The Songwriter's Planner Podcast

Episode 65

Greetings friends and welcome to this week’s episode!

For this podcast, I wanted to dive into an issue that rarely gets addressed for artists and musicians and that is how to pursue your passion for music as a parent.

Let’s face it, being a parent is challenging. Not only is a lot of your time dedicated to raising a child (children) but it can also take up a lot of your energy. Especially the little ones!

I myself am a parent and have dealt with many of these challenges when it comes to learning how to stay productive and creative in music whilst staying active in your children’s lives.

Just because you are a parent doesn’t mean you have any less reason to pursue music as your passion. It is still very much a reality for you, especially in this day and age.

You may not have the same freedoms you once had before kids but that’s not a bad thing. Arranging your life and setting up new habits to keep music in the forefront for you is very achievable.

In This Podcast You Will Learn:

1). Why becoming a parent can be traditionally perceived as a “show stopper” when it comes to pursuing your passion for music and why this isn’t true.

2). Why your most important asset as a parent still pursuing music will be time management and scheduling.

3).How using the technologies of today (skype, file sharing etc) make it possible for you to still stay creative and productive towards growing interest in your music and collaborating with other people.

4). Why remembering your reasons for pursuing music in the first place will help you push through during challenging times and knowing that it is still very much a possibility for you to create and pursue music as a parent.

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Thanks again for joining me on this week’s episode. If you are a parent or are “soon to be” one, then I hope you found this week’s episode valuable.

As mentioned before, becoming a parent doesn’t mean that you have to put your career on hold. There are plenty of ways to still pursue music just like everyone else.

The trick is knowing how to adjust your life to being both an amazing parent and a passionate artist at the same time.

Til Next time, peace n love!

Mike

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Questions, comments or concerns? I’d love to hear them!

Swing by and drop me a line at:

www.facebook.com/songwritersplanner

www.instagram.com/songwriters_planner

Get organized, accomplish your goals and stay inspired. Order your planner today.

Episode 64

Greetings friends and thanks for joining me today on the podcast!

This week I’m taking a closer look at the opportunities you can create for yourself by “diversifying” your skills as a musician.

In today’s industry writing, recording and performing music is only one aspect of what we now have complete control over.

With advancements in media streaming, social media and technology there are endless amounts of resources available to us to further our skills and abilities as an artist that can benefit our music career.

How about learning a new instrument, or how to record yourself, maybe give lessons via Skye?

These are just a few skills that we have the power to adopt which can open up new opportunities to help either fund or further our career in music.

In This Podcast You Will Learn:

1). What I mean specifically by “diversifying” your current musical skillsets to benefit your career to either gain more fans or add possible revenue streams.

2). Why focusing efforts into doing “more” than just the main passion you have for music makes you more valuable to yourself and possibly to your creative project.

3). How sharing your knowledge of being a musician and playing your instrument through teaching lessons online or through a YouTube channel is a great way to diversify your presence with skills you already have. This could also lead to other revenue streams as well.

4). Why investing in learning a new skill like recording your own music or learning a new instrument is also an investment in your career. This can make you more valuable to any situation you encounter in the future.

5). The reason why NOW is the time to start investing in yourself outside of what you already know in regards to your musical abilities.

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Thanks again for listening to this week’s podcast!

This truly is a great time to be an artist with all of the resources we now have available to us. Being able to write, perform, and distribute your music is only a small portion of what we can add to our musical plates of skill sets.

There are many more “side” hustles you can adopt to help compliment your music and give you more opportunities to achieve your goals in music.

I hope you have a moment to check out this week’s episode.

Peace N Love,

Mike

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Questions, comments or concerns? I’d love to hear them!

Swing by and drop me a line at:

www.facebook.com/songwritersplanner

www.instagram.com/songwriters_planner

Get organized, accomplish your goals and stay inspired. Order your planner today.

Episode 63

Hello friends and thank you for joining me today on the podcast!

Playing live is the best feeling as a musician.

Getting to share what you love to do in front of a live audience is the root of what usually inspires us to get into music in the first place.

