Posted by Ann Bernard

Don’t look now but you’re running a business.  Say what?  You only want to make music, snap pictures, paint on your canvas, get up on stage and do your thing!?!? 

Sorry, but as an artist – be it a musician, writer, painter, photographer, comedian or actor/actress you are a business owner…I mean, in most cases that’s literally speaking – you are your brand, the sole producer of your product, and your business.

What does that mean – You’re a Business Owner

It means that your responsibilities are much greater than just producing your art.  It means that you need to familiarize yourself with the art of business and being an entrepreneur.  Blending creative vision with being business savvy

 For a business to be successful it needs:

• A Good Product
• Manufacturing/Production Capabilities
• Marketing
• Sales
• Bookkeeping
• Legal Structure

The biggest challenge of an artist-entrepreneur compared to most other kinds of business is that you are much more connected to your product.  You pour your heart and soul in each song, painting, or writing.  Rejection from a sale is much more personal.  Unfortunately, no one said that following your dreams would be easy!!  What matters is that it’s doable!

Hard Realization to Cope With

Becoming a savvy business owner is not compromising who you are, your art or selling out – it’s being extremely smart and ensuring you can make a living doing what you love.

I’m an entrepreneur and you can trust me that entrepreneurship has a great deal of room for being creative – I wouldn’t be one if it didn’t.

Embracing being a business owner will not crush your abilities to remain creative, have fun and do the things you love.  Embracing being a business owner will provide you the tools, means and knowledge to MAKE MONEY – MAKE A LIVING.  No need to be a starving artist.

Saving Grace - The Web Makes it All Easier 

You can accomplish much of what needs to be done over the web: marketing, sales, bookkeeping, some production and incorporating.

Stay with it and we’ll turn you into more of an entrepreneur!!  The 'Starving Artist' picture came from a EP Entreprises blog post - Entrepreneurs as Artists: A Comment  because often times...entrepreneurs are called and compared to artists!! We all have a lot in common.

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Posted by Ann Bernard

Now that you know WHO you want to follow – here are the four ways to find your followers:

Actually, let me first clarify something, don’t take the whole follow and follower(s) too literally.  You’re not building your own cult on Twitter.  I spoke with Dan, one of the band members of Deleted Scenes last night, who just started his Twitter profile and Dan mentioned how the whole thing made him think of a cult.  The thought of “followers” crept him out a little.  He is of course getting over it. He’s planning on twittering like a pro without letting the fact that people are interested in what he’s doing and what he’s saying get to his head.

You are not the leader of the people who are following you on Twitter!!

Alright, back on track.  Four main ways to find your followers: 

1. Do a Biography Search:  Remember how I mentioned the importance of filling out your bio area with pertinent information about who you are and what you do?  This is why…because it a great way to find people.

On the top right corner navigation bar – click on: Find People
The next screen – click on: Search (last tab)

Although the search area is pre-populated with Name and Location.  You can do a search by typing, for example – a specific occupation.  Example: Musician, Comedian, Actor, or Plumber; in case you’re looking for Joe.

You can put in locations, names and other keywords.  This search will scan and give you results of people that have that or those keywords within their bio information.

2. Do a KeyWord Search:  If you go to: http://search.twitter.com this will allow you to do keyword(s) search through people’s tweets. 

You can search occupations from here as well…but this time, you’ll get results from people who mentioned that specific occupation within their tweets.  See image below for search results when I put in the work “Comedians”.

I like option # 1 and 2 the best for finding people because you can hone in on what you’re looking for.  Twitter Search is also good for a lot of other things that we’ll discuss later on. 

3.  Public Timeline: I have personally never used the public timeline to find anyone to follow.  It’s really a crap shoot.  But, you can also use other services that tie in to the public timeline to find people, like Twittervision.  It’s easy to get mesmerized by it and you could come across some cool people in various locations.

