Today, I want to talk about the daily habits you've incorporated into your music career. Specifically, I want to tell you about the power of focus and getting things done. These two habits separate those who only dream about being a successful musician and those who are doing it.

Resources:

Episode #8 - SMARTER Goals

We've all felt stuck before: sometimes, it's the lack of creativity. Other times, it feels like the lack of productivity. In today's episode, we'll identify a couple of key practices you can use to keep on keeping on.

Resources:

Episode #8 - SMARTER Goals

BOOK - The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles

"The best defense is a good offense." When unexpected things happen in your music career (and they will), what kind of plan do you have? How can you prepare for those situations?

Episodes Covered:

Episode #297 - Travel Rewards for Touring Musicians

Episode #298 - Getting a Logo or Artwork for Your Band

Episode #299 - How to Promote Out of Town Shows

Episode #300 - How to Get People to Respond to Your Email

Episode #301 - When Airlines Break Your Stuff

Episode #302 - The Buy One Get One Strategy

Episode #303 - The Nashville Round: How You Can Make Your Shows Remarkable

A Nashville Round is an interesting way to showcase songs but most artists end up getting lost in the mix. In today's episode, I focus on how the ideas of standing out in a round can really help you stand out in any kind of showcase: open mic, music festival, or just a regular show with a lot of different artists.

Today's episode is about the Buy One, Get One strategy that many companies are using to drive their strategic philanthropy efforts. How have you ever thought of using this to inspire a new model for growth and reaching fans with your music business?

Related Episodes:

Episode #40 - Strategic Philanthropy and Your Music

Episode #118 - Art and Activism

Resources:

Podcast - How I Built This episode on TOMS (a great story!)

Websites to find nonprofits: CharityNavigator.com and VolunteerMatch.org

And if you're looking for a cool nonprofit, check out The Slants Foundation!

After a couple of recent incidents of having my things broken, I decided to do an episode on what you can do when you find your instrument, luggage, or anything else busted up from air travel.

Resources:

USA Today article: Here's how to get reimbursed for your damaged luggage on every U.S. airline

How do you get people to answer to your email messages? When should you follow up? How many words should be in that first message? In today's episode, I discuss email best practices.

Resources:

Boomerang for Gmail

Today, we answer a question from Charlie Cook of the Kronk Men - check them out here!

In it, I talk about how you can really promote your out of town shows more effectively. You'll learn about the difference between push and pull strategies as well as specific tactics that you can use today. Remember, the key is that everything should be unique, generous, and resonate with your target audience.

Today's episode was inspired by a question submitted to MBH on dealing with designers. When it comes to getting a logo or images for your merchandise, what are some important considerations? In this episode, I'll try and help you navigate the issue so you won't have any problems.

Resources:

99designs.com

Are you taking advantage of the many travel rewards available for musicians? You could be leaving a lot of benefits like free flights and hotel rooms as well as discounts off gas on the table. Today, I talk about one of the least discusses best business practices that more artists should be taking advantage of: travel rewards.

Here's the system I use: 

• Hotels.com for booking accomodations. I always them because they have the largest selection available, competitive pricing, and give you a free hotel room for every ten nights you book - that's like getting 10% off each time. Plus, you can save the nights up and have a future tour taken care of. If you sign up here, you'll get $50 off your first stay.
• I pay for all of my purchases through my Chase Sapphire Preferred card. That's because you get 2x points for all travel and dining (which is almost my entire tour) and you get some of the best and flexible travel rewards out there. If you use my referral link, you'll get 60,000 points after 90 days - which is enough for two roundtrip flights just about anywhere in the U.S.
• Frequent flyer programs for American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and Delta Airlines. That's because I tend to fly those three airlines more than anyone else. In addition to getting points from my Chase card, I also accrue rewards from each of these airlines for additional free flights.
• Hotel rewards programs through Hilton, Marriott, and IHG. While you don't get credit for nights stayed unless you book directly through the hotel, you do get other perks for signing up for their free programs like free wifi and bottles of water when you check in. I've also received upgrades as well. I don't stay enough at any of these hotels so I still prefer hotels.com for the place to make my reservations.
• Get reimbursed when possible. When I fly out to events or have an agreement where organizations/promoters will take of the hotel, I always offer to make travel arrangements and get reimbursed so that I can take advantage of the rewards points available.

Great websites to review programs:

The Points Guy: The Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards of 2019

US News: Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards