Episode 35

Greetings and welcome to this week’s episode!

I’ve been seeing a lot of posting and commenting on my Facebook feed lately about when it is ok to play for free as artists.

If you’re a working musician playing out regularly then you have most likely been approached about playing shows for no pay at one point or another.

Some would say the dreaded “exposure” gig.

Not all situations in this case are unfavorable. Of course getting paid for what we do is key to earning income for you and or your music project and every situation is different.

But for certain scenarios, getting paid to play may not always be the main goal.

In This Podcast You Will Learn:

1). Why contemplating a non-paying gig in certain scenarios can be of value to you and may not be as risky as you might think.

2). How taking gigs that benefit a charity or important cause can be beneficial to you and your career especially if it’s based around something you believe in.

3). Why non paying media gigs (TV/Radio) are so important to consider when (and if) you are offered them and how they can help spread your music to more people that you may not have been able to reach otherwise.

4). How taking a free gig to be the opening act for a bigger, national act can help you build a larger fans base.

5). Why open mic night gigs (usually no pay involved) are great for networking and meeting new musicians, managers, club owners. These are people you can connect with and possibly build great working relationships with to help you down the road.

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Thanks for swinging by this podcast, I really hope it provided some value to you as an artist.

Getting paid to play is important when making a run at a serious music career. Musicians can easily get taken advantage of especially when just starting out.

But as suggested in this episode, not all opportunities to play need to revolve around getting paid. Matter of fact some situations may lead to even more gigs for you as an artist which in turn could lead to more income for you later on down the road.

However as always, you should ultimately decide what’s best for you and your career especially when it comes to making money.

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 34

Greetings and welcome to another episode of the Songwriter’s Planner Podcast!

If you’re a musician (I’m guessing you are) and you’re looking to gain more fans and build a following in addition to playing live shows, social media is the number one way to do just that.

But it’s not always easy being effective at it.

As artists we don’t naturally gravitate to promoting ourselves and using social media to build a fan base can be challenging.

How do you use social media in the most effective ways to grow your audience?

That’s what this episode is all about!

In This Episode You Will Learn:

1). Why having a great social media strategy is crucial to the modern artist and what you should keep in mind when posting online.

2). Why you should avoid only posting “advertisements” (show dates, buying merch etc) on your social media and how that can lose the attention of your audience over time.

3). Some great ideas of other types of content you can post that won’t over saturate your audience and will keep them interested in learning more about you.

4). The importance of utilizing video to connect with you fans and how that will separate you from other artists that don’t use video regularly.

5). Why engaging with your followers in comments and messaging is important to help them feel appreciated which in turn increases your chances of gaining more fans.

6). How none of the things mentioned in this podcast are effective without consistency and why staying on a schedule will keep you at the “top of mind” of your fans which will make all of the difference.

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I hope you found some great tips in this week’s episode. It’s a passion of mine to help and serve musicians in growing their own fan base.

Keeping these tips in mind when using social media can help you gain new fans and separate yourself from other artists who don’t actively promote themselves in the most effective ways.

Having the best habits when posting online will keep your fans interested, engaged and vested in you as an artist and ultimately, that is the goal.

Especially in a faced paced world where people’s attention spans are being pulled in many directions.

Use these tips to help stay “top of mind” with the people that are interested in your and your music and watch your social accounts grow!

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 33

Greetings!

Thanks for swinging by today’s podcast and I hope it finds you well!

This week I’m taking a look at a few options on cameras for musicians when it comes to shooting and creating video.

As you already may know, video is the number one best way to communicate with your audience online. Creating videos of your music, vlogging, live video and other ways to connect are very important in growing your fan base.

For today’s podcast I’m looking at a few options you have for cameras if you are serious about utilizing video more this year.

I use video extensively with my projects and I’ve had many musicians ask me about what camera they should be using.

In This Episode You Will Learn:

1). Why using video is so important for musicians to start using and how it helps your fans and audience connect with you better as an artist.

2). Which social media platforms should you be posting your videos on and which one should you definitely have set up for your music.

3). Four different types of cameras available that I recommend looking into when you are ready to invest.

4). My final recommendation on what kind of camera is best suited for musicians, especially if you’re just starting out.

5). A few tips to remember when considering a new camera for yourself and your music.

