by Draven Grey

Do you know who your fans are?
Many artists love the roar of the crowd. The more fans at a show, the better, right? It makes you feel good. It makes you look good to the venues. It helps sell merchandise. In fact, catering to your fans, and making yourself their best friend can boost your career like nothing else in the industry. But if you don’t know your fans, you will never grow that audience, you will not build that reputation, and you will not sell merchandise.

Have you ever tried to offer a hamburger to a Vegan?
It didn’t go over very well did it? In fact, they were probably very offended. So why do so many bands constantly do this to their audience? Are you offering your fans something they don’t really want? Are you sure?
If you want to develop a bond with your newfound Vegan friend, you probably want to find out a lot more about them first. Then the embarrassing and sometimes bridge-burning moment of offering them a hamburger could be avoided. More so, in all likelihood you would be offering them something they really want instead, and putting a big smile on their face.
If you want to develop a bond with your newfound fans, you probably want to find out a lot more about them first. Then you can avoid the embarrassing and sometimes bridge-burning moment of offering them pink kitten buttons and give them the black, logo-driven t-shirt they really want, making them want to buy more from you.

What is an” ideal fan”?
Let’s take a moment to examine your ideal fan, that person (however real or make-believe) that you wish all your fans were like. Top marketing experts agree that to focus your efforts towards this sort of “super fan,” you will immediately attract the attention of every person that fits 70% of the ideal fan’s description. Can you imagine how many fans you will have when you easily begin attracting everyone that fits 70% of your ideal fan’s description? That’s a LOT of people! Maybe you can’t imagine that yet. And that’s because you have yet to describe your ideal fan.
Often, our ideal fan is an extension of ourselves. Think about it… you are your #1 fan. Anyone else can claim to be your #1 fan, but when it comes down to it, no one is a fan of your band more than you are. So take a deep look at each of you in the band, and ask yourself what it would be like if you could combine all your likes, dislikes, interests, hobbies, and habits into one single, super human.

Describe your audience.
Take a few minutes to describe your ideal fan in writing. Don’t fret; it can take some time to get used to examining your fans in this way. Think about who you want to surround yourself with. What are the types of people that you love to have backstage hanging out with you? Get specific. Get very specific. The more detailed you can describe your ideal fan, the easier it will be to find them and turn them from fans into fanatics.
What does a day in the life of your ideal fan look like? What’s his or her name? How old is he? Does she go to school? High school, college, something else? What does he do during the day, from waking up to going to bed? Is she religious? An Atheist? What hobbies does he have? What about movies she likes? Books? TV shows? Video games? What type of work does he do? What other types of music does she listen to? What about specific bands? What are his friends like? Where does she like to hang out? What websites does he go to the most?
This person is your band’s life-blood. They are the person that will buy every piece of merchandise you put out, listen to all your music, tell everyone they can about you, and ultimately put food on your table and give you a long-lasting career in music. Know them.

Why it’s important.
If you want to sell a hamburger to a Vegan, you better make sure that it’s a Vegetarian burger. If your fans are mostly high-school age, would you be getting college sponsorships for your shows? Why not make a good friend of a high-schooler, who will build your street team in the right place? Or how about a house party? What if ideal fans are college-age church-goers? And what avenues do you have for reaching them if they’re middle-aged businessmen?
What about the coffee shop they like to hang out at? Or was it tea? Would that be a good place to promote your shows, or possibly sell your CD? How about the place most of them buy their clothes?
Shows, promotions, sales, image, sound, performance, you name it; Your marketing and direction will become very clear once you know who exactly it is that you’re catering to, where to find them, and what they would like from you.