However it’s very easy to be forgotten especially with the abundance of live acts out there today.

Whether you’re a local or national act, we all struggle with trying to find new audiences and most importantly “retain” them.

Luckily, there are some things we can all keep in mind when playing live that will “spice up” our chances of being remembered far after the venue doors have closed.

If you are serious about holding onto the people that enjoyed you live then today’s podcast may have some great tips for you to consider the next time you saddle up and head to your next gig.

In This Podcast You Will Learn:

1). Why it’s important to think about ways to retain fans during your shows and how you can easily be distracted which can lead to lost opportunities.

2). The difference between being proactive by making it easy for fans to find you instead of expecting the fans to be more proactive in looking you up. It doesn’t always work that way.

3). How important it is to communicate your name and your social media sites while you’re on stage and the importance of repeating this information during the course of your set.

4). Why making an effort to collect email addresses after your show is the best time and is key in growing your email subscriber list.

5). If you have the chance to leave your fans with something they can take home like a sticker or a flyer, that gives you great chances in them remembering you after the doors have closed.

6). Why being personable when you meet someone that likes your music makes a great impression and how that can make a difference in growing your fanbase.

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Thanks again for joining this episode! Building and retaining fans via live performances can be a lot of fun but can also be big missed opportunities.

For many musicians, playing live is their bread and butter and maximizing every opportunity you have to make a new fan is very important.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of setting up for a show, playing it and then packing back up it can be easy to forget the main reason why you do it all…

To make new fans.

I hope you enjoyed this episode and that it shed some light on a few things that will help you not only make new fans but retain them for as long as possible.

Til next episode, peace n love!

Mike

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Questions, comments or concerns? I’d love to hear them!

Swing by and drop me a line at:

www.facebook.com/songwritersplanner

www.instagram.com/songwriters_planner

Get organized, accomplish your goals and stay inspired. Order your planner today.

Episode 62

Greetings friends and thank you again for swinging by the podcast!

YouTube is the biggest video watching platform on the internet. With 1.9 active visitors per month and 5 billion videos watched per day, it has become the leading “go to” place to consume video content on just about anything you could ever imagine.

But how does this help you?

The good news about YouTube is that ANYONE can start a channel and as an artist, you should be jumping out of your underwear because of this!

Ok, maybe not that much. But it does give you a great way to connect with your fans and/or find new ones.

So, what should you post on your channel? Your music of course but what else can you provide to the people who want to get to know you more?

In This Podcast You Will Learn:

1). Why having a YouTube channel is crucial to you if you are an artist who is serious about finding new fans online.

2). The importance of uploading as much content you currently have (albums, live shows, demos etc) to your YouTube channel and why that’s a good “base” to start from.

3). A few ideas you can upload for a “video diary” to update your fans on your latest shows, recordings or songs and why this is great for connecting with people who are interested in you and showing them more about you than just your music.

4). Why being consistent with uploading new videos is most important when growing a YouTube channel. Fresh content is crucial to keep your fans interested and engaged over time which will help separate you from other artists that don’t maintain their channel.

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Thank you again for joining me for this episode. YouTube is one of the best weapons we have as artists in today’s modern music market. And the great opportunities it provides artists to connect with friends, family and fans make setting up your own channel worth it.

I hope you enjoy today’s episode especially if you’re just starting out on YouTube and want to know more about how it can help you build your music career up.

Til next time, peace n love!

Mike

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Questions, comments or concerns? I’d love to hear them!

Swing by and drop me a line at:

www.facebook.com/songwritersplanner

www.instagram.com/songwriters_planner

Get organized, accomplish your goals and stay inspired. Order your planner today.

Episode 61

Greetings friends and thanks as always for joining me on today’s podcast.

This week I’m tackling an issue that we can sometimes struggle with as musicians which is how to be a better “live” performer.

If your goal is to become a great musician, band or artists then there is no escaping the need to play in front of a live audience.

It’s the essence of what we do!

But what if you feel you’re not good enough or not as good as you want to be? How do you get to the point where you feel confident like the people you idolize or influence you?

