Turning TV Placements Into Fan Engagement: Lessons From Mr. Robotic – In Defense of 1,000 True Fans – Episode X - Part 2

AH:  How many die-hard fans would you say you have? (Meaning; fans that will buy everything and anything from you?)

Mr. R: I have about 112 that would buy anything from me. They are in a special group in my email list. The rest I know would definitely buy music.

This is great strategy!  Mr. Robotic has separated his diehard fans into a special group so he can better communicate with them and they probably won’t mind extra communication since they are in his Community 1 – his Super Fans. 

AH:  How do you use analytics to your advantage? Do measurements help you with your career?

Mr. R:  I use Google Analytics for my website. To see how many visitors I get and if I get a TV placement how many people come to my site on that day. I also use analytics on YouTube to see where the majority of people who are watching my videos live.  This helps me see where my fans are to get shows in those areas.

Click to read more ...

The Musician’s Guide To Affordable, Effective Websites Part 2

This is a response to Ariel Hyatt’s recent post ‘The Musician’s Guide To Affordable, Effective Websites’. In this article, Ariel outlines the fact that all musicians should have a website, and goes on to detail how you can set one up on a tight budget. In this article however, I want to elaborate on some of the points she makes, and give you an alternative method to setting up a lot cost website. As I’m sure you know, there’s more then one way to skin a cat, and today I’m going to show you a method that has worked well for me.

I’ve already outlined step by step how to build a music website, but today I’m going to be looking at the reasoning behind each of these decisions, so you can yourself decide if they’re right for you. I will also be looking at the set up cost, so you will know how much something like this will set you back. Considering what it costs to get a ‘professional’ to set up a website for you, I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised…

Click to read more ...

Content Marketing: To Register or Not?

Let me start by saying that there are a few different groups of thought surrounding conversion forms as gateways to content like Ebooks, webinars, etc.

There are literally successful folks on both sides of the fence.  And I mean really successful folks.

Guys like David Meerman Scott preach very heavily against having visitors fill out a form to download content.  According to David, you should let your content go freely as it increases downloads and sharing - among other things.  And it works for him.  BIGTIME.

I don’t think I’ve ever been forced to fill out a form to grab something from Godin either.  Although, I don’t remember the last time I saw content from him aside from an actual book or blog.

In their book “Content Rules,” Ann Hadley and CC Chapman mention that it is important to use conversion forms with caution, whereas Hubspot (and probably most of their partners) are 100% conversion form city.  I don’t think I’ve seen anything from Hubspot that mentions NOT using a conversion form.  In all fairness though - they will admit to benefits of both approaches.

Click to read more ...