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Thanks again for checking out today’s episode. I hope it serves you well and that you got some value out of deciding which type of camera will be best for your needs as a musician.

Whichever path you choose always remember, the important thing is to use whatever you have. If you invest in a new camera always make great efforts to make it part of your workflow.

Your fans will love hearing from you more often and you’ll be connecting with them in the best way possible.

Also if YOU have any questions on using video please feel free to hit me up at [email protected]. I am always here.

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 32

Greetings friends and thank you for joining me for this week’s podcast!

I wanted to do something a little different today and discuss something that I think all of us deal at some point.

Fear and self doubt.

Fear of not being good enough, of being rejected, of failing or being looked at as a failure. Doubting your abilities or your dedication.

The list is endless.

Fear itself is what causes most projects, ideas, relationships and opportunities to end and they are usually based on worst case scenarios that never manifest.

How many times have we turned opportunities down or chose not to do something because we were afraid of the outcome?

Unfortunate and unfavorable outcomes happen all the time. It is a part of life. But basing our actions off of worst case scenarios can cause crippling situations not only creatively but in life as well.

We are artists and having doubt about one’s abilities or talents come with the territory. What’s important is how we respond to these fears

In This Episode You Will Learn:

1). Why fear and self doubt are a part of being a musician and the very nature of what we do can easily lead to self doubt if not nurtured properly.

2). The different kinds of fear musicians experience and how they can have an effect on motivation and productivity.

3). How fear of making mistakes or messing up can prohibit your growth as an artist.

4). How addressing your anxiety and fear and admitting that it is something that can potentially hold you back is the first step to managing those feelings.

5). How taking small steps into doing the things that you are afraid of can help build up your confidence to eventually overcoming your fears.

6). Why reaching out to other people or communities online who share your same anxieties can help you cope with your fears and help you manage them just by sharing your experiences.

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Thank you for checking out this week’s podcast. It’s a personal topic for me and I think also resonates with everyone.

Being an artist and musician comes with many challenges and learning how to control our fears and manage our self doubt is certainly part of it.

If you’re currently struggling with your progress then I hope this podcast leaves you with some value to gain control of your life.

Doing so will hopefully help clear the fog and get you back on track to doing what you do best.

Creating:)

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 31

Greetings and thanks for swinging by this episode!

Having your own .com website is essential in today’s music landscape. It can set you apart from other artists who only rely on social media as their main channel for content.

There are many limitations that social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat etc. place on it’s users. They can be very powerful but can also change policies without notifying you which can affect your reach and growth.

With your own website, you are in charge of the layout, the content, the design and the functionality which can be very powerful when building up your own brand.

But, do you know just how much traffic you’re actually getting?

Just because you build it doesn’t mean that they will come.

If you have you’re own website but aren’t getting the kind of hits you are expecting, there are a few ways you can generate traffic/interest to help get more eyes and ears on your music.

In This Episode You Will Learn:

1). Why it’s important to know the actual amount of traffic (hits & visitors) your website is getting which can be much less than you might think.

2). The advantages of creating and maintaining your own .com website and why having just a social media page for your music isn’t enough.

3). Why it’s important to consistently include your website URL on social media posts, newsletters, flyers etc. Letting people know you actually have a site can make a big difference in your traffic numbers.

4). The benefits of maintaining an updated website with fresh content a few times a month and why search engines love updated websites. Also ways to create new content on your site that keep your fans coming back for more.

5). How paid advertising can be one of the most effective methods to getting more traffic to your site if you have a small marketing budget.

6). Why it’s important to hook up your website to Google Analytics so you can follow the traffic numbers every month and know exactly how many people are visiting you site.

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Thanks again for checking out this podcast. I hope you find the things discussed here in this episode valuable to you and your website strategy.

Having the freedom “off-social” to post whatever you want for your fans and followers will give you an opportunity to carve out a unique niche for yourself.

Your own website has many advantages and making sure you’re getting consistent traffic to it is key to growing and maintaining your music brand.

Peace N Love always,

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 30

Hello and welcome to another episode of The Songwriter’s Planner Podcast!

I’m stoked to dive into this topic today because I think it addresses an issue that all musicians will encounter at one point or another.

Making money online.

The first thing that usually comes to mind is “streaming revenue”. However, because the landscape of making money via streaming is still very undefined and somewhat “unreliable”, I wanted to go in a different direction.

