Multiple Projects – Dedicated Days

Dividing my time has become increasingly difficult.  How ironic would it be then if I used it all up blogging? Quite.  So, I will be short today.

I’ve come up with a time management solution dictated by social media.  Mondays are #musicmonday on Twitter.  Thus, I will work on Bad Lucy in my free hours on this day.  FYI, Monday is also #meowmonday, but that is no help. It only infuriates Timmy and Marky.

Don’t worry boys, Wednesday offers justice.  Yes, Wednesday is  #woofwednesday.  If you know the history of Bad Lucy, then you know it is only appropriate that I also dedicate this day to my band manager duties.

The remaining days will be split as follows:

• Tuesday and Thursday for BrideRush
• Friday, in the spirit of #followfriday, will be for research and the study of other startups, bands, etc.  It is an idea generation day.

Maybe now I’ll have more focus, fewer feelings of guilt when working on one side project over the other. Those few extra hours each day go quick. A dedicated day might just be the only way.

In line with this thinking, here are some things I am working on for the band on this Monday … just in case you want to help.

1. Booking  fall shows – where do you want to see Bad Lucy?
2. Introducing more newbies to their sound. Listen to Forward here. (On woofwednesday I’ll hit you dawgs with an unreleased track, exclusively here. Sorry couldn’t resist the “dawgs.”)
3. Getting them to Number 1 on Arizona’s KWSS 106.7 morning countdown. They’ve made it up to number 2.  But if you know me, you know I don’t like second place.  Help put the boys in the top spot by requesting Bad Lucy on the program’s FB page:    http://on.fb.me/fK7EJw
4. Working on getting them a residency slot at a LA venue.

Music Marketing?

During this media “sabbatical” of mine, I’ve been trying to put my experiences to good use by ordering around my new husband.

Do the dishes, give the dogs a bath and do whatever I say when it comes to your music career.  Truthfully, I know little about the industry, but I fancy myself his own personal Ari Gold (“Entourage”).  I’ll typically have the “the best idea ever” at least twice a day, and lucky for his fans, he ignores most of my baseless and often ridiculous orders.

But after catching the American Idol finale earlier this week, we saw things eye to eye.  We both sat in awe.  Not in awe of greatness, but in awe of how not good some of the Top 10 are.  I hate to pick on people since I can’t sing at all, but I have to say I knew Mr. J. Miller could do a better rendition of Beautiful Day than the winner did.  So I told him to get on it.  He listened and now there’s a YouTube video.  The singing is good, and he added some surprises.  I spent my morning laughing.  Hope you enjoy it too.  And if you do, share it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EICPM5JfK7s

(Shameless plug: Check out his original material at jmillerlive.com or on iTunes.)

Now I just need to work a record deal…channeling Ari.

Cover Buzz

East West Dec/Jan cover - Noureen DeWulf

Our new cover is getting some buzz on Twitter and Facebook, always a good thing. But how much comfort can we take in social media’s acceptance of our images and links?  My overnight Facebook activity was good, my overnight subscription totals not up to par.  They were fine, but social media indicators signaled higher.

How do you measure success in social media? And in our focus on this realm are we missing out on other avenues? This is what I am stewing on today since it dawned on me that we have thousands of phone numbers in our database? Is it unthinkable to pick up the phone? Is social media the easy way out?

Everyone that works with me learns quite quickly that it is nearly impossible to get me on the phone.  I hate long drawn out phone conversations when a simple email will suffice.  So if we do decide to hit the phones with a year end sub campaign, I am sure it will be painful to me personally.  But hey, if politicians aren’t above it….you have to win support.  Scary to think, but the model is the same.

Beyond Social Media

During the East West print hiatus, I was Deputy Director of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism.  As trainers of business journalists throughout the country, we often focused on the realm of online reporting and social media, giving business reporters the tools and know-how to compete in the new media landscape. As a part of this effort, I wrote a column called Web Views.  Its overwhelming theme?  I am so over Twitter.

More than once, I discussed how I was a Twitter early adopter, joining the service in 2007.  And I often lamented the media’s sole obsession with regurgitating content and getting on Twitter and Facebook.  I argued that we need to include these tools, but they aren’t by any means the answer to the problems facing media today.  The media in general needs to stop following, and instead, be early adopters and originators.  Sure, you can tweet, but what is next?  And does tweeting really help your brand? Have you studied its worth to your company and for your audience?

But when it was time to relaunch East West, I somehow forgot my own argument and was caught up in the frenzy. I became a bit obsessive, putting all my focus on Facebook and Twitter outreach and ignoring other channels.

But according to a recent report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project only roughly 19% of internet users now say they use Twitter or another service to share updates about themselves, or to see updates about others.  Round that to 20% and it still doesn’t warrant 100% of our marketing attention. This figure woke me up as did a tactic we tried on social media sites a couple weeks ago. Free Trial Tuesday for fans of Facebook was by all accounts a bust.  The promotion only pulled in 12 new users. We already get an average of 10 new sign-ups per day on our Web site without any special promotions or effort (e-newsletter signups).

So I am back to being cautious. I am back to diversfying my efforts and testing out new, unknown tools.  Nonetheless, I will tweet about this post the minute I hit publish.