4.  Twellow:  Twellow is another application that uses the public timeline…plus, quite a few other sets of data available through the Twitter API.  Twellow is the yellow pages of Twitter.  You can look for people by categories and subcategories…example: Category Entertainment --- Subcategory Fashion

And their tagline also implies this is the place to connect with people who matter. (whatever that means).

On a separate note, at some point you’ll want to claim your profile on Twellow and add more information to it.

Don’t Go Following Everyone

Pace yourself and don’t go clicking follow, follow, follow, follow…etc.  Always do a mixture of tweeting, replying to tweets and adding followers.

Keep your numbers of followers and those of people you follow proportional.  Say you’re following 40 people – than between 28-33 people should be following you back.

Following 1,567 people in one shot is a BAD idea.  I don’t follow people who go nuts following others.  It means they don’t really care about building their “followingship.”

Next Twitter Blog Post will be on: The Dos and Don'ts of Twittering

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Posted by Ann Bernard

Quick reminder...before you go follow other people, ensure you fill out your profile and put some content within your tweet stream!

Alright, just like the title says: Now that you have content - it's time to find some followers.  Before I tell you HOW to find followers; we need to discuss WHO you want to follow (and in return follow you back). 

Let me make a quick distinction here - sometimes you will want to follow people who might never follow you back and that's because they have really good content and information to pass along.  These are people you will learn from and or be entertained by. 

If you're interested in setting your sights really high on twitter - aim to become one of those people.

Answering the Who

Most new comers to twitter are ecstatic to just have someone follow them - they don't much care about who it is.  However, since you're reading this blog...you're already smarter than the average bloke.  You want to start out strong since you have a purpose in mind.

Fans

Start out by looking for similar people that are or compare to your current fan base (this blog is for entertainers - I would obviously give someone in another industry, industry specific recommendations). 

Make a list of the known characteristics of your fans:

• How old are they?
• Are they males or females?
• What kind of jobs/profession?
• What other interests do you know they have?
• And so on...

This list will help you when you start doing searches.

Others in your Art - Your Network

You will definitely want to follow some other people who are in the same entertainment niche as you, as well as others in the entertainment industry.

Think of the various people you want to network with: producers, promoters, booking agents and so on.  You also want to check on others in your art...for networking and well, some not-so-obvious spying on what they're doing!!

Knowledge Sources

I already alluded to the knowledge sources you'll find on twitter.  I recommend following a few because it's a great way to learn new information, get your news, and be in the loop.

Your Other Interests

You'll quickly realize that when you follow much of the same type of people...your incoming tweet stream can get a little redundant with the same information and slightly boring. 

My recommendation is to mix in some very random other people who have links to other interests you have unrelated to your art.  You never know what might happen.

Next post, I'll cover how to find the people you're looking for.  Be sure to know who you want to find.

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Posted by Ann Bernard

Now that you're willing to give twitter a go - lets talk about how to proceed.

First, you have to signup for and create an account.  Go to http://www.twitter.com/ and signup for an account.

Fill out Your Account Information

Once you have your account, click on Settings (upper right corner) which will take you to the Account tab.  This is where you want to fill out the information about yourself.  Everything you write on twitter is on a limited budget, so make sure you're brief but concise.  Be sure you include a link to a site - even if it's to your MySpace page.

Don't try to be smart in you biography section and write something that says absolutely nothing about who you are and what you do.  You'll have plenty of opportunities to show off you wittiness in your tweets.  Write a bio that describes you and what you do.  

A good bio and including your location will make searching for you and finding you easier.  

Don't tweet or send your first follower request without your profile first being filled out - this includes going to the Picture tab and uploading a picture.

People will come have a look at your profile in order to make the decision of whether or not they want to follow you - so make sure they don't waste their click when they come checkout what you're about.  

I don't follow people who have no profile information...particularly if they don't have any tweets yet.

Your First Tweets

Once you have your profile filled out (which again, is minimal for twitter) you want to populate your profile with a few tweets.  I personally don't recommend the...

• I'm new here...
• Trying this twitter thing...
• What's this twitter thing all about...

