The most difficult thing for an artist or musician to do is stay motivated, and yet, motivation is the thing that propels your career forward. If you’re going to get anywhere as a musician, it’ll be through successful goal setting. That’s why I am happy to announce…
Welcome to Episode One of the Cyber PR Music Podcast. Over the past 24 years since I started Cyber PR, I’ve realized that having a “hyphenated career” is essential for all of us as artists and industry peeps to learn a lot of things. Therefore…
The Cyber PR Music Podcast Will be a Combination of 2 Things:
Presenting my articles, parts of my books and observations in short form (approx 15 minutes each episode).
Interviews with people furthering the conversation about marketing and PR in the music business.
Very few of us have goals written out with timelines attached and this is precisely why I wanted to start this podcast series with this topic. To help you get clear on your goals and then start taking action on them!
There Are Two Types of Goals
Big Picture / Long Term Goals – These are the ones you probably think about the most. Things like: do you want to sign to a label or remain independent? Do you want to tour extensively or be a session musician? These are the things that you build your career off.
Actionable Step Goals / Short Term Goals – Oftentimes the overlooked (and I’ll say it, less fun) goals. These are the ones you need to put into action to achieve those big picture goals because they’re the steps that create the map to your own personal success. For instance, releasing your next might be a short term goal, building a tour around the next album, and so on.
These work like a map so that you can actually get to where you want to go.
Note: Goals and Metrics are two separate things – I talk to so many artists who want metrics (like I want 1M streams on Spotify), but they don’t have a GOAL around the desire for the metric. Make sure that you differentiate.
Write Down Your Goals:
Start With Big Picture / Long Term Goals
With long-term goals, you want to put a 5 or 10-year timeline around these goals. They should be big and exciting. These are the things that get you excited and motivated!
Next, Get Detailed Actionable Step Goals / Short Term Goals
Branding – The image you want to put out into the world. This includes everything from brand colors to personality and how you show up in the world.
Marketing – What will you do for your marketing? Will you be hiring an assistant or a company to help?
Newsletter – Creating and sending a newsletter 1-2 times a month will help set you apart from other artists, and keep your fans engaged. It’s a very great way of not only keeping your audience in the loop, but it’s also an attainable goal. Speaking of goals, I sugget setting a goal to get the numbers up on your mailing list while flushing out the inactive emails addresses on the list.
Website – How is your website looking? Is it time to build a new one, diversify your online presence, or re-brand?
Social Media – When was the last time you took stock in your overall social media goals? More specifically, Instagram?
Booking – Are you thinking about touring or playing local gigs? Maybe a combination of both?
Downloads, Streams & Merch Sales – What will you release, distribute, and sell and where? What are your goal numbers around these?
Licensing – Will you work towards this in the near future in this domain? In other words, are you wishing to have your music available for others to use with proper licensing?
Expanding and Maintaining Your Fan Base – How will you focus on new fan outreach while still acknowledging and appreciating those who have been true fans of yours for years?
Team – Will you be trying to get a manager or a booking agent?
Writing & Recording – Are you going to be songwriting or recording an album or EP in the coming months?
Instruments & Learning – Will you be buying a new instrument or taking lessons?
Time Management – Find a way you can manage and balance your time to make sure you can focus on your musical goals.
Money – How much money would you honestly and realistically like to earn per year?
How To Write Down Your Goals
Write down each goal as if it is already happening and add a date that you’d like to accomplish it by. Be realistic but, don’t be afraid to challenge yourself.
Also, be pragmatic – make sure your goals are realistic and achievable. Start with something that is easy to do that you can check off of your goals list easily.
If you don’t know where to start, try practicing the KonMari / Marie Kondo method on your studio or closet. This can help clear out what may be cluttering your mind and keeping you from getting your goals activated in the first place.
Write Down 5 Successes Each Day
This part is all about celebrating yourself! It can feel a little silly at first, but don’t knock it until you try it! It’s simple to get started, just write down five little victories each day. The idea is that you’re training yourself to put the focus on the positive and get your brain to stop being so critical.
Find your fanciest, favorite notebook and keep it next to your bed. Each day write down 5 success from the day. Be sure one or two of them are music or band related. Nothing is too small, celebrate yourself here!
Make Lists
Lists are my favorite because you always know exactly what you should be doing and when. By making daily lists of what you need to do to meet your goals you’re creating a literal roadmap. I suggest doing this the night before so that you can simply wake up and start tackling your to-dos. A few other tips:
When you wake up, get the hardest thing out of the way. By getting the most daunting task done first, everything else will seem like a breeze.
Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Try to delegate the little tasks that don’t make use of your talents (and/or drain you) to other people. If you’re in a band, try to align tasks with each person’s strengths and likes.
Don’t overload yourself – studies show that six tasks is the maximum you can achieve in one day!
If you have a day job, remember that you probably don’t have as many hours in the day as you think you do, so start with 1-2 tasks a day.
2) Check out my newly updated ebook Social Media Tuneup.Walk yourself through how to effectively crank up your social media presence across all channels
3) Order my bestselling book, The Ultimate Guide To Music Publicity: a step-by-step guide to being a successful publicist all on your own. Available on Amazon.
4) Read any of the 300+ blog posts I have written to help you get ahead in the business. My main focus areas are marketing, music PR, crowdfunding, and making money.
About:
Ariel loves the challenges that today’s music business presents and she leads her team to help clients come out ahead. Whether that is with a detailed Total Tuneup, a new brand, or an increased established digital footprint, she is dedicated to helping her clients leave more educated than they were when they came to Cyber PR. She has written over 300 blog posts and four books on marketing, crowdfunding, and social media for artists, two of which went to #1 on Amazon. Ariel has spoken to over 100,000 artists in 12 countries about how to take control of their own marketing leading masterclasses, workshops, and panels.
Hi Ariel… thank you for some great, motivating information. It never hurts to review these ideas often. I’ve seen you on some other interviews and have always been inspired. Chuck
Nice job – very clear and sensible. Thank you!
Very glad you found it helpful! xAriel
Thankful for you and all of the inspiration that you offer artists!
Hi Ariel… thank you for some great, motivating information. It never hurts to review these ideas often. I’ve seen you on some other interviews and have always been inspired. Chuck
Appreciate you, Chuck <3
This organizing is absolutely mind blowing. Something really very instructive & valuable. Thanks for your lovely article. Keep going.
Thanks Michelle! I shall.