Ms. Strumming

Ms. Joy,


I have a new online guitar lesson business and I struggle with being in the limelight. I think it's because I'm not comfortable with my looks and, especially in person, I get nervous when I'm being looked upon by others with anticipation or judgment. I've tried all the online marketing ideas I can think of that don't require me to personally be the center of attention, but my website is still hardly known and visited. Do you have some new publicity suggestions?


―Strumming in San Francisco

View my video column response to Ms. Strumming below:

Ms. Strumming,

You struggle with issues that most people wrestle with and you are not alone. Putting this aside, my first suggestion would be to stop marketing. That’s right. Stop marketing to people and start engaging them. Whether you choose to put yourself directly out there or keep pushing the product without yourself at the forefront, you need to stop marketing. 

It doesn’t matter what type of folks comprise your target audience, if you create a campaign that provides experiences, you’ll create real connections. Real, loyal connections will establish your brand and help the word spread because you can use these contacts to help you publicize your business.

At first, online guitar lessons can sound cold or impersonal. Redirect focus onto the fact that through the internet, you can teach anyone anywhere in the world how to play the guitar and, it becomes pretty cool. You can indulge anyone’s passion for music and desire to play the guitar. This is a gorgeously human thing so, relate this other human beings in a way they can feel and hear and see.

Make your campaign speak as passionately and as enthusiastically about learning an instrument as you would. Think of some ideas that people can experience, such as video content. If you don’t want to appear in the video content, then use your past and current customers. Ask them to send in video testimonials that you can share. While you’re reaching out online, try an online song competition. You can advertise it through social media and utilize online voting. Then competitors can wrangle voters from their own networks.

Speaking of networking, ask for referrals and offer folks something interesting for their referrals. You could try a giveaway competition where the top referrer wins something cool like, a guitar maybe. (hmm?)

Also try to find offline, local events that can yield visibility. Look for music, education, or self-improvement related things. Find ways to partner with these events and perhaps have one of your local students demonstrate the skills they’ve acquired through your online lessons.

Music is passion. It uplifts, enraptures, electrifies, soothes and woos. Hell, half the dudes I know that play guitar only learned so they could score chicks! All joking aside, music can embody how we feel about love and life itself. That makes it magical. Grab that magic and infuse it into your campaign. Ignite it in others and you will see results because you’ll make connections that people will love and they will love your brand. 

Keep rising!

Joy

Ms. Beauty Notes

Reinvention can be terrifying. I receive a lot questions about compartmentalizing career transitions or new business ideas and services. For this addition of ASK JOY, our question comes from a singer capitalizing on her beauty:

Hi Joy,

I've been a singer my whole life and love being on stage. I also understand what it takes to feel gorgeous in front of a crowd under the hot spotlight. I'm now launching a new beauty line for women but I can't seem to talk about it. I have some kind of disconnect. Everyone knows me as a singer. How do I talk about this beauty line without having one take away from the other? This line is my dream. I don't want to mess it up.

-Beauty Notes in New Orleans, LA

Ms. Beauty Notes,

From where I'm sitting, being a performer with a beauty line is brilliant. You spend lots of time getting made up just to sweat and possibly clog your pores with all of that beauty while you perform under bright, hot lights. If you've been able to maintain smooth, supple skin inspite of your schedule and career demands, that is a secret that needs to be shared.

First, realize that singing is "what" you do and the beauty line is something you have "created." Neither of these things are you as a whole, they are simply extensions of you and your overall goals.

Second, instead of focusing on the disconnect, telescope the connections. As a performer, you understand the pressures of beauty on women. Let others know that you understand that pressure. Talk about how you overcome the societal obsession with perfection. Define what beauty means to you. Tell women how your products will make them experience their own definition of beauty.

Your key will be consistent personalization, not disconnections. These personalizations will birth connections to other human beings seeking your products. The fact that you have enjoyed a career that also comes with a lot of scrutiny about appearance is a strength and huge advantage for your new business.

Keep rising!

Joy

3 Questions: Frankie Finch Is Such a Problem

Pharrell and Jimmy Iovine know her as a TV host. Rhianna, Pamela Anderson and Carmen Electra know her for her stylish fashion designs. Now, these entertainment industry titans are among those discovering Frankie Finch as a double threat singer-rapper in the vein of her inspiration Blondie, but with a modern spunk and attitude.

Given her sexy style and drop-dead gorgeousness, Frankie Finch will certainly surprise people with her no-holds-barred music. “I’m not black and I’m not white, and I look the way that I do, so people expect something cute to come out of my mouth,” she says. “I want to shock people, and a lot of songs are driven by my hustle.” Add to this a successful clothing line that’s sold in select boutiques and often incorporates lyrics from her catalog of songs, and one begins to appreciate the full scope of Frankie’s image.

Frankie’s good looks, musical knowledge and people skills have helped her land hosting gigs (under her given name) with the Interscope Records-sponsored Farmclub.com and a Pharrell-conceived, Paul Hunter-directed TV show pilot, FEVER.

Each step has gotten her one move closer to fulfilling her life’s dream to become a world-famous entertainer. With a MySpace page that has over 500,000 page views and nearly 1,000 following her on Twitter, she’s going in the right direction. “I’m on a life mission,” she says. “I have to accomplish everything that my heart desires. If I don’t, then it’s going to be a problem.” She took a pause during her musical takeover to answer our 3 questions about self-promotion and increasing brand visibility.

GP: You’re as well known for your fashion as you are for your music. Does publicity for one aid in publicity for the other and how have you connected those two aspects of your career?

FF: You can say one aids the other because when I'm at a "fashion" event they sometimes recognize me for my music and when I'm at a "music" event or doing an interview and I'm wearing FINCH, they’ll ask me how I started FINCH Clothing... It just kinda connects naturally. It's a lifestyle I really live.

GP: What media result (print profile feature/TV interview, etc.) have you had that you deem most beneficial to your career?

FF: I did a great TV segment for "Your LA" on NBC and my music was chosen by NIKE as its lead campaign song in 18 markets in Asia & Europe. Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter have been huge helps in connecting me to fans. And I got great exposure from placing my music on MTV's Laguna Beach.

GP: What has branding yourself taught you about yourself?

FF: That branding FRANKIE FINCH & FINCH Clothing is crucial to my career and overall business. Branding also taught me that keeping my logos, name, music and clothing in front of people does get attention, keep attention, and get a response.

From the May 2009 Issue of GOINGPUBLIC: A 720 PR Newsletter

Doing It In Public

This is a blog for the shy people who are in business for themselves. Entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, artists, actors, musicians-- anyone who knows that marketing themselves and putting themselves out there is a vital part of being successful, but they're having trouble getting past the fear and doing it.

If you're lost in a sea of millions and not standing out from the crowd or getting recognized because you are too shy to be front and center, read this blog.

If a lack of self-promotion is hurting your career, read on. The mission of this blog is to help everyone understand publicity, learn how to step up, lay it all on the line, and Do It In Public!