Self-doubt, watching others and saying “I’ll never be as good as them” can cripple your confidence and we don’t want that.

Luckily, there are some basic things you can work on to help give you the confidence and presence you seek.

Becoming a great live performer doesn’t happen overnight and takes work but that’s the journey we all partake when we choose music.

In This Podcast You Will Learn:

1). How the people who we idolized when starting out heavily influenced our perception as to what it is to be a great live performer.

2). A few of the reasons why being a great live performer is important and how it can help make an impact on your career.

3). How researching and learning from those that put on great live performances can help you become more aware of what you can do to improve on stage.

4). Why focusing on productive rehearsals are important and how they prepare you to attain better confidence.

5). When it comes down to it, why there is no complete substitution for getting better on stage other than doing it as often as you can.

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Thanks again for joining me for this episode. It’s important that you feel 100% confident when you step on stage. As an artist, it’s one of the best feelings in the world!

But if you don’t feel on par with where you think you should be or compare yourself to others then it won’t be the amazing experience it should be.

Just remember, it doesn’t have to be that way!

If you feel like you’re live performance is lacking where you’re a solo artist or a band, I hope you have a moment to check out this week’s podcast.

Thanks and as always, peace n love!

Mike

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Questions, comments or concerns? I’d love to hear them!

Swing by and drop me a line at:

www.facebook.com/songwritersplanner

www.instagram.com/songwriters_planner

Get organized, accomplish your goals and stay inspired. Order your planner today.

Episode 60

Greetings and thanks again for joining me on the podcast today!

For this episode, I wanted to dive into something that occasionally happens when you’re working in either a band or collaborative project for an extended period of time.

You break up.

I know it can be frustrating, disheartening, sad, and debilitating creatively. Unfortunately working in a group situation can lead to this and that is all part of the creative process.

But how do you stay creative when this happens?

Staying inspired and creative is still key to being an artist and no matter what happens along your creative journey there are always things you can do to keep those creative muscles flexing and in shape.

Doing so can also make you feel like you’re still “in the game” so to speak and get you back up and running on to your next project.

In This Podcast You Will Learn:

1). How band break ups can affect your inspiration and willingness to still create especially if you’ve been vested in the project for a long time.

2). Why it doesn’t matter how you express yourself musically (singer, guitarist, drummer etc), there is always a way to stay motivated during challenging times.

3). The importance of collaborating with someone new and how that can open up new ideas that you never experienced before.

4). How experimenting with new instruments or genres can keep you in an inspirational place and help fuel more creativity outside of what you are used to.

5). Why changing your surroundings by traveling or seeing new places can keep you inspired without you even knowing it.

6). The importance of trying a new creative outlet like drawing or painting can ignite certain feelings of creativity and motivation that you may have forgotten.

7). Why staying active and keeping your motivation alive during transitional periods will help make you a better, more well-rounded artist overall.

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Thanks again for checking out this week’s episode. It’s no fun when your creative outlet decides to call it quits. Especially when you’ve dedicated a lot of time and energy to it.

But it happens.

Fortunately, that doesn’t mean the end for you, quite the opposite actually. Finding ways to stay creative as you transition into your next project (whatever that may be) is key to staying connected to your creative side.

I hope that after listening to this episode, you will agree.

Til next episode! Peace N love.

Mike

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Questions, comments or concerns? I’d love to hear them!

Swing by and drop me a line at:

www.facebook.com/songwritersplanner

www.instagram.com/songwriters_planner

Get organized, accomplish your goals and stay inspired. Order your planner today.

Episode 59

Greetings friends and thanks for joining me on today’s episode!

This week, I’m diving into social media promotion and why most musicians and artists fall short when it comes to promoting their music online.

I’m also including myself in this group since I regularly promote my own projects as well.

Social media is the most powerful tool we have as artists to get more people interested in our music but in most cases, we aren’t utilizing it most effectively.

Social media is meant to be just that… “Social” and most times we forget that aspect of it. we tend to just use social media as a place to advertise our latest shows or new music.

