Artist:Athena Burke | Cyber PR Service(s) Athena Received:Total Tuneup (12 Month Artist Development Plan)
About Athena
Athena Burke is a singer-songwriter who found her voice through inspiring others and bringing hope and faith into her listeners’ lives. With her smooth vocals, emotional and honest lyrics, and uplifting melodies, Athena’s music reaches people all around the country who are searching for comfort and guidance.
Athena Burke is one of Cyber PR’s most hardworking and passionate clients.
She came to us with a dedicated community of people who loved and supported her music. But, Athena struggled with the planning and execution of growing her fanbase and establishing a professional online footprint, all while recording and releasing the album of her dreams. From our very first interaction, Athena proved if you want it bad enough, you’ll make the time for yourself.
What Athena wrote when she contacted us
I have completed and mastered the first song and we’re almost done with the second. I have a pretty good following but I haven’t been as active [online] in the past couple of years as I used to. I need to build everything, crowdfund the new album and powerjet my way back full steam ahead.
Athena before she came to Cyber PR for her TTU/Artist Development Plan
Before coming to Cyber PR, Athena did not have a cohesive brand, a solid social media strategy, and as she admitted to us she was lacking consistency with her updates. Her website and photos were outdated. She had never activated her Instagram account – she had 0 posts and her Facebook posts were few and far between (sometimes she would go weeks at a time, because she didn’t really know what to post or feel inspired to post. Her socials were dwindling while she was focused on writing and being in the recording studio.
The process we guided Athena through
Foundations
This is our “getting to know you” phase which involves receiving an in-depth customized written questionnaire that helped her to articulate her goals (big and small), and take a deep dive into who her fans are and what makes them tick. It also guided her to explore her past, present, and future around her music career and create a vision. And of course we asked pages of technical questions such as how many people are on her mailing list, what do her Google analytics look like and what were her specific social media insights.
Athena took our Foundations process seriously and she spent several hours working with it. We loved this because her willingness to go deep allowed us to create an articulate and customized artist development plan.
Intake
After receiving her Foundations, her TTU writers were selected based on where she wanted to focus. Her team spent time with her responses and we began to articulate and build her fan personas, her brand pillars and think through her personal tone and style for both her website presence (font, colors, etc.) and her social media themes and tone.
Presentation
Next we scheduled a presentation call where we laid out our ideas about who her audience is, what the main pillars of her artist brand could potentially be and we introduced 5 potential social media themes she could post about across her channels that were in alignment with her brand. We also asked additional clarifying questions so that we could create the most on point TTU possible.
Creation
Athena’s artist development plan was then created over the course of 2 weeks. Then, we delivered her 150+ page strategy plan outlining the next 12+ months.
Clarification through this artist development plan
With her Total Tuneup, Athena’s brand was created and solidified, she knew exactly what colors she should include across her online footprint, her fan personas were detailed and she knew exactly where to connect with new communities of potential fans who easily resonated with her and her music.
She had five solid social media content themes so that she knew exactly what to write about and how often to post (her community of women/ survivors, her inspirational messages, and her connection to nature and faith, to name just a few). We also created a release plan with added strategies for each one of her singles releases, and we outlined topics such as crowdfunding, Spotify, Apple Music, touring, merchandise, as well as licensing her music to film and TV. Athena purchased a Total Tuneup before we offered implementation hours, but now, our Total Tuneups have additional levels with various added implementation time customized for each type of artist.
How Athena brought her Artist Development Plan to life…
Athena read through the entire TTU at an appropriate pace, she stayed calm and collected, and hired an assistant to help her implement pieces that felt overwhelming. They took each section and conquered it. She scheduled regular check in calls with her TTU team to stay on track.
Athena utilized the Action Sheets that we provided for the areas she wanted ti and the private masterclasses that were provided, and utilized her time with us to make sure we were holding her accountable for deadlines and completing necessary tasks on time.
Athena’s successes:
Had professional photos that are completely on brand taken for her new website.
Her updated website was published using our guidelines for navigation and accessibility
She became active on her social media platforms posting powerful communications that inspired her audience to re-engage
She steadily continues to grow her following
She set up an active email list and consistently nurtures and grows it.
Overall, she has elevated to a professional looking and acting Independent musician.
Before & After Athena’s Artist Development Plan
We asked Athena a few questions about her artist development plan with us and how it impacted her artistry. Here’s what she said:
Where are you on your journey now and what has changed since you went through the process?
I have implemented a lot of what the TTU suggested I do. I totally updated my website, got promo photos taken, started posting on IG, put up consistent photos and colors on all my social media, finished my album…the list goes on and on. I’m still working on many of the suggestions since the TTU was so thorough.
What was your favorite part of the Total Tuneup?
Having professional eyes on everything I was doing with on-point suggestions for change and positive support along the way. I really liked Ariel and Jamie’s personal touch. I felt seen and understood and supported all along the way as well as afterward.
What were your weaknesses coming into this process? Do you feel like they are strengthened?
I was completely overwhelmed and paralyzed. Now I am taking daily actions toward my goals.
What was the biggest “ah-ha” moment as a result of your Total Tuneup?
That what I do naturally is my brand.
What was the thing that caused the most impact that you’ve implemented since you have gotten your TTU?
Having a consistent look and feel to everything I put out to the public. Knowing who I am and sharing that with the world and feeling confident. I got a lot of positive reinforcement for being who I am from doing the TTU.
How will you use your TTU for your next album release?
I just re-read my TTU today as I am preparing to release the first single from my upcoming album. I am going to tighten up every single area of what I put out to the public and I will keep referring back to the many different sections in my TTU as I go through all the different avenues I need to take to put out my music.