Today I’m talking about OTHER WAYS musicians can make money online.

Believe it or not there are many ways you can still use your musical talents and generate streams of income for yourself using the internet.

Like everything else it takes some work and effort on your part but if you’re serious about bringing in extra money or possibly even going full time then you’ll want to take a listen to this episode.

In This Episode You Will Learn:

1). Why depending on revenue generated from streaming services like Spotify and Pandora aren’t reliable sources of income for smaller artists.

2). The difference between making money quickly online (the fast sell) or generating steady revenue over a period of time and building equity in yourself (more stable).

3). Why you should consider setting up a merchandise store and how easy it is with companies that can handle everything from printing to order fulfillment. Practically “hands off” for you.

4). How starting a YouTube channel and posting to it consistently can generate equity income down the road as well as build an audience online.

5). Why considering teaching lessons online can lead to quick streams of revenue and the advantage of implementing from the comfort of your own home using Facetime or Skype.

6). How creating “Webinars” or “E-Courses” can help generate income for you while you sleep after a one time process of setting them up.

7). What affiliate marketing is and how it can also generate extra revenue for musicians and artists that have consistent traffic to their website.

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Thanks again for checking out the podcast and this episode. Making money online as a musician is very real these days and although the streaming route looks bleak, there are certainly other ways to achieve success.

It does require some consistent work and possibly learning a new skill or two but the payoff over time will be worth all of the work.

As artists and musicians I hope to guide you along a new path of embracing the possibilities that we have today.

I hope you agree that the future does look bright for musicians and we can definitely build a future for our passion around music no matter what the changes are.

Til the next episode, peace n love always!

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 29

Hello and welcome to the podcast!

I wanted to kick things off in a great way for this first podcast of 2019. This year nothing is more important than getting your music heard and finding new fans.

Luckily, the power is in your hands!

We are empowered literally to be able to reach thousands of new fans by using online marketing tactics and to kick things off this year I wanted to discuss the biggest areas you should concentrate on.

Marketing yourself and your music doesn’t always come naturally. We are musicians first, not marketers right?

But learning the tools of the trade and finding out what works best for you and your music is crucial more than ever these days to get more ears and eyes on you to potentially double, triple your fans base by the end of the year.

Sounds great doesn’t it!

In This Podcast You Will Learn

1). Why it’s important to focus on not just posting the same old social media posts (flyers, show announcements etc) and how you can enrich & entertain your followers to keep them interested and engaged with you.

2). How maintaining an email newsletter is the most cost effective way to reach your fans and keep them up to date and involved!

3). The easiest way to set up a merch store without any money up front, having to stock inventory or fulfill orders. This is a time and money saver!

4). Why embracing video is a “must” this year and why you’ll need

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Thanks again for checking out this podcast. I’m super excited to kick off a new year and hopefully you are too.

A big goal of mine to to help serve musicians and artists and help them navigate the ins and outs of marketing this year. Whether it be social media, email, blogging, video, it’s all fair game and crucial to growing your fans base.

I hope you get a chance to to listen here and that it helps you determine what your marketing goals will be for 2019.

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 28

Thanks for swinging by the podcast today!

In this last episode to close off the year, I wanted to bring it back to basics.

How you can start achieving your goals. Or I should say, how you get good at achieving goals. Period.

Setting goals and coming up with a plan to accomplish them isn’t something we all innately know how to do. Especially artists and musicians.

Goal tracking habits are usually only discussed and utilized in the business sector which is why the artists of today rarely use goal tracking methods to build their careers.

That’s where we can take advantage of the same methodologies and tactics to accomplish more in music as well. But it takes learning, patience and effort.

However, if you use the methods discussed in this podcast you’ll gain the knowledge and skills you need to continue to improve your goal setting behavior and get you closer to accomplishing more with your music. I guarantee it.

In This Podcast You Will Learn

1). Why tracking goals and being more productive can be more of a learned behavior and not something that we all innately know how to do.

2). Why identifying, researching and implementation are my 3 most important steps to accomplishing the goals you set for yourself.

3). The 3 major caveats that prohibit us from following through and finishing our goals and how to avoid them.

4). The four important habits to install in your life so that you are successful at accomplishing goals on a regular basis.