In order to get the best results from promoting on social media we will need to dig a little deeper and look at it from a more value added perspective.

In This Podcast You Will Learn:

1). Why promoting on social media can be challenging for artists and musicians when it comes to finding new fans and why it’s easy to forget the “social” aspect.

2). Why “transmit only” style promoting which used to work before the age of social media, doesn’t necessarily work now and what is transmit only promotion in the first place.

3). The importance of “adding value” to your fans when you promote and flipping it around to focus on them instead of you to build trust which will then lead to attention.

4). Why following the 80 – 20 rule when posting online is a good indicator of how much you should focus on you and your music and how much you should focus on adding value to your fans.

5). How we as a society have been trained to “tune out” ads online and if you’re not careful, you could easily sound like an ad when promoting your music and thus being ignored.

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Thanks again for checking out this podcast! If you’re like me then you are constantly thinking about ways to get more eyes and ears on your art.

Social media is our best weapon for this but only works best when utilized for the very nature that it was intended.

I hope you find insight and value in this episode and that it helps you in your own promotional campaigns.

Til next time, peace n love!

Mike

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Questions, comments or concerns? I’d love to hear them!

Swing by and drop me a line at:

www.facebook.com/songwritersplanner

www.instagram.com/songwriters_planner

Get organized, accomplish your goals and stay inspired. Order your planner today.

Episode 58

Greetings friends and thank you for joining me on today’s episode!

For today’s topic, I wanted to take a closer look at something I think we all wrestle with from time to time.

Our age and where we think we should be in our careers.

When starting out in music most of us have grandiose dreams of making it “big” and pulling in huge crowds and being big stars. (Maybe just me?)

But as time goes on, we may feel like the correlation between our age and our “success” as artists isn’t matching up.

Have you ever felt like this?

The good news is that you don’t have to. The world today is a new place, even from what it was just 15 years ago. Today you have unlimited ways to find new fans for your music no matter what age you are.

Your age and progress can have nothing to do with each other (they never should really) and the internet has opened up ways for us to create, promote and share our music with audiences across the world.

It truly is a time for you to make music at your own speed as there is something for everybody.

In This Podcast You Will Learn:

1). Some of the common misconceptions we tell ourselves as we get older about why we don’t make music a priority anymore and why that’s farthest from the truth.

2). How the internet has changed the game in terms of finding new fans and getting your music heard no matter what age you are or where you’re at.

3). How different generations (baby boomers, millennials etc) view the music industry today and why your age has nothing to do with utilizing this new landscape.

4). The importance of affordable technology to record your music and how that has shifted the power back to the artist in terms of making your own music and records.

5). The different ways you can grow your fanbase via the internet by posting your music on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud etc.

6). Why persistence, learning, and passion are more important than ever to remember as an artist and how they will help you grow your music career in this modern age.

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Thanks again for swinging by this podcast!

If you’ve ever felt like you haven’t had enough “success” or haven’t “made it” yet and are too old to try then I hope you found this episode useful.

There truly is no limit to what you can achieve with your music in today’s market. There is a fan base for everyone and your age should have nothing to do with it.

Whether you are a Baby Boomer, Gen X’er, Millennial or beyond, there is a way to find fans who will connect with you no matter where you are. It just takes time, work and patience.

Thanks again and here’s to the next episode!

Peace N Love,

Mike

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Questions, comments or concerns? I’d love to hear them!

Swing by and drop me a line at:

www.facebook.com/songwritersplanner

www.instagram.com/songwriters_planner

Get organized, accomplish your goals and stay inspired. Order your planner today.

Episode 57

Hello friends and thank you for joining me on this week’s episode!

For this podcast I felt the need to revisit the same topics I discussed in episode #56 “Your Audience Is Everything”. As I was filming that episode I didn’t feel like I had touched on enough.

So I decided to film a part 2 of course!

This episode gets closer to the idea of thinking and promoting yourself as a relate-able “brand” towards your audience instead of just an artist or band.

