you don’t get ANY of the money. [For the full debate discussion, download the E-course at http://www.cbemusic.com/ecourse.]
9-Step Fan-Funding Campaign Checklist
You will now set up a fan funding system in less than a week!
1. Send an email to fans asking what they’d like to see as a reward for donating to your next project’s funding venture. Tell them you’d love an answer by the end of the week. If you haven’t yet set up a mass-mailing system for collecting and managing emails, I highly suggest using Constant Contact.
2. Use the answers plus some of your own creative ingenuity to develop a rewards scale from $5 to $5,000.
3. Create a one-page website to store all of the information on the project. If you don’t have any web design skills, request that a friend or fan help you make a simple site for this project. Also, post on Facebook and Twitter… someone will be able to help! Offer them one of the tiered prizes.
4. Set up a PayPal account and create a Sponsor button. (You will be creating a “donate” button, but be sure to name the button “Sponsor”. “Donate” implies money is going to a non profit, so unless you are a 501c, don’t be misleading.) Embed this button on your website.
5. Schedule a timeline for the production of your record, even if you are still in the songwriting stages.
6. Announce to the world via social networking and email blasts that you are launching a fan-funded project. Be sure to include a direct link to the PayPal page. Make a short video announcement as well, like Barnaby Bright’s. Remember to keep away from the “starving musician” victim voice, and be the inspiring opportunity- creator that you are!
7. Determine the length of the project to decide how many updates you will be sending. If the project is more than one month, send an update once a week. If it’s over a year, once a month. You don’t want people drowning in your project, but you want to communicate enough so they don’t wonder what you’re doing with their money.
8. Send updates about how the project is going. I liked to send an email with a quick 2-3 minute video of me talking about how it’s going, mixed in with some footage
of songwriting, recording, heading to the studio, etc. If you aren’t so hot with video editing or basic production, shoot another email out to fans and friends requesting assistance. Offer one of your rewards for said assistance!
9. BE ON TIME. Make sure to send everyone their rewards by the end of the project. Be up front about when you will be sending them their rewards. If you can’t be on time with what you initially said, then at least communicate it.
You now have the main tools to jump start your fan-funding campaign and make the most of your fans’ enthusiasm for you. Go rock it!
For tons more tools to get the results you want for your music career, go get yourself this valuable e-course. It’ll be the best money you’ve spent on your career. 
Yes, better than that new gig bag, and yes, better than that hair cut you got for you last big show, and yes, better than the money you spent on in-app add ons. I personally guarantee it.
xxoo,
Cheryl
Cheryl is a composer and singer/songwriter. Her website is www.CBEmusic.com and she writes a music industry blog called Living On Gigging. She just released “In The Key Of Success: The 5 Week Jump- Start Strategy,” an E-Course for musicians and artists on how to jump-start their careers through finding their true purpose and taking effective actions.
Posted in Living on Gigging, Marketing, Music Business
Tagged DIY, Fan Funding, indie musicians
2 Comments
Cheryl’s E-course on jump starting your music career is officially released!! It’s called In The Key Of Success: The Five Week Jump-Start Strategy. Get your copy!
5 Ways to Make the Most of the Holidays
While the corporate world and almost everyone else are out of the office for the holidays, I often struggle with this forced “downtime”; as a full-time musician, I’m never not working. I’m either plugging my next show, looking for the next film placement, writing a song, scheduling a band rehearsal, calling booking companies, or, at the very least, thinking about one of these things. This time around, I’m lucky to be releasing an e-course which is keeping me busy (shameless and important plug: if you are reading this article, you need to check out the Jump Start Strategy). But normally, most of the things we do as musicians are hard to do when the entire music industry is hibernating for a week, and an inbox full of “out of office” auto replies is simply useless to me.
I’ve come up with a solution for RMS (restless musician syndrome) that allows me to be a part of the holiday season and spirit without abandoning my work-a-holic diligence. I want to share it with you. (This is my present to you, so don’t expect a fruitcake this year, mmm kay?)
1) Write or remix a song to have a holiday feel and release it on iTunes (I like to go through TuneCore or ReverbNation – both have good single release plans that can get your song up on iTunes whenever you want) end of November. I took my song “I Luv U” from my new record and added sleigh bells, remixed the strings, raised the glockenspiel and tweaked the vocals and voila! a holiday single is born, and is available on iTunes as we speak (or read)!