5). Why making mistakes early on and faster will help you grow as you learn from them quicker. They are essential to becoming successful at what you want to achieve.

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Thanks for visiting this episode. I really appreciate your time and hope that this helped you with some of your frustrations in achieving more with your music.

It can be frustrating when we feel like we’re putting work into our passion yet nothing seems to be happening. Proper goal tracking can help you with measuring your progress over time and help guide you when you need to make adjustments.

But it doesn’t happen over night. Learning how to set goals and accomplish them is a learned skill and I hope you found value in these tips today that will help you along your musical journey.

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 27

Hello and welcome to this week’s episode!

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to go on tour? Have you already been on tour and want to improve upon what you experienced? If you answered “yes” to any one of these questions then you might enjoy listening to this week’s podcast.

Touring can be lots of fun! Getting to meet new people, visit new places, hear new bands etc. It’s very exciting but the reality is that it’s a lot of work, takes preparation and patience.

Being out on the road away from home and away from your comfort zone can be challenging. Especially if you’re new to the game.

This week I wanted to get into a few tips to consider before booking your first tour or if you’re looking to improve upon you’re current touring efforts.

Making sure you are well prepared and ready for what’s to come is the name of the game when you step out on the road. I hope you agree after checking out some of my tips for smooth touring this week!

In This Podcast You Will Learn

1). Why making sure to pack backup gear and extra hardware is important when hitting the road and how it can save you when it’s time to play and your equipment isn’t working. What do you do?

2). Why it’s important to bring enough merch with you to sell while out on the road and how this can help you when it’s time to pay for things like gas, food and places to stay.

3). The importance of packing your equipment in proper protective cases, preferably hard cases to protect it from the wear and tear of loading in and out of venues.

4). Why embracing healthier habits when you can on the road will help keep your body functioning and from getting sick which can ruin a tour not just for you, but for everyone else.

5). Why it’s important to be friendly with everyone you meet, especially the people who are setting up your show and how that affects your reputation as a band or group.

6). How being flexible about your schedule, circumstances, relationships, equipment with your crew etc. will help save your loads of stress. Understanding that you won’t have complete control over everything will help you manage the ins and outs of being on the road much better.

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Thanks again for checking in this week! I really appreciate your time. Hopefully you were able to receive some great advice and tips on touring especially if you’re looking to dive into it soon or are looking to better handle your next one.

Going on tour, no matter how long, is a great experience and being prepared and knowing what to expect will help make your next one much more enjoyable for everyone involved.

And that can make all the difference!

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 26

Hello and thanks for swinging by this podcast!

This week I’m diving into something that every band asks themselves at one point or another.

“How do we get offered better shows?”

It’s something I’ve spent many years pondering over LOL! But more importantly “learning” what you need to do to progress as a band (or artist) and ramp up the shows you play.

First off we need to define what a “Better” show is. More people? More pay? Better venues? Opening slots for bigger bands? These are all variables that you need to consider when setting your goals on growing your live shows.

Assuming you’re similar to 98% of us out there and you do most of your booking etc. on your own, you’ll want to listen to this episode as I break down the important things to remember and consider if you want your show offers to get bigger and better.

In This Podcast You Will Learn

1). Why creating and using “Leverage” is the most important concept for bands when looking to take the next step into seeking out bigger shows.

2). Why it’s important to have something to offer musically as a band or project and to work on being the best version of your selves in order to start building leverage.

3). How networking locally and spreading your name and presence among your scene helps build brand recognition and can slowly help create great opportunities for you down the road.

4). Why focusing on your current show schedule and coming up with ways to make them the best they can be is crucial to learning how to promote yourself which, over time will help you gain better leverage.

5). The importance of implementing your shows, promotion, and overall operation consistently and how that makes all the difference which sets you apart from other bands that don’t do it.

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Thanks for taking the time to listen to this podcast. I know time is the most valuable commodity these days so I appreciate it greatly.

Hopefully you were able to pull some value from this podcast and pick up a few tips on how to get better offers for shows and how to grow your own fan base.

Gigging and getting “bigger” is a common goal among most artists and there is no right or wrong way to do it. But there are commonalities between successful artists that can be translated into game plan for just about anyone if done with hard work and consistency.

As always, I wish you guys the best and we’ll see you at 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.