Author: Seth Werkheiser

I NEED MORE REYNLORD IN MY LIFE

I say I’m not big into the “streaming” thing, but I live Craig Reynolds from The Downbeat podcast and clothing brand and drummer for Stray From The Path.

He’s big into the Twitch thing (here), and I love his podcast. This one he did with Mike Johnston is JAMMED with useful information.

The thing for me is this: he’s not this super high energy, “WHAT’S UP GUYS?!?” sort of character that we see so much of on the internet. I so very much love and appreciate the chill tone, and I think there are so many people out there that are on the same wave-length, and I just want to see more of that in the world.

QUESTION: BEST WAYS TO GET PEOPLE TO SIGN UP

Q. Best ways to get people to sign up, besides orders?

A. Send a newsletter people want to sign up for!

Figure out why someone should sign up for your email list.

This is your “lead magnet,” which is a horrible term used in the email marketing world, but it works.

Don’t just say, “sign up for tour dates,” say, “sign up to see photos from our last tour,” which then gets people to subscribe. Then you eventually send them your new tour dates.

As I recently wrote, “consider starting a newsletter for something adjacent (and more popular) to what you’re doing, and then you’re able to promote your main project just by association.”

If you’re a guitar player, and you nerd out with effects pedals, start a newsletter talking about your favorite gear. Your current set up. Talk to other guitarists (from other bands) about their effects pedals.

If you’re an artist, highlight some of your favorite album covers, or show posters. Swap emails with other artists and present them as interviews.

Think about everything surrounding what you do and consider using that as the focus of your newsletter. That’s your lead magnet for your email list.

Even the stuff you’re already posting on social media can be your lead magnet. As I wrote in 2018, from ‘What Would I Even Put in an Email Newsletter?’

For years you’ve been providing social media networks with your content for free, willy-nilly. You, and 324328 other bands and labels and distros and brands. All those behind the scenes photos, updates from the road, show reports, new product announcements.

Yeah, that’s the stuff you put into a newsletter. Then you start “sharing” less of that on social media.

What gets you the most engagement on social media? Use that. Keep posting a few of those things, and sneak in something like, “hey, sign up for my newsletter for more.”

JUST KEPT MOVING

Not a personal record, not a fast day, but a day of control. Kept it close to the line of easy and too hard on a 10K run with the Delaware River rumbling in the distance. It peeked through the trees, powerfully ignoring me the whole time.

The beautiful fall foliage, lots of reds and yellows, paid no attention. Creeks babbled and paid me no mind.

Nearly 10 or so minutes off my PR, on my third effort here at the 2021 River Ramble, but it felt fine.

My bib was #80, and I came in 80th place. Perfect day.

DO YOUR BEST WHERE IT COUNTS

Remember, all the “growth marketing” stuff you see on socials about companies who struck gold – they had EMPLOYEES working on that stuff non stop. It’s okay if you’re small biz or project doesn’t compare. You’re doing the best you can.

There are teams of people, with DEGREES, in marketing and stuff, getting paid six figures. That’s what they’re supposed to do.

You make hand bags, or sell donuts… a few tips and tricks and hacks can’t hurt, but it’s not magic. If everyone could do it (they can’t), they would (they don’t).

Like, think you need to hop on Tik Tok but still can’t manage to email your best customers twice a month? Maybe work on that first. Yes, fancy named digital currency is cool. So are dollars, and CRM tools.

GOOD ENOUGH TO SHARE

This is a great quote from Sarah, The Illstrumentalist:

“You don’t need a million followers but the belief that your ideas are good enough to share.”

Music Tech

You don’t get to a million without ten. And you don’t get ten without sharing. Maybe not every single day – walk away from the computer and put down your phone – but every now and again.

Remember – online marketing and social media management are actual, full-time jobs. It’s a lot of work. But your real magic is the art you put into the world. You can learn or even hire social media and email marketing help, but you can’t outsource the thing that makes you unique.

GOODNIGHT, METAL FRIEND #16

It’s been a few months, but finally a new sleepy time metal mix, perfect for long walks in graveyards, or disappearing into the fog.

These mixes take awhile for me to make. I started this one about a week or two ago. Lots of work and work-related stuff gets in the way, and I usually go for a run or a bike ride to shake off that work stress, but tonight I wasn’t feeling either of those, so I set off to finish this mix.

Something about sitting here in front of the same machine that I use for work, and instead of fretting over incoming emails, or managing tabs, I get to just watch tracks run for seven straight minutes, and I force myself to stay present and watch the second tick by. The exact opposite of the normal work day.

Track list:

BURN AWAY THE BURN OUT

I’ve been reading a lot about burn out, probably because everyone is fucking burnt out. The thing that makes me the most sad is burning out from things that we control.

