Embracing Marketing

"Marketing and sales isn't about trying to convince, coerce, or manipulate people into buying your services. It's about putting yourself out in front of, and offering your services to, those whom you are meant to serve – people who already need and are looking for your services."

-Michael Port from Book Yourself Solid

Today's music business is so incredibly competitive, whether trying to play for a living or trying to land a top teaching gig.  There are not many concrete areas where you can get an easy leg up on the competition.  There are, however, a few of them and one of them is marketing.

Focusing on the "putting yourself out in front of" part of the above quote by Michael Port, there are not many musicians or music educators who excel at this.  There are a lot who are good, but not a lot who are great.

If you figure out two things, who are you meant to serve and how you will put yourself in front of them, you will be way ahead of the game.

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As a side note, absolutely everyone should read the book quoted above.  I can not recommend it any more highly for people learning to get themselves out there.  It is a New York Times bestseller so chances are your competition has already read it.

We Are All Marketers

"Marketing and sales isn't about trying to convince, coerce, or manipulate people into buying your services.  It's about putting yourself out in front of, and offering your services to, those whom you are meant to serve-people who already need and are looking for your services." - Michael Port from "Book Yourself Solid"

I love this quote.  It takes a lot of the used car salesman feeling that some of us have when selling ourselves as performers or teachers of music out of the equation.  Marketing yourself is simply about getting yourself noticed by the people who want or need your services.  It's that simple.

The good news is most musicians, including teachers, are not good marketers and that presents an opportunity for us all.  The bad news is people are figuring this out and everyone is getting better.  We all have to up our games when it comes to marketing.

And make no mistake, we are all marketers whether we realize it or not.