Has it been nine weeks already? Time flies when you’re busy. This is my final “challenge” post about my experience with Ariel Hyatt’s Music Success in Nine Weeks. I’m nowhere near finished with the challenge of completing all the tasks, but this contest has forced me to learn and assess at a consistent pace and it’s been good for me; it’s forced me to un-complicate things quickly (my over-thinking mind tends to wind everything up into a giant ball of sticky string). During this final week in Ariel’s book she addresses traditional PR and all the papered-up gifts that come along with it such as Press releases, Bio’s, Photos, etc. I’m happy to say that this week has actually been one of the easiest for me as far as preparation is concerned. My current PR Kit and writing skills are up to par so I’ve only to re-write some of the components to update them as necessary for each gig and/or press-submission.
Throughout this final chapter I’ve found that the few key takeaways are things that I’ve done well because of my own personal preference and work style. As artists, it’s very important to think like a good business person when you’re dealing with people who work for *businesses*. Just as you hate working with seedy promoters who don’t keep their word, people in the PR industry and industries that publish the information you’re trying to get out there don’t want to work with someone who doesn’t have their act together. You need to remember that there is a person with a demanding boss and deadlines to meet on the other end of the phone or computer screen and if you cause delays for them, they’re going to skip over you; so be prepared by having all your information easily accessible, stand-out in appearance (not because you wiped pizza grease on it before mailing), and GET TO THE POINT…QUICKLY AND CONCISELY! Once you’ve done all that on paper, make sure you have the same thing ready to go online/electronically so anyone who needs quick access to your snazzy photos and such can download and post or print without worrying about screaming stop the press!
As I said earlier, those are just a few key takeaways from the last chapter of Music Success in Nine Weeks. Having sat in Ariel’s classes at various events, reading her newsletter, listening to podcast and such I was doing pretty well as far as being prepared; getting her book forced me into action and filled in the missing pieces for me personally. I highly recommend that you spend a few bucks on your career and get a hold of her book. Even if you have a good business head like me and the experience to boot, you’ll still benefit from the information listed because it will force you to rethink your current strategy and implementation. You never know, it may even make things a little bit easier. It certainly gave me permission to lighten up and enjoy the journey.
1 Comment(s)
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
[...] Kelly Greene [...]