2) Build contact lists for yourself. All you need is an internet connection and a little quiet time (read: sorry Aunt Greta! I can’t go to your holiday knitting party, I have to work on my career today). Start making lists of the contact info for companies you want to work with, whether management companies, licensing or publishing companies, booking agencies, or PR firms. When school is back in session, you’ll have a nice list of phone numbers and emails to reach out to, and all you have to do is press send.
3) Plan a live show for just after the holiday. With all of your family in town, happily reunited, you’ll be able to spread the word and get some more family butts in the seats than any other time of year. Promise a few favorite holiday tunes, and maybe even take requests at the dinner table so you can have a few days to prepare.
4) Let people know that you perform at holiday parties, whether a corporate party or a private house concert. Make announcements to your fan mailing list, Facebook fans and friends, and place an ad on Craigslist. If you’re going to be home for the holidays, put an ad out in your local newspaper, or, even better, try and schedule a short interview with a staff writer. They can take the angle that “singer songwriter So-And-So is coming home for the holidays and is bringing the music with them!” or something like that. I’m no newspaper writer. Once you get a few gigs, take the time to learn a few holiday favorites and you’ll be golden.
5) Share what you have going on…. With conviction! Talk like you have a plan (even better, actually have a plan!) for the upcoming months, and get the closest people in your life psyched with you. These people want to know you are doing okay and that you are happy. What better gift can you give than to say you are working on a new record, or planning your next tour, or setting up meetings with publishing companies! They’ll be inspired to see you’re following your dreams with confidence. Inspiration is priceless!
Happy holidays!
~Cheryl B. Engelhardt
Cheryl.... a looooong time ago
Cheryl B. Engelhardt is a composer and singer/songwriter based in New York City. You can follow her on Twitter (@CBE). Cheryl’s website is www.cbemusic.com. Sign up here for her monthly newsletter and to be notified when her E-course, “In The Key of Success: The 5- Week Jump Start Strategy” is available.
Posted in Living on Gigging, Music Business
Leave a comment
Today is the official release of the “I Luv U” Holiday Remix. Download it now on iTunes!
Posted in News
Leave a comment
Writing, for me, is like running. They are both good for me (and for those around me), yet they both take a marching band-sized cheering squad to get me started. The amount of debating, procrastinating, dodging, and fidgeting I do when I know it’s time to open a blank Pages document or put on my running shoes, is ridiculous. I’ve been on my own, making money and getting my own gigs, for YEARS. You’d think being a freelance composer and an independent artist (not to mention a personal trainer back in the day) would require mad discipline and skills to overcome the temptations of procrastination. So why have I been feeling so stuck lately??
The answer came to me recently while developing an E-course for independent musicians looking to make new strides in their careers. Through this process, I had to examine my own practices and habits. I learned that the moments of feeling stuck in my career were usually followed by moments of occupational breakthroughs. Seemingly insignificant opportunities, where I was dragging my feet to complete small tasks, opened up bigger doors. Just knowing that feeling stuck is my personal way of resisting the success that lies ahead has allowed me to ignore the calls of procrastination. Side note: “procrastinate” means “defer action”. Duh. When we are up to something big, we have bigger inner-demons to vanquish. My E-course is just my latest and greatest endeavor that has lots of potential for success, which means lots of demons trying to keep me comfortable (read: SMALL) to fight off.
So now, whenever I feel stuck, overwhelmed, underwhelmed, and just plain uncertain of the future, instead of letting the demons win (and by the way, their names are: Spinning My Wheels, Doing Busy Work That Gets Me Nowhere, Feeling Lazy, Unmotivated, Hopeless, You Can’t REALLY Do That), I stick to the following steps:
1) Jot down a couple of sentences that describe your big picture…. what you really want for your life, and what you are up to in your career.
2) Write down five things you’ve recently accomplished, no matter how big or small. Give yourself a moment to acknowledge all you’ve already achieved!
3) Write down at least five actions to take that will create opportunities…. no matter how much you’re not in the mood to do them.
