Derek Sivers & Ariel Hyatt on Crafting The Perfect Pitch Pt 2 – Video
Believe it or not, almost every single artist who has found success online, virally or not, has had something in common. They targeted, and subsequently conquered a niche. Derek Sivers (the founder of CD Baby) and I discuss the best niche based pitch he ever heard in this video.
To do this, they first nailed a pitch and then had a captivating artist bio / signature story, and of course, amazing music to match it!
Plain and simple, if you really want the internet and socials to become the success drivers of your career that you hope they will become, you MUST target and conquer your niche. To do this, you first must create a pitch that draws fans and potential fans in, and then tell a story.
Below are four very simple things that you will need to consider and map out in order to get yourself on track to conquering YOUR niche:
The story of “hillbilly flamenco”
I’m well aware that you probably dread having to compare your music to that of someone else’s. It can feel demeaning to say that your baby, your creation, only just ‘sounds like someone else’.
When targeting and attempting to connect to your ideal audience, creating a totally unique and memorable pitch can make all the difference.
If you can’t come up with something pity like “hillbilly flamenco” because it doesn’t suit you, that’s totally okay.
Making a comparison to another band similar in sound or style to your own is also very effective as Derek discussed about his own band in Part One.
By making sure that you’ve targeted a meaningful comparison or created a unique and memorable short pitch, you will have an easier time building interested from perspective fans. Relevance here is key. As you will see…
Hone your pitch
“when you’re honing your pitch think about what you like what and what speaks your truth and don’t try to be everything to everyone.” – Ariel Hyatt
The internet is and always has been about BIG ideas. By giving us a further reach than ever before, it has become second nature for us to always think on a global scale.
This is a mistake!
Remember that a pitch can and usually does start very small, as in so small that it can be targeted. Then when you have something that is working, you can build up buzz, making it easier to connect, opening up doors to connections with influencers.
Know who your pitch and story are aiming towards
The more detailed an understanding you have of your audience, the easier it will be to hone your pitch and then build out your signature story. “Hillbilly Flamenco” Is NOT for everybody, but as discussed by Derek in this video, as your pitch becomes a more specific, the more doors will open.
So understanding your crowd and how to directly connect to them is crucial. This means knowing key things like:
Demographic (age, gender location)
Similar / influential artists
Where do the fans exist online?
What blogs, magazines and newspapers do they read?
After the perfect pitch comes the perfect bio / signature story
Now your audience is identified and your pitch is clear, it’s time to craft your bio. Here is a check sheet of 12 vital questions to download that will help you to write a great bio or come take our webinar.
I’ve tried to figure out my niche in a number of different ways, however, it is elusive. I am now taking the approach to let it find me. I do believe if have an idea of what it is. I do agree that the deep and narrow approach is a great solution!
There are situations where the local niche is so minimal or unsupportive that it’s impossible to build upon. While less-popular genres need to target a niche, if your local market has few, if any, followers and few, if any, venues to bring it out and build a live following just doing PR online creates anticipation, to be sure, but nothing beats a live performance. With popular genres (i.e. rock & singer/songwriter) can create a local stir with live dates in their town/region, it’s hard for, say, a fusion group or an instrumental performer to book the venues/ events. When a venue takes the chance to book a non-popular genre, the niche following (if they do come out) never hits the minimum for the venue to feel satisfied or for the artist to turn even a minimal profit. YouTube/ Twitter/ FaceBook/ etc. are valuable but my niche seems to be spread far and wide which makes a ‘local’ scene impossible.
Depending on your genre/location, you may have a point. However, you may be able to generate interest in a well-targeted niche locally, if it’s a group you are already involved with and have good relationships with people. People may start out to support you, and end up falling in love with your music, too. But that may also be a harder row to hoe.
Of course, using Google Plus Hangouts – you can create concerts that are available internationally – and use YouTube, Spotify and social media to attract your niche who can then see you play live, via hangouts on air.
Great advice!
Great reminder about what internet marketing is really all about, and breaks things down into achievable goals, very inspiring!
Glad you found this helpfu1 Siobhan!
I’ve tried to figure out my niche in a number of different ways, however, it is elusive. I am now taking the approach to let it find me. I do believe if have an idea of what it is. I do agree that the deep and narrow approach is a great solution!
Good Rockin’ Dan
Thank you
There are situations where the local niche is so minimal or unsupportive that it’s impossible to build upon. While less-popular genres need to target a niche, if your local market has few, if any, followers and few, if any, venues to bring it out and build a live following just doing PR online creates anticipation, to be sure, but nothing beats a live performance. With popular genres (i.e. rock & singer/songwriter) can create a local stir with live dates in their town/region, it’s hard for, say, a fusion group or an instrumental performer to book the venues/ events. When a venue takes the chance to book a non-popular genre, the niche following (if they do come out) never hits the minimum for the venue to feel satisfied or for the artist to turn even a minimal profit. YouTube/ Twitter/ FaceBook/ etc. are valuable but my niche seems to be spread far and wide which makes a ‘local’ scene impossible.
Depending on your genre/location, you may have a point. However, you may be able to generate interest in a well-targeted niche locally, if it’s a group you are already involved with and have good relationships with people. People may start out to support you, and end up falling in love with your music, too. But that may also be a harder row to hoe.
Of course, using Google Plus Hangouts – you can create concerts that are available internationally – and use YouTube, Spotify and social media to attract your niche who can then see you play live, via hangouts on air.
Or Facebook Live or Instagram Stories! 🙂
great article. well broken down and explained. food for thought.