Female Entrepreneur Musician with Bree Noble

How To Become A Successful Artist By Defining Your #1 Goal This may seem like a silly question… Would you ever build a house without a set of blueprints? Hopefully not! Listen to the last lesson in this series: How to Build A Fan Base Starting With 100 True Fans Yet the #1 mistake you are making is not clearly articulating WHAT you want to achieve and WHY you want to achieve it BEFORE you start. Once you decide what you want to achieve, you can discover how to become a successful artist by working backwards to come up with a plan to get there – how to become a successful artist. You know, reverse engineering. I told you my “why” in our last lesson: How To Sell Songs & Albums Without A Record Label – Listen to that first so you have the proper context. Do you think clarifying my why increased or decreased the likelihood of reaching my goal? Huge increase, right! Once I knew WHAT I was working towards, I was able to plot out the shortest path to get there. If you feel like I did, don’t worry. We’re going to work together to create a plan to fix that. How to Become a Successful Artist And Reach Your Goals Now you’re super clear on what you want… The big question now is how can you get there? How can you achieve the goal that you’ve set? One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received on reaching massive life-changing goals is “Don’t beat yourself up if you make a mistake. Just don’t make a crippling mistake.” The reason you haven’t achieved your #1 goal yet is because it’s super hard to do. If it were easy you’d have done it already, and everyone would be doing it. It’s going to take time. Sweat. Tears. And a lot of mistakes. Mistakes are great. They tell you what not to do next time. But there are some big mistakes that can cripple the whole process, tearing down your progress. You know, the domino effect Mistake #1 Not Clearly Articulating Your “Why” The first as I mentioned in the last lesson is not clearly articulating your “why”. Now I’m going to tell you about 4 more crippling mistakes that I’ve made along the way and how to avoid them. Thankfully, I recognized these mistakes in time and eradicated them before all the dominos fell and I completely gave up on my music career. So if you are familiar with these mistakes, or living them right now, never fear! There’s still time to do away with them and put them to bed forever. Mistake #2: Asking people what they THINK about your desire for a music career. This is how it typically goes… You’re feeling alone and isolated in your pursuit of a music career. You share your desires and dreams with family members or your BFF. You ask them “Well, what do you THINK?” They respond half-heartedly (or worse, they say it’s ridiculous or call it a pipe dream) and you become dejected. Then you lose motivation, your dream dies and it takes you months (or years) to recover. I can’t tell you how many of my students have been discouraged by friends and family, so they sweep their dreams under the rug, only to wake up at 50 and wonder why they feel empty. It’s because they’ve tried to ignore an important part of themselves – their passion, talents, their important contribution to the world. STOP ASKING PEOPLE WHAT THEY THINK!! What they THINK doesn’t matter. The only questions that matter are… “Is there an audience for your music?” Are there people out there who want to buy your music and support your projects? Instead of asking your friends what they think, do this… Ask them to give to your next crowdfunding campaign and get some cool rewards. Ask them to share your music with their friends, come to a concert or buy your CD. Every friend who gives you a “vote of confidence” with their wallet will boost your motivation, increase your resolve and get you one step closer to living your dream. Mistake #3: Using the right strategies but in the wrong order. One of the hardest parts of the process when you’re starting out is knowing what to do and when to do it. It’s typical to read a blog post, listen to a podcast or watch a free class and then get really excited about the strategies you hear and jump in and try to do them. It’s great to have that initiative, but it can cripple you. If you want to grow your audience, there’s a specific order in which you need to do things. If you try to use advanced strategies when you’re a beginner, they won’t work. You’ll become dejected and you’ll quit because you’ll get bogged down in the details of that specific thing. Let me give you an example. Facebook ads. Facebook ads work great. They’re a great way to grow your audience and to grow your email list. But if you use Facebook ads when you’re just getting started, your chances of success are very low. And your chances of losing a lot of money are very high. Setting up Facebook ads, managing ads and scaling ads is hard and it’s time consuming. It isn’t a strategy you should use in the beginning. In fact, I’ve had students ask me to teach it to them and I tell them they’re not ready. That’s why in this series, I’m going to share with you a framework that shows you the order in which you should do things. You don’t need to do Facebook ads when you first start. You don’t need to be advertising when you don’t yet have a website. You shouldn’t try to get email subscribers until you have something to offer them – a freebie – to draw them in. If you use the right strategies in the right order, the speed at which your audience grows increases greatly. Mistake #4: Trying to do everything by yourself I know from experience. Reading blog posts… Listening to podcasts… Reverse-engineering what other people are doing… That is very