Act like you know why you're on twitter and that you're ready to join the community and be an active participant and great tweet provider.

This is where you can use 1-3 tweets to provide some additional and interesting things about yourself.  Something unique about where you live, what you do and who you are. NO PLUGGING your work or yourself.  NO LAME self promotion.

Then, you should start having a look around and reply to other people's tweet.  You reply by adding the @ sign in front of the person's twitter name.  Find some people who are saying things of interest and when you reply - be sure to be insightful and contributing to that other person's initial tweet.

There's no real science to this, but you should build up 10-12 replies, to about 3-4 more of your own tweets.

Next Twitter Post: Now That you Have Content - Find Followers

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Posted by Ann Bernard

Well that’s good you know your fans – it’s a shame they’re not on Twitter but the real question is this:

How many people on Twitter could be your future fans!?!?

Exactly, so now that I have your attention, lets talk a little about Twitter.  Twitter is a micro blogging platform which allows you to publish short messages of less than 140 characters through different mediums like IM, cellphones, smartphones and the web.

Your messages are broadcasted to a public timeline (if your profile is public) and to your followers – on the flip side, you receive the messages of the people you follow.  You can also reply to messages people have broadcasted or you can direct message a person you follow so it’s private between you and that person.

It’s pretty much like instant messaging with a lot of people at the same time.  Twitter is simple, easy and it’s free.

The basics behind Twitter is to talk about what you’re engaged in, thinking about, and wondering about (if you need feedback or have a question).

The 3 keys to being successful on Twitter are:

BE INTERESTING – ENGAGING and PART OF THE CONVERSATION

The Strength of Twitter for the Entertainment Industry

There are lots of usage for Twitter and it’s an awesome tool for many people and industries…but lets talk about how it’s relevant to you in the entertainment industry.

Promotion, Feedback and Community

Promotion: Your livelihood relies on your abilities or the abilities of the people you hire to promote you and your work.   Therefore, it’s not a hard puzzle to solve – any platform that can assist you promote yourself is worth taking a look at. 

The people on Twitter, for the most part, are not the same people you find on MySpace…and that’s good in many ways.  (Something we’ll talk about later)

Twitter will help you promote yourself because it’s a medium that doesn’t require a lot of effort to let people know more about what you’re doing, thinking and how damn interesting your are. 

Look – most people don’t have as interesting a life as people in the entertainment industry do…so having a look into what that life is like, could yield good returns to you.

Remember the first two key to success – BEING INTERESTING and ENGAGING

Feedback:  I’ll talk more about this, but one of the main reason social media is such a huge success is because it allows people, companies and industries to share and get feedback from their targeted audience(s). 

This too, is important to the entertainment industry.  It’s perhaps a great deal more personal to get feedback on a verse, song, photograph, painting, joke, video etc. but it’s also useful and precious to be able to poll people who have taking an interest in you and what you do.  This leads us to…

Community:  We participate in online activities to connect with like minded people and kindred spirit because being part of such communities let us know we’re not alone.  Sharing in other people’s news, struggles, victories and lives has a way of putting things in perspective.  Being part of a community, also allows for greater networking and sharing of resources.  It’s a fabulous way to get scoop, introductions and general feel of what’s going on.

Hightlights of Community: Scoop, Share Resources and Networking 

Next blog post, we’ll talk about how to get started on Twitter.  What to do and what NOT to do.

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Posted by Ann Bernard

It’s pretty simple – YOU want to get on the social media train it will assist you:

• Improve communication and connection with your audience
• Increase your fan base and attendance to your events
• Create and increase fan loyalty and dedication
• Increase sales of your products

But What Is the Social Media Train?

If we use the analogy of comparing social media to an actual train…it looks something like this:

The Tracks:  Train need tracks to make their way across country – social media needs the internet (the web).  No internet…no social media.

Engine and Train Carts:  The engine and train carts in social media are the social networks, websites and social applications – the structures, the "tangibles".