So now you have a bunch of Vegan high-schoolers having house parties that the police have to shut down because there are way too many people and way too much noise. Isn’t it great?!
If you know your fans well, you will be offering them things they want to buy from you. You will be giving them exactly the music and story they want and expect to hear from you. You will be making friends, and gaining a following, instead of the left-overs from the band that played before you. People will fall in love with you. You will be experiencing what many bands never get to experience… a clear, well-informed knowing of who your audience is and what you have to offer them. Most of all, you will have a whole lot of friends, who all want to reciprocate what you’ve done for them. That beats just having nameless fans, any day.
What can you do to reach your fans, now that you know who and where they are, and what they’re looking for?
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On the tough and often dangerous path to “making it” in the music industry, Draven Grey has been described as a friend, guide, and schoolmaster. Draven is a professional musician, producer, and artist development specialist for Rockstar Mindset. To find out more, visit Rockstar Mindset, or sign up for our FREE 12-day mini-course on how to turn your rock band into a success.

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And I am not talking about MTV’s True Life or wherever that tag line was used.  I’m talking about life in general.  You think what you are doing right now is what you will be doing forever?  Or even next year?

The only thing that is constant is change.  Think back for a moment at how much your life has changed in just the past year?   Your relationships, your job, your band, your songs, your living situation, your money situation;  there is a good chance that most if not all of these have taken complete 180’s.

So what can you do so that you are on the right path to guitar and musical enlightenment?

Well one thing that I know has always really affected me, gotten me down, dragged my ass back to the real world of the corporate life and the miscellaneous job is the need for money.

It is simply just hard work to sustain yourself through musical and purely creative endeavors alone.  At least at first.  (There will come a time when things get easy if you let them)  If you don’t have a plan or any actionable goals you are striving to achieve, good luck.

But of course, life happens when you are making plans.   Your goals will be postponed and your activities will be changed due to whatever circumstances you find yourself in.

Most of us will find ourselves being held back by our finances or the need to support our families and pay our bills.  It is OK to have a “real” job and do the best you can in your music life.  It is good to be grounded in reality every once in a while.  In fact, I would say that most musicians are so far off in fantasy land, that they have no chance of making a living being a guitar player or in a band.   They think things magically will happen if they act like Kanye West and disregard their responsibilities in life.  And in most cases, these musicians are the ones who are not even as talented or skilled as the others who take full responsibility for whatever life throws at them.

You just gotta do what you gotta do.   Every situation is different so trust your intuition and just know that you have no idea what is coming next.  Be like water and go with the flow; stay moving forward to what excites and interests you.  Evolve.

Simple Money Tip for Musicians

On a related note,  I read a great article, What’s Coming Next? , from The Simple Dollar , one of my favorite personal finance blogs that I highly recommend to every musician.  The author of the site went from completely and utterly in debt, with various jobs, to full time financial writer.  Pretty amazing stuff, and the content on the site is even better than his story.

In this article, he talks about establishing a big emergency fund, and how you never know what will happen or where you will find yourself, so having as much backup funding as you can will help make things so much easier when times get slow or tough.

I recently just opened a higher-than-the-average-bank-interest-generating savings account with ING Direct in which automatic monthly contributions will be made to build up my backup fund.

I like taking risks.   But I have learned it is a lot tougher taking risks when you are broke.   I set up automatic contributions so that it sort of just seems like you never even had that money to spend in the first place.  You can set up however much you would like to deposit and on what schedule.   I would highly recommend just starting one up and building your emergency fund.  Just start small and later down the line when you want to risk it all and move your band to LA, you will have the peace of mind knowing that you have a few grand already saved up.

I will leave you with an excerpt from the article I read, and hopefully it will resonate with you:

At each of those times above, I thought my future would go on more or less the same way that it was going right then. I was repeatedly wrong.

The best thing you can do with your money and with your skills is prepare for change. Why? Because things will change.

You’ll lose a job. You’ll change careers. You’ll find a partner. You’ll have a child. You’ll move to another state. You’ll find a new passion. You’ll get sick. You’ll get well. People will leave your life. People will enter your life.

Things will change.

It’s this simple fact of life that leads me towards believing that the best personal finance tool that people can have is a big, fat emergency fund.