We all start off in music as a project with musical ideas and songs. But with the power of the internet and the abilities to broadcast your music/message 24 hours a day, this gives us the opportunity to be more than just music.

Social media allows us the chance to reach our audiences all over the world and connect with them on a consistent basis. Doing so allows growth and trust which is the cornerstone of any reputable brand.

Building a following of people who don’t know who you are at first isn’t easy but it is possible. With a consistent message, music that you pour your heart into and empathy with the people you interact with, it is very possible to grow and take care of your audience.

But it takes work:)

In This Podcast You Will Learn:

1). Recapping what the new “audience” is defined as in this social media-driven world and why that’s important for artists.

2). The commonalities that make up a successful “brands” and how we can learn from these points to help create a brand around our own music.

3). Why people’s attention is the most valuable commodity in the market and why approaching your music efforts in a branded fashion will help garner more attention to you.

4). How consistency with creating your content (music, videos, social media etc) is one of the backbones of branding and why you should make it a priority.

5). The importance of engaging with your audience and making yourself attainable and relate-able and how that translates into loyalty and attention.

6). Why the journey to becoming more “brand like” is different for everyone but what’s important is the effort you put into finding that formula that your fans (current and new) respond to the best.

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Thanks again for swinging by this podcast. I hope this “Part 2” episode of “Your Audience Is Everything” will further illustrates how important it is to re-engineer our mindsets when it comes to finding new audiences and nurturing current ones.

As artists we exist in an amazing new era and the tools and tactics available to us to help spread our music across the planet is astounding.

Knowing the best way to approach your music from an “audience” standpoint will give you the best chances in carving out a rewarding career in music for yourself.

Til the next episode, peace n love!

Mike

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Questions, comments or concerns? I’d love to hear them!

Swing by and drop me a line at:

www.facebook.com/songwritersplanner

www.instagram.com/songwriters_planner

Get organized, accomplish your goals and stay inspired. Order your planner today.

Episode 56

Greetings friends and thanks again for stopping by this week’s podcast.

For this episode, I wanted to dive into what it means to have an actual “audience” in today’s music industry and how it can be a game changer for you and your music.

Trying to grow a following is very difficult especially if you’re just starting out in a project or career. The key to gaining any kind of traction is to attract an “audience”.

But there is more to it than just an audience in the traditional sense where people come to see you at your shows etc.

In today’s social media driven world, having an engaged and in-tune audience 24/7 can make the difference in your music career and help separate you from everyone who is struggling to gain fans.

In This Podcast You Will Learn:

1). What the new definition of an “audience” is in this day and age and why it’s important to understand this as an artist.

2). The biggest mistake musicians and artists make when trying to promote their music online which ultimately leads to frustration and feelings of failure.

3). Why it’s great to have a “core” following (friends, family etc) but in order to grow as an artist and find new fans, you’ll have to learn new promotional tactics that work better for “cold” audiences online or people who don’t know who you are.

4). Why learning how to find more fans online is more powerful than putting in work to try and find new fans for your live performances.

5). How the best promoting techniques to find new fans doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with your music or album. Why building an audience is much more than just asking people to check out your music.

6). Why having people’s “attention” is the most valuable commodity and why you should treat it as such when you begin to actually grow and engaged audience.

7). How approaching your music as a relate-able “brand” will give you a more solid foundation towards building a loyal audience that will listen when you have something to say.

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I hope you enjoyed this episode as I feel gaining an audience is a real challenge for all musicians and artists.

The definition of “audience” has changed over the past few years with the rise of social media and promotion. It’s no longer just about getting people to your shows.

It’s also about getting people to pay attention to you online as well because that’s where our attention spans reside.

Hopefully, you find some value in what I’m saying here and if not, that’s ok too. The important thing is that we all understand what our challenges are as artists 100% and that we constantly work to improve how we promote ourselves.

Til next time, peace n love!

Mike

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Questions, comments or concerns? I’d love to hear them!

Swing by and drop me a line at:

www.facebook.com/songwritersplanner

www.instagram.com/songwriters_planner

Get organized, accomplish your goals and stay inspired. Order your planner today.