And by the way…when we started to talk about business…this year, as you know, I spend a lot of time learning business…not music only but in general…how business is done…how to start…what to pay attention to…
But what a lot of entrepreneurs said is that sometimes you just talk to the “wrong” people…wrong clients…so your job is to find the “right” people who are qualified for your product or service…
As an example: In this forum, there are people who make music. I don’t know much about them, but what I know is that they want to get better with music, making music. So one way is to make a course, as you do. But not everyone will buy your course. But now you need to find out what the other people want? Are these samples? Are these private coaching lessons? Are here composers who look for mixing engineers like me for example? Finding out what THEY really want is very important, as then you understand or at least have a rough idea of what people are into it. Everyone has an issue he wants to solve. We as educators need to find out what it is. Of course, some people just want to talk or grab some free stuff because they don’t care, or have excuses that they don’t have money, blah-blah, we know that…but not everyone is like this, meaning that when you present something to them that makes it really appealing and super valuable, they will do business with you.
At the end of the day, it’s all about the right research and communication. If I just make a product, without making solid research, then the chances are pretty high that it will flop. At least, when we are not talking about evergreens.
Even when you product samples, that already exist, you need to make sure to market them in a way that they seem super attractive. Facebook is the best example: Just saw an ad…“Buy this super-duper-amazing-mega-midi-pack that will turn your ideas into a chart-dropping song!” And we know that this guy is not selling one pack a day…but hundreds…why? Because he says: it’s the best midi-pack that was produced in 2020 and nothing can beat the price-value???
Marketing is 100% king. No need to be sleazy. But learning powerful ways how to make a product more “stand-out” is an important aspect. The same with music: if you want to have a gig…what do most composers do? They write…:
“Hey, my name is XY, and I am a composer. Is there a project that I can compose music for? Thank you, kind regards, XY”…
Well, no wonder why those people almost never get a film to work on, or whatever the project might be…
but writing instead:
“Hey XY, wow…your project XY was an amazing experience! I can’t remember that a film has grabbed me for such a long time.”
And then you write something about you that stands out but ALWAYS with the focus on WHY you want to work with the director or whoever that might be.
There are so many examples of that topic. Books, videos, etc. so I did only that this year. Super interesting. A great marketer is not someone who is “trying” to sell just because he needs to. A great one tries to find the right people who need help and he brings value to them. I hate bad minded or scam people, as they are so many of them, and that’s why having social proof and reviews are very helpful.