4) Do those actions. Today! No matter what. Like your life depends on it.
5) Call up a friend and make an accountability buddy. Tell this person what your big picture is and how you plan to achieve it, starting with things to do this week. Ask your buddy to check in with you before the end of the week to make sure you are on track, to see if you need any motivation, and to keep you accountable for what you said you would do.
By reassessing what I want in life, having some clear things to do, and having someone standing by me while I do them gives me the juice I need to re-center my goals and my attitude. And when I can do this with my career, it’s much easier to put on those running shoes and hit the road.
Cheryl B. Engelhardt is a composer and singer/songwriter based in New York City. She recently got engaged to a mountain guide. They both rock. Her website is www.cbemusic.com. Sign up here for her monthly newsletter and to be notified when her E-course is available.
Posted in Living on Gigging, Music Business
Tagged indie artist, motivation, procrastinate, procrastination, stuck
Leave a comment
New album reviews from all over: Belgium’s “Roots Time” (if you speak the language), The New York Optimist, and the UK’s “All Gigs”!
Posted in News
Leave a comment
Cheryl just got back from a successful trip/tour in California where she landed a great publishing deal for “One Up” and secured a new gig writing music for movie trailers!
Posted in News
Leave a comment
The Baby Committment
It’s been a while since I’ve written. You’ve heard this before, right? From other artists whose mailing lists you are on. Maybe you’ve heard it from a friend over email. Or perhaps you’ve written it yourself. The cause of such a hiatus, I have observed, is usually due to the creation of something that takes all of one’s energy and attention. I’ve heard it from my friends who just had a baby. And I’ve heard it from friends who were looking, and then finally bought a house. And I’m writing it now, to you, because I released a record.
For the past year and a half I felt like I was at war. Or at least in a very intense wrestling match… With myself, with my bank account, with my loved ones, with my music, my lyrics, with everything. It felt dramatic, pressurized, urgent, as if this was IT, the last chance, the final statement. Very theatrical, I know. Really, what was happening, is that I was making an album. That’s all.
I’ll have another post soon about my exact process of raising $25,000 from fans and sponsors to fund the record, and the process of selling the demo versions on my site via a pay-what-you-want model prior to the record being released. For now, I’m writing to you to transition back into the world of touring, record-promotion, music supervisor-pitching, fan-gathering, and whatever it is this blog does for you.
I’m in San Francisco, staying with a friend and her baby. It’s funny. I’m not a big fan of babies, in general. (This one is particularly cute and chill, and doesn’t scream and cry, so I approve.) I’m not a fan, yet I’m constantly comparing my new records, songs and creative process to them. The analogy is sort of obvious, with all the preparation and care and love and nausea, then the post-birth nursing and tending and trying to get into the best nursery school / licensing library so it can flourish and be successful. But the sentiment is there for both: undying love and passion for the thing you created, tied up with attachment.
This is where the baby analogy and I part ways. I’ve learned that the word attachment is something to be wary of. Being attached to my record, and how “successful” it needs to be has, in the past, put blinders on me. I came up with what it’s supposed to look like, what I should be doing by now, who I should be touring with, how much money I should have made off of it by now, which cuts off any possibility that something else can come in and work. (By the way, should is the cousin of attachment. Caution: use with care, or not at all.) Just being committed to my record’s success keeps me moving forward and taking the appropriate actions, yet without the desperation, urgency, feeling of constant need, and pressure that being attached was producing.
To put this in reality: I am open to have my record’s success come from anywhere. I take on all opportunities, from providing a song to a blog’s video project and helping edit the video, to calling up my favorite clothing store and asking them if i can get my music in their store’s library. I visit friends in far away cities, and look up every licensing company and music-related company in the area. Today I have a meeting with 2 music supervision companies. Tomorrow I’m getting a private tour of Pandora Radio. I have no idea what will come out of any of it, but taking action, being open-minded, and just immersing myself in the industry, the companies that are making things happen, and in relationships that are positive, progressive and supportive will yield some sort of fruit, I’m sure. Whether it’s apples or oranges doesn’t matter. Like most parents-to-be say when asked “do you want a boy or a girl?” I just want it to be healthy.
Posted in Living on Gigging, Music Business, On a Personal Note
5 Comments