time-consuming. And it will only take you so far. You need more. You need accountability and direction from someone who has been where you are trying to go. When I finally got serious about my music career, I had a group of ladies that I talked with almost daily who gave me encouragement, helped me when I got stuck, and kept me on task. Many of them were further along in their careers than I was so they were able to give me very timely advice. Who is helping you? Who is holding you accountable? If your answer is “no one”, then stop and go get someone right now. Before I found that group of ladies, I spent 10 years trying to figure it out on my own. Think of how much time and frustration I could have saved myself! And I see the same thing with my students. I watch them encourage each other, push each other and teach each other everyday. So go get involved in a mastermind group. If you’re looking for one, I’ve got some info on that in the next class. And what about hiring a coach? I played really small for several years…until I hired my first coach. And boy was it a leap of faith for me. I wondered if it made sense to spend money on a coach when I wasn’t making much money at that point. Boy, did I discover it was WELL worth it. Once I hired my first coach, I doubled my income in the first month. And every time I’ve scaled up my coaching experience, I’ve scaled up my income. So I encourage you to hire a coach. Get a mentor. It’s VITAL to you reaching your goal. Mistake #5: Not setting an easily tracked #1 goal Most of us aren’t very good at setting goals. We set vague and unmeasurable goals like… “I wanna make enough money so I can quit my job” or “I want to finance my new album.” The problem with goals like that is you never know if you achieve them because they are so broad and impossible to track. And you wind up with this pit in your stomach that makes you work more and more and more to get more. You never know if you ever actually achieve the thing you set out to achieve in the first place. Let’s cure your crappy goal-setting problem right now. I want you to click below and get the free SMART Goals Workbook I’ve created for you. This will help you determine your 5 goals for the next 90 days and decide if your goals are “SMART” or just vague desires. I want that #1 goal you came up with on the checklist to be the homing beacon for everything that you do. Every time you see it, every time you sit down, every time you get up, every time you go to the bathroom, every time you open up Twitter or Facebook, that goal is going to be staring you in the face. You’re going to have to answer this question: “Is what I’m about to do the quickest way to get to that goal? Is it the most efficient and effective way to get to that goal?” If not, then stop doing it. If so, then you need to do more it. How To Become A Successful Artist by Avoiding These 5 Crippling Mistakes (Recap) Let’s review the 5 crippling mistakes you have to avoid if you’re going to grow your music business . Mistake 1: Not clearly articulating your “why”. Mistake 2: Asking people what they think about your dream of a music career. Mistake 3: Using the right strategies, but in the wrong order. Mistake 4: Trying to do everything by yourself. Mistake 5: Not setting an easily trackable #1 goal. Avoid these crippling mistakes and do this instead. Most people believe they have to get lucky or get the attention of Industry “decision makers” in order to create a successful music career that brings in a steady income. Instead, I’ve discovered that building a platform to attract and engage an email list of fans who love your music and are eager to support your projects is far more important. A solid fan base gives you the ability to get booking referrals instead of you constantly having to do cold calls. A fan base allows you to launch a crowdfunding campaign to a group of people who will support your next project. Having an email list of fans gives you the ability to generate income by simply sending an email. Coming Up In Lesson #3 In our final class I’m going to give you the steps, from building your platform, to attracting new fans, to engaging your fans to finally monetizing those fans. It’s called the Indie Music Profit Plan and I’ll explain it all in a few days. Your action item for today: Download the Smart Goal Checklist for this lesson. Determine your #1 goal and be sure to consider everything you do for the next few days through the lens of your #1 goal. RESOURCES Email your questions for Bree to answer on the show: Bree@FEMusician.com Leave your audio questions for Bree to play on the air and answer (you can promote yourself too): SpeakPipe Subscribe to the show on iTunes Give us a review on iTunes to be entered to win a month of Female Musician Academy. Listen onSoundcloud Show Editing by Jen Edds at 317 Sound Design Music by Stella Ronson SMART Goals Workbook ABOUT HOST BREE NOBLE Bree Noble is an entrepreneur, musician and speaker. She founded Women of Substance Radio, an online radio station that promotes quality female artists in all genres, in 2007.  She launched the Women of Substance Music Podcast in November 2014, a 5 day per week show which promotes Independent female artists. Her podcast has hit #1 in New & Noteworthy for the Music, Arts and Society & Culture categories and #4 Audio Podcast on all of iTunes. She draws on her extensive experience running her own music business, both as a solo musician and as an Industry professional, to train and mentor other female musicians. Learn more about the station, the show and the artists atwww.wosradio.com. Connect with Bree on Twitter @BreeNoble or on Facebook or on Instagram @breenoblemusic

One time I recorded an album…and no one bought it. OK, I supposed if you count my mom, my dad, my cousins, and a few of my subordinates at work who felt obliged to buy it…then I guess 10 people bought it. I couldn’t figure out what all the successful Indie artists I saw around me selling multiple albums, over-funding their crowdfunding campaigns and selling out big venues were doing that I wasn’t. I knew I had talent. I knew I had a great product. But what was missing? Listen to the next lesson in this series: How To Become a Successful Artist by Avoiding These 5 Crippling Mistakes How To Sell Songs & Albums By Learning By Example I started to study the successful Indie artists I looked up to to see what they had that I didn’t and I started to see an obvious pattern. I finally discovered the missing piece of the puzzle that no one had taught me in business school, none of my band members were focusing on, and none of my musician friends were talking about…yet it was the most vital step to making sure the next project I did – CD I put out, crowdfunding campaign I launched, venue I needed to fill – would be a success. So what was it? They had built a large fan base of loyal fans who were eager to buy from them, attend their shows and support all of their projects that they could access immediately, at the push of a few buttons through their email list. I became obsessed with cracking the code on how to build my email list. Over the next 3 lessons I’m going to teach you what I learned. I’m going to give you a process and a framework that you can use to turn the cycle of failure and obscurity around. Before you have the urge to record a new CD because you think a new album will be the breakthrough you are looking for…Instead of booking the recording studio and starting to pick out your cover art, I want you to STOP and go through this framework first. How To Sell Songs & Albums By Building An Email List I want you to picture your email list as a group of people who are eager to buy from you. You know how when Taylor Swift announces a new concert tour – tickets sell out within the first few hours. Why does that happen and you can’t sell more than 10 CDs? It’s because Taylor Swift has build a fanbase that is eager to support her with whatever project she does. That’s what an email list can do for you. Before we jump into how to build your email list, I want to give you a few examples of what you’ll be able to do once you have an email list Katy Laurel has launched multiple kickstarter campaigns to fund her albums, all backed by the fans on her email list. Marina V has created her 2 songs a month subscription club that brings in $1200 per month steady income and funded a European tour all by appealing to her email list. Martha’s Trouble were able to book several house concert tours just using the contacts on their email list. I want you to take those 3 stories I just gave you and put them in the back of your mind and use them as motivation, as inspiration, as an example of what’s possible when you adopt this new way of thinking about your music career. The Cycle of Guaranteed Failure Tell me if this process sounds familiar? First, you write a bunch of really great songs. Then you decide – these songs are SO amazing, the world needs to hear these songs, so you search for the best producer in Nashville because you know these songs deserve the best. You book the producer’s time, the studio, a hotel and a flight. You then realize you’re going to need $15K! You scrape the bottom of your savings account, or you take out a loan…because you’re so far down this path of excitement about your new CD – no amount of good sense and reason will deter you. You lay down the cash, make the album and eagerly await the boxes to arrive. You’re convinced this album is a SMASH. You know you’ve invested your hard earned money and your heart and soul into this album…it has to be a hit.  When the boxes arrive you tell all your friends about it, you plaster Facebook with pictures of the album art, you send some off to Amazon and CDBaby – you’re ready for the sales to start rolling in and your songs to jump onto the charts. Instead…crickets. You sell a few copies – one to your mom, and one to your next door neighbor who saw the UPS truck arrive and was so curious what all the boxes were that she ran over and then felt like she should buy one. Now you’ve got a stack of boxes in your garage that makes it hard to get to your sports equipment…does that sound familiar at all? That’s called the cycle of guaranteed failure. There are 4 steps: You write a bunch of amazing songs You spend lots of money getting them recorded The boxes of CDs arrive on your doorstep and you tell the world Then you realize…there was no one eagerly awaiting the arrival of the boxes, there is no tribe of people who are just as excited as you are that this new album is being released…and the boxes sit collecting dust Does this sound familiar – raise your hand? I’m raising my hand, I’ve been through it. Now I want you to promise me…I will never, ever, EVER do this again. The Secret of How To Sell Songs & Albums There’s a completely different framework you need to follow. And in the next two lessons we’re going to go over it in detail. But before we do that, you need to completely change the way you think about and act in your music career.  So you know all the stories you’ve seen of overnight success, or people getting their CD to an influential radio producer, getting it played and having an instant hit, or of someone handing their CD to some Music Industry big wig and getting signed the next day to a record deal with a six figure advance…completely ignore all of that. The first thing you need to do is answer this question…why. Why do you want to build a fanbase…a group of people that love your music and want to support all your projects – your next CD, your live events, your digital fanclub – whatever it may be. Why do you want that. What would it do for you? How would your life be different? Because without a clearly articulated “why” – you will not have the persistence, the resolve and the dedication to actually get there. There’s nothing worse than getting halfway to your goal, and then quitting because you lost connection with the reason you wanted to do this in the first place.  So the very first thing I want you to do is write down “why” you want to build your fan base – this living, breathing asset that will be the thing that gets you to that goal. Here’s the example of my why when I finally wrapped my head around the importance of building a fanbase. “I want to build a solid fanbase so I can quit my creativity-killing corporate job and use my God-given talents to create my art and use it to inspire, enlighten and enrich the lives of others. I want to be able to tour and book shows without having to make tons of cold calls. I want to be confident that I can fund my next CD project at the quality of production my songs deserve. I want a music career with some level of job security.” Get this down on paper. Then I want you to find one musician friend to go through this mini class with you, share this journey and hold you accountable to doing the things I outline in these podcasts. So action item #1 is define your goal, #2 iinvite one person to share the journey with you.  Get to work and we’ll see you in the next class. Preview of the next lesson: We’re going to cover the process and specifically 5 mistakes you need to avoid when going through this process. Listen to Lesson 2: How To Become A Successful Artist by Avoiding These 5 Crippling Mistakes RESOURCES Email your questions for Bree to answer on the show: Bree@FEMusician.com Leave your audio questions for Bree to play on the air and answer (you can promote yourself too): SpeakPipe Subscribe to the show on iTunes Give us a review on iTunes to be entered to win a month of Female Musician Academy. Listen onSoundcloud Show Editing by Jen Edds at 317 Sound Design Music by Stella Ronson ABOUT HOST BREE NOBLE Bree Noble is an entrepreneur, musician and speaker. She founded Women of Substance Radio, an online radio station that promotes quality female artists in all genres, in 2007.  She launched the Women of Substance Music Podcast in November 2014, a 5 day per week show which promotes Independent female artists. Her podcast has hit #1 in New & Noteworthy for the Music, Arts and Society & Culture categories and #4 Audio Podcast on all of iTunes. She draws on her extensive experience running her own music business, both as a solo musician and as an Industry professional, to train and mentor other female musicians. Learn more about the station, the show and the artists atwww.wosradio.com. Connect with Bree on Twitter @BreeNoble or on Facebook or on Instagram @breenoblemusic

I talk to successful writer, Lisa Butler, about songwriting ideas, training and networking tactics that she has learned in the span of her experience as a songwriter, poet and founder of the Australian Songwriters Conference. Her interview will educate and inspire songwriters of any genre, whether they are artists or non-performing songwriters. Songwriting Ideas from the Australian Songwriters Conference  Why Lisa Started the Australian Songwriters Conference   Lisa’s Three Pronged Approach to Coaching Clients Other Requirements of Building a Music Career Books Recommended by Lisa 6 Steps for Songwriting – Jason Bloom Music Business – Shane Simpson Radical Forgiveness – Colin Tipping Ask and It Is Given – Abraham Hicks Connect with Lisa Butler Australian Songwriters Conference Website Linked In RESOURCES  

  I talk to the artistic Rachael Sage, successful musician and producer, on how to build a fanbase. Rachael is also a dancer, visual and literary artist but is best known for her career in music and founded her own record label. She shares her journey as an Indie singer and songwriter and how she came up  with strategies to grow her audience. Rachael’s Early Years Tips From Rachael’s Experience On How To Build A Fanbase Staying Independent Founding MPress Records Connect with Rachael Sage Rachael Sage Website Mpress Records Website Racheal Sage at Pledge Music Website Facebook Twitter RESOURCES

I talk to multi-platinum record pop singer, Tina Harris, about getting an entertainment lawyer. She shares her experience in the music business and the importance of having a professional you can trust and consult about the legalities in the music industry. Tina gives valuable insights on becoming a sensational artist. Tina’s Start in the Music Business Why it is Important to Get an Entertainment Lawyer Life Outside the Music Business Tina’s Triumphant Return to the Music Business Connect with Tina Harris Tina Harris Website Facebook Twitter   RESOURCES