The Fuel: Whether it’s an old fashion train or new train; trains run on fuel.  The fuel that makes social media run is content.  Content is the information, data, words, thoughts and stories that are fed to the engine and paint the train carts…that is, content is what feeds the web pages, social networks and social applications.

The Conductor and Other Operators:  A train needs a conductor to drive the train and other operators to run and maintain the train.  They all work in harmony to make sure the train leaves and arrives on time, safely and has a successful trip. In social media, you also need a conductor and various operators to ensure a successful trip.  Those people are creating the content, checking on passengers and ensuring the engine and train carts are properly maintained.

When trains leave their stations they know where they are heading, they know their destination and purpose…however, they don’t know who they are going to pick up along the way.  The passengers that get on the train bring with them their unique reasons for being on the train, their interests, life stories and needs.

When you put your social media train on its track, you need to have an idea of where that train (your social media campaign) is heading and what you’d like it to accomplish. However, you don’t know what passengers are going to get on, who they are and what they will do, bring and ask for!!

Also, once your social media train is on its track, you can always add carts, upgrade the engines, and give it more fuel to make it run faster and stronger so it can cover greater distances and pick up more passengers.

The complexity of social media is picking the best engine(s), ensuring a good source and quality of fuel, and understanding your passengers needs, wants, desires. 

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Posted by Ann Bernard

I looked up briefly from my BlackBerry and yelled out to the band members of Lowry: “Do you guys have a twitter account”  I was happy to find out they at least knew what Twitter was – but no they didn’t have an account.  Bummer, I was in the process of writing a tweet about watching them setup and I wanted to @ them.  Alas, no account.

I sat there for a few minutes watching them setup…and then I turned to Dave (Mann) and said: “We should have a photographer here taking pictures of them from setup to finish.”  He went on to say his video guy flaked out but I didn’t want to hear who wasn’t here – I wanted to know what could be done.  Turned out his wife had a small digital camera with her.  (I was reminisce for not having my flip with me…not that it works anyway)

I thanked her for the camera and began taking pictures.  Now, I am NOT the person you want shooting pictures; you’ll soon see why when I get my hands on the pictures and post them up on Flickr.   

Once Lowry was done setting up, I went over to them to have a chat and take some more pictures.  First I gave them the low down on Twitter and also told them why and what they should be doing with pictures.

Heidi mentioned she had hundreds of pictures from their last tour that she still hadn’t posted up.  I explained to her why that won’t do:

1. They are now dated
2. If I was at a show, I don’t want to wait months to go checkout pictures from a show I attended; within the next few days, I’m looking for those pictures.
3. They are less relevant.
4. Wasted opportunity to promote the shows.  The pictures stayed on your camera instead of providing your online profiles fresh content.
5. Then there are all the unknowns of how your fans might have used the pictures…

Opportunities to utilize social media are tremendous for bands (or anyone in the entertainment industry) the occasions and content are constant – particularly for a band/entertainer that’s touring.  Using twitter, and taking pictures and videos should be built in to your touring process. 

On a side note, I really enjoyed their show and Lowry is a good crew of musicians.  I bought their Album: Love is Dead and I’m listening to it now.  Good blog writing music...plus it helps bring back the thoughts I had while listening to them live. 

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Posted by Ann Bernard

The current and near future ongoing state of our economy is a real downer.  It's good to be aware and remain cognizant of what's happening in our economy and obviously be involved in the upcoming elections...however, it's no surprise that people are also looking to escape the reality currently surrounding them.

Even during "Hard Times" and wartime, people need to be entertained.  We are now, just like the American people in the 1930s and 1940s, no exception to that need. In the 1930s and 1940s people enjoyed many forms of entertainment, particularly if they could do so inexpensively.

With the addition of sound, movies became increasingly popular. Comedies, gangster movies, and musicals helped people forget their troubles. In the early 1940s, some of the great dramas of American film reached theaters. Radio was also wildly popular, offering many kinds of programs, from sermons to soap operas.