With a nice, healthy cash reserve in hand, a person can roll through these changes with ease. A job loss doesn’t mean an apocalyptic disaster in your life. A choice to try a new career becomes exciting and fun instead of scary. Falling in love and moving across the country becomes a whirlwind adventure instead of an exercise in tightrope walking. Opportunities spring up and you can take advantage of them instead of having to run away in fear.

Never, ever let debts and a lack of money on hand keep you from jumping on board with your dreams when the chance comes along. You have the power, right now, to get things under control, eliminate that debt, pick up some new skills, and be ready for the inevitable changes that will come your way.

The Simple Dollar– What’s Coming Next?

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“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” ~ Lao Tzu

Post Shared by Zen Habits.   Something I am personally working on right now.

Consider the above quote from Lao Tzu,: how can it be true?

Is it possible to never hurry, but to get everything done?

It seems contradictory to our modern world, where everything is a rush, where we try to cram as much into every minute of the day as possible, where if we are not busy, we feel unproductive and lazy.

In fact, often we compete by trying to show how busy we are. I have a thousand projects to do! Oh yeah? I have 10,000! The winner is the person who has the most insane schedule, who rushes from one thing to the next with the energy of a hummingbird, because obviously that means he’s the most successful and important.

Right?

Maybe not. Maybe we’re playing the wrong game — we’ve been conditioned to believe that busier is better, but actually the speed of doing is not as important as what we focus on doing.

Maybe we’re going at the wrong speed. Maybe if we are constantly rushing, we will miss out on life itself. Let’s let go of the obsession with speed, and instead slow down, stop rushing, and enjoy life.

And still get everything done.

Let’s look at how.

A Change of Mindset
The most important step is a realization that life is better when you move at a slower, more relaxed pace, instead of hurrying and rushing and trying to cram too much into every day. Instead, get the most out of every moment.

Is a book better if you speed read it, or if you take your time and get lost in it?

Is a song better if you skim through it, or if you take the time to really listen?

Is food better if you cram it down your throat, or if you savor every bite and really appreciate the flavor?

Is your work better if you’re trying to do 10 things at once, or if you really pour yourself into one important task?

Is your time spent with a friend or loved one better if you have a rushed meeting interrupted by your emails and text messages, or if you can relax and really focus on the person?

Life as a whole is better if you go slowly, and take the time to savor it, appreciate every moment. That’s the simplest reason to slow down.

And so, you’ll need to change your mindset (if you’ve been stuck in a rushed mindset until now). To do this, make the simple admission that life is better when savored, that work is better with focus. Then make the commitment to give that a try, to take some of the steps below.

But I Can’t Change!
There will be some among you who will admit that it would be nice to slow down, but you just can’t do it … your job won’t allow it, or you’ll lose income if you don’t do as many projects, or living in the city makes it too difficult to go slowly. It’s a nice ideal if you’re living on a tropical island, or out in the country, or if you have a job that allows control of your schedule … but it’s not realistic for your life.

I say bullshit.

Take responsibility for your life. If your job forces you to rush, take control of it. Make changes in what you do, in how you work. Work with your boss to make changes if necessary. And if really necessary, you can eventually change jobs. You are responsible for your life.

Tips for a Slower-Paced Life
I can’t give you a step-by-step guide to moving slower, but here are some things to consider and perhaps adopt, if they work for your life. Some things might require you to change some major things, but they can be done over time.