I talk to Ali Handal about inspirations and advises based on her  instructional book “ Guitar For Girls ”. Ali is a successful  singer, songwriter, lead guitarist and author whose passion for music and performing lead her to create a career in music with different income streams. Playing an Instrument as a Singer-Songwriter Guitar For Girls – Ali’s book Streams of Income Words of Wisdom from Ali Book Recommended by Ali The Art of War Connect with Ali Handal Ali Handal Website Triple Scoop Music Website RESOURCES  

I talk to Toni Koch, professional song writer and seasoned music director about open mic night ideas and strategies for a successful career in music and arts. Toni is a passionate musician and art advocate who is a pioneer in the indie music marketing techniques. She has received various awards as a mentor, promoter and manager. Basic Steps to Success in the Music Industry Open Mic Night Ideas for New Artists Advice to Grow Your Music Career Conferences & Events Recommended by Toni ASCAP Expo West Coast Songwriters Conference Arizona Songwriters Conference  NAMM Connect with Toni Koch Facebook RESOURCES

Djoir Jordan shares her philosophy on how do you become a singer, songwriter and public figure. We also talk about how she used Social Media to build a large quantity of solid following. Discover how she creatively crafted her success as a musician. How Djoir Built a Twitter following of 70,000 How Do You Become A Singer, Sonwriter & Public Figure Using Djoir’s Diamond Cut Philosophy Djoir’s Guiding Principles for Creating Success Growing Her Fanbase at Live Shows Book Recomendation The 10-Second Philosophy: A Practical Guide to Releasing Your Inner Genius Connect with Djoir Jordan Website Facebook Twitter RESOURCES  

I talk to Leah McHenry on how to make money as a musician. She is a successful symphonic and Celtic metal singer and songwriter. Leah has earned multiple awards from her first album, got acclaimed critical reviews, multiple radio air plays, and a massive following of devoted fans. How Leah Balanced her Non-Traditional Music Career and Family Raising $27,000 in Her Crowd Funding Campaign How to Make Money as a Musician through Multiple Income Streams Finding New Fans     Connect with Leah McHenry Purchase Leah’s Book Website Facebook Twitter YouTube RESOURCES

I talk with Denise Kovalevich, owner of  DMK Publicity. She is an experienced music publicist with tons of experience in the entertainment industry who shares some great advice and stories and will introduce an amazing tool, Event Hustler, that will help you get paid quickly and easily when selling tickets to events. What Denise Learned as a Music Publicist While Working at QVC Artists sharing stories with fans creates a deeper connection and sells more cds People still want to by physical albums Creating unique packages and bundling products sells more Personal connection that people crave from artists Artists have to tell their story and their music’s story PR Tips for Independent Artists Study who is writing about your genre Read as many blogs as you can Make connections with blogger and reporters through social media Comment on and share posts you like by writers and reporters Today’s bloggers are tomorrow’s Rolling Stone writers Start building your network and developing relationships What She Learned from Working on the First Warped Tour Why people thought the first Warped Tour would fail How to secure sponsorships How to line up bands How to do press for a large tour and make sure each band is represented Event Hustler Designed to be simple and easy for artists to use Artist is paid as soon as a ticket is purchased Use it to help create community with fans Connect to your social media for easy event promotion Connect with Denise Email Website Twitter Try Event Hustler – it’s FREE RESOURCES Email your questions for Bree to answer on the show: Bree@FEMusician.com Leave your audio questions for Bree to play on the air and answer (you can promote yourself too): SpeakPipe Subscribe to the show on iTunes Give us a review on iTunes to be entered to win a month of Female Musician Academy. Listen onSoundcloud Show Editing by Jen Edds at 317 Sound Design Music by Stella Ronson ABOUT HOST BREE NOBLE Bree Noble is an entrepreneur, musician and speaker. She founded Women of Substance Radio, an online radio station that promotes quality female artists in all genres, in 2007.  She launched the Women of Substance Music Podcast in November 2014, a 5 day per week show which promotes Independent female artists. Her podcast has hit #1 in New & Noteworthy for the Music, Arts and Society & Culture categories and #4 Audio Podcast on all of iTunes. She draws on her extensive experience running her own music business, both as a solo musician and as an Industry professional, to train and mentor other female musicians. Learn more about the station, the show and the artists atwww.wosradio.com. Connect with Bree on Twitter @BreeNoble or on Facebook or on Instagram @breenoblemusic