Entertainers are gifted individuals who afford regular folks the opportunity to escape - if only briefly.  Through music, a good book, art, some great shows, or a comedy act; people are able to forget their troubles and enjoy themselves.  We've all had the desire to shut off the world and even more so in times of financial crisis.

But with that being said, somethings haven't changed - people are looking to be entertained on the cheap.  

There isn't anything much cheaper than the internet and the web.  What am I saying to you??

Find Unique Ways to Entertain Audiences on the Web!!  

Think outside the norm...opportunities are abound.  We'll chat about using social media, but this is something different. This is being creative to provide entertainment on the web to people aching to escape - how can you entertain them??

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Posted by Ann Bernard

Last week I had lunch with a guy, who with great care, told me that this blog layout was, well, “American Idolish”. I said “no, what?, really!, you think so?!!?” while looking over the layout.

I finally came around to asking him why he thought that.  The ‘Your Path to Stardom and Plan to be Famous’ bits were apparently making him cringe.  He said that he didn’t know of anyone who thought that way…now in his 30s, he understand more the importance of promoting his work, but back ten years ago, that just wasn’t how he saw things.  He was also afraid that the “professional and organized” feel might be intimating.

I listened, asked more questions and pondered his answers.

Than, a few days later, I met with another talented guy (in his early 20’s) who, although I didn’t ask him what he thought of the blog layout (will have to do that next time I see him), mentioned that making it big with his music wasn’t really on his agenda.

I was once again shocked.  He said, “not everyone wants to make it big”.  He might as well have been speaking a foreign language to me – I only do things because I want to make something significant and big come out of them. Anyway, we talked for a little while longer – again, I listened, asked more questions and pondered his answers.

This is what I concluded.  Perhaps this blog layout is a little “American Idolish”.  I don’t watch the show however, I do know that American Idol makes stars out of nobodies of who have talent and want to make it big. 

So this blog has something in common with the show…we want to make stars of people with talent who aren’t afraid to go for it.

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Posted by Ann Bernard

Back in early 2007, May 13th to be exact, The New York Times released an article on Jonathan Coulton titled “Sex, Drugs and Updating Your Blog” written by Clive Thompson.  In case you don’t know, Jonathan Coulton is an American singer-songwriter, famous for his songs containing themes of geek culture as well as his rise to popularity through the use of the Internet. 

The article is a great read – it talks about how Jonathan has come to make a very comfortable living doing what he loves because he figured out how to properly leverage the web to promote himself and his work.  Through his “a song each week program” that he posted to his blog; Coulton developed an extensive and loyal fan base.

You will also read about a few other artists (OK Go,  Dane Cook, Arctic Monkey, Hold Steady) who also found their fame through the internet. 

“…seems likely that the artists who forge direct access to their fans have the best chance of figuring out what the new economics of the music business will be.”

The quote above, taken from the article, doesn’t just apply to the music industry.  Anyone in the entertainment industry looking to grow in popularity, spread their art,  grow a fan base and make a living from their work has to properly leverage the web and technology to make things happen.

You’ll also read in the article about some drawbacks and challenges of using social media (the web).  It’s a process that creates a cause and effect - it's important to maintain the right effect.  Once you engage with your fans there are responsibilities and consequences that are best known from the start.

It’s also useful to have an idea upfront on how you want to spend your time online and how to turn that time into a solid return.

I’ll be introducing a few bloggers in the next few weeks that are going to help you figure all that out.

One of you those bloggers is Kenneth Yeung.   Kenneth has been working in the world of interactive marketing and social media since 2003.  He has a great deal of knowledge to share, but he also looks forward to exploring how social media differs and is best leveraged by people in the entertainment industry. 

His posts will start out with rudimentary explanations of what is social media, take a look at social networks and what purpose they serve, and how to engage in the “conversation”.

We’ll make sure that you can be like Jonathan Coulton – be in charge of your own destiny, build a solid fan base and enjoy the popularity of a rock star!

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