1. Do less. Cut back on your projects, on your task list, on how much you try to do each day. Focus not on quantity but quality. Pick 2-3 important things — or even just one important thing — and work on those first. Save smaller, routine tasks for later in the day, but give yourself time to focus. Read more.
2. Have fewer meetings. Meetings are usually a big waste of time. And they eat into your day, forcing you to squeeze the things you really need to do into small windows, and making you rush. Try to have blocks of time with no interruptions, so you don’t have to rush from one meeting to another.
3. Practice disconnecting. Have times when you turn off your devices and your email notifications and whatnot. Time with no phone calls, when you’re just creating, or when you’re just spending time with someone, or just reading a book, or just taking a walk, or just eating mindfully. You can even disconnect for (gasp!) an entire day, and you won’t be hurt. I promise.
4. Give yourself time to get ready and get there. If you’re constantly rushing to appointments or other places you have to be, it’s because you don’t allot enough time in your schedule for preparing and for traveling. Pad your schedule to allow time for this stuff. If you think it only takes you 10 minutes to get ready for work or a date, perhaps give yourself 30-45 minutes so you don’t have to shave in a rush or put on makeup in the car. If you think you can get there in 10 minutes, perhaps give yourself 2-3 times that amount so you can go at a leisurely pace and maybe even get there early.
5. Practice being comfortable with sitting, doing nothing. One thing I’ve noticed is that when people have to wait, they become impatient or uncomfortable. They want their mobile device or at least a magazine, because standing and waiting is either a waste of time or something they’re not used to doing without feeling self-conscious. Instead, try just sitting there, looking around, soaking in your surroundings. Try standing in line and just watching and listening to people around you. It takes practice, but after awhile, you’ll do it with a smile.
6. Realize that if it doesn’t get done, that’s OK. There’s always tomorrow. And yes, I know that’s a frustrating attitude for some of you who don’t like laziness or procrastination or living without firm deadlines, but it’s also reality. The world likely won’t end if you don’t get that task done today. Your boss might get mad, but the company won’t collapse and the life will inevitably go on. And the things that need to get done will.
7. Start to eliminate the unnecessary. When you do the important things with focus, without rush, there will be things that get pushed back, that don’t get done. And you need to ask yourself: how necessary are these things? What would happen if I stopped doing them? How can I eliminate them, delegate them, automate them?
8. Practice mindfulness. Simply learn to live in the present, rather than thinking so much about the future or the past. When you eat, fully appreciate your food. When you’re with someone, be with them fully. When you’re walking, appreciate your surroundings, no matter where you are. Read this for more, and also try The Mindfulist.
9. Slowly eliminate commitments. We’re overcommitted, which is why we’re rushing around so much. I don’t just mean with work — projects and meetings and the like. Parents have tons of things to do with and for their kids, and we overcommit our kids as well. Many of us have busy social lives, or civic commitments, or are coaching or playing on sports teams. We have classes and groups and hobbies. But in trying to cram so much into our lives, we’re actually deteriorating the quality of those lives. Slowly eliminate commitments — pick 4-5 essential ones, and realize that the rest, while nice or important, just don’t fit right now. Politely inform people, over time, that you don’t have time to stick to those commitments.

Try these things out. Life is better when unrushed. And given the fleeting nature of this life, why waste even a moment by rushing through it?

Remember the quote above: if nature can get everything done without rushing, so can you.
—

If you liked this guide, please bookmark it on Delicious or share on Twitter. Thanks, my friends.

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GuitarPlayerZen.com/studioguitar

And if that is not enough motivation to go out and get this, and turn your guitar career around, just remember professional guitar players get these on a regular basis:

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No, I’m not gonna tell you how to nail a song, but rather about those things at the tips of your fingers.

I bet she is a wicked finger picker

Their length, as well as their shape, can change your sound more than you can imagine.  I’m talking about both left and right hand nails.
As for the left hand nails, it will change your position around the neck.With long nails, you will play in a “flat-handed” way, nice for double barré chords.
If you choose to have short nails, you will shred way more easily and have a more “round-handed” position.
It’s up to you.
Now, right hand: if you choose to have them short, use a pick.  If you choose to have them long, use your nails as a pick, both up and down.

A quite spectacular flamenco technique is the “rasgueado”, when you strum down and open your hand on the strings, using the flat part of your nails as an individual pick.
Well, enough said… Time to use your nails.  No matter the style you play!

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