Like, I talk weekly with a friend that I made from the Akimbo Freelancer Workshop. We bounce stuff off each other constantly, and one of the big focuses is outsourcing. Getting things off our plate. Giving ourselves the permission to be the boss who takes two hour lunches.

Obviously the various stresses and demands of freelance work can make it hard to take that two hour lunch, but… if you don’t design your ideal work situation, others will. It will be ideal for them.

Emails at all hours. Phone calls. Ridiculous deadlines.

The best busy work is no busy work at all.

Sure, that sounds hippy dippy dream talk, but fuuuuuck it – a person has to dream, right?

It’s the whole “saying no,” thing, which I’m sure you’ve seen all over the internet. The act of saying no is basically saying yes to other things – yes to free time, yes to other work, yes to not working at all!

A while back I said “no more transcribing.” I had done 100s of hours of audio transcribing for writers. It was okay money, but the work required absolute focus. If you lose focus, it’s hard to get back on track. Toss in bad audio, and other work on your plate, and it just got to be too much.

So I said no. Could I have used the money? Of course! I could still use that money!

But saying no to that work gives room for the work I want to be doing (and it’s working).

Saying no to clients with ridiculous deadlines, unreasonable availability, low pay, high stress – that’s the shit you say no to.

Stripping away of the stuff that depletes you that makes space for the time to go outside for a walk, or take a two hour lunch.

So don’t manage your thing – your business, your blog, your music – with what everyone else is doing – make it fit how you want to live.

FANS AND THE LONG GAME

The allure of social media is the quick like. The RT from a mid-size account that gets you 10+ follows. You can post anything, at any time, and within 10 seconds you’ll get immediate feedback.

But building something of substance, and not just flash, requires time. Years. Being a hot item of the month is one thing, but to sustain it? To keep it going? That’s the long game.

WRITE ME OR FIGHT ME

No one signs up for a social media account and says, “don’t worry, I’ll only post once a month, I don’t wanna be too spammy!”

So why do we act like that with email newsletters?

Maybe because when you donate to a political campaign they start emailing you twice a day?

Or when you buy from an online retailer they bombard you with emails a few times a week?

Well, you’re not them.

The stuff you post on socials – the photos from shows, the work-in-progress videos, the rants, the albums that you love – could all go into an email.

Remember these two facts:

  1. Not everyone follows you on social media.
  2. Even if they do, algorithms will prevent them from seeing your posts.

So your live-action shots and clips from the studio go unseen – mostly (probably) by your biggest fans.

The ones who buy your albums, your prints, you shirts, your art.

Yes, if you email once a week with just PURCHASE NOW or BUY TICKETS messages, people are going to unsubscribe.

So don’t do that.

Your fans subscribed because they love you, and want more of you. Give them more of you.

You can literally scroll back through your socials from each week, see what resonated, and copy and paste that into your email.

Write more about some of your thoughts from the week.

Post some photos from your art opening on your site, then mention them in your newsletter. “Hey, click here to see more.”

That’s not a hard sell. That’s not trying to get anyone to pull out their wallet when they’re in line at Dunkin Donuts.

It’s a passive ask, friend to friend:
Here’s the lyrics to our next single.
Sneak peek at our next shirt design.
This is the inspiration for our next album.

Yes, include your album art and a pre-order link. Below the fold. Think of it like an ad in a magazine. You read the interview, then notice the full page ad on the next page.

Your fans aren’t ATMs, they’re your friends, followers, people who gave you their email address and said, “yes, I want more from you.”

Give more of you.

PUBLISH TO YOUR WEBSITE

It happened again. Another person was suspended from Facebook, and then they couldn’t reach their fans.

Zuck deactivated me for a few days (was mildly mortifying) but it sparked some thoughts on what I feel insta is doing to our creativity / individuality

I’m also in the process of backing up every post, story, caption I’ve ever written and publishing it on a WEBSITE. It’s very 2010, would recommend 

@shopedelano on Instagram

Another app or service is not going to come along and magically replace Twitter or Instagram or whatever. The open web is here, as it’s always been. No lock in, no “walled gardens,” no algorithms.

But we’ll miss the likes and the RTs, the acknowledgment when we can post just a few words about a movie or a sports event and then at least 5 or 7 people will hit the like button, and we’ll feel like we’re not alone, or just shouting into the void.

I know this, because I’ve been writing on this blog since early 2018. It can feel pointless just writing all these words over the years, and not seeing some sort of acknowledgement.

Though I liken it to a conversation with an old friend. There’s no ROI. There’s no hack for a good phone call. No algorithm to crack with a best friend.

You just write, in public, for everyone to see. If it resonates, great. If it doesn’t, well, you have an excellent online journal that won’t suddenly disappear when Facebook’s server short circuit.