‘Passage’, by tobias tinker
As mentioned previously, I am participating in a ‘blogging contest’ sponsored by Ariel Hyatt of Cyber PR. The objective is to write 9 blog posts, one for each of the 9 chapters of Ariel’s book, ‘Music Success in Nine Weeks’. This is part two of my first ‘official’ blog entry.
Well, as promised in Part 1, I went off to battle with my demons and came back victorious, carrying the Spoils Of War: some goals for 2010 that I am prepared to stand behind. I wrote these by hand last night, after turning the computer OFF, as it’s about the only way I can really isolate myself from distractions completely enough for such a task.
I also did this between 2 and 3 am – a time when the phone is extremely unlikely to ring, the family is asleep, and really nothing else is going on. My brain, if I am not asleep or exhausted or surfing, is often a kind of neuron furnace in the wee hours… and when I get going, I can usually more or less keep up with it in a kind of frenzied chicken-scratch shorthand I used to use when taking notes in university. It takes some time to decode later, but it’s effective.
I have divided my results into Personal and Professional categories; only the Professional set will be included here, as I don’t really think personal ‘resolutions’ are particularly relevant to others. In fact, I don’t spend a lot of time on them, for various reasons; I may try to install a few new habits this year, but I won’t bore you with the details here. I’m actually pretty happy with my personal life, so I’m not looking for major changes there. One or two long-term goals that are better kept private.
Having said that, by its very nature this kind of thing is ‘all about me’… all I can do is try to keep the focus, as always, on aspects of my own experience that seem likely to be more universal; hopefully readers will connect to those. If so, please leave a comment and tell me what you think!
And so, without further ado:
1. Write down and commit to my goals…
(You have to start somewhere)… This just means I will keep going with this process, keep these goals present and firmly in mind, and above al: mean them. Believe in them. Stop doubting, stop crossing my fingers behind my back and saying ‘yeah, right, whatever’ in the back of my mind. See the previous post for more on this subject…
2. Use the resources I have at hand
I’ve been on a serious research kick lately, amassing resources to transform my career and my relationship to the business and marketing and promotional side of it. I’ve gathered a substantial arsenal of ebooks, courses, videos, links and so on, and I have begun to work with some of them, including the MSNW course… now it is time to stop acquiring new ones, stop chasing down every free or affordable ebook or home-study course on blogging or social networking success I can find… and start really digging into the amazing collection I have in place.
A corollary to this is that I have to make a clear distinction between those sources that continue to provide value, and those who just brazenly promote their paid products. Engage more fully with the former, unsubscribe from the latter.
3. Time management and focus…
I will really start compartmentalizing my time and being strategic about it. I have to limit time spent blogging (reading, writing, commenting), twittering, facebooking, and other avenues… not because they are not important (they very much are!) but because they can eat your whole day for lunch and come back for seconds. So I will begin to schedule that time, and use it in a targeted, strategic way. To what end? to drive traffic to my website, my blog, my projects, my label (but not, as per above, brazenly); more broadly, to engage with the ‘tribe’, provide value, begin to establish visibility, credibility, and authority.
And when not in scheduled networking time, the client is off, I am logged out and not available, not distracted, not pulled back into the information hurricane just because it’s out there. What is important will find me. My own discipline, creating when it’s time to create, networking when it’s time to network, is more important.
4. Business Planning…
I will continue to work towards a clear concept of what my eventual business model(s) will be. I will not rush in without a strategy, as I have always done before. I will explore monetization options for every avenue – my existing catalogue of music (direct sales, licensing, publishing), the blog (affiliate links? advertising? develop ebook or home-study courses?)…
It is essential to me to retain a sense of honour and ethics in whatever I do. If I sacrifice those, just start throwing up Adsense blocks and affiliate links all over the place, I will lose my stomach for this. As it is I am fascinated by it, but that could turn to revulsion easily if I trample my principles in the rush to monetize. I know it is possible to do it without giving in to the sleaze factor; I need to find my own way.
5. Blog better…
… both here and as a guest poster, which obviously is an area I have to get started on. Regardless, I want to start to change the focus: less personal, more universal, more about specific creative techniques, ways to transcend fear and stay present in the creative moment. Tap into what I know, and present it with confidence, assurance, offer value, engage conversation, build trust and authority – and an audience for both my writing and (of course) my music.
6. Momentum on creative projects
Regardless of what shape the monetization strategy eventually takes, and regardless of the time and energy it takes to develop that area, I cannot let my actual creative work fall by the wayside. I have made a commitment to a major new project, my ‘novel with a soundtrack’, Symmetricity. It’s obviously a major endeavour, and will test my limits on any number of levels, but it’s a thing that seems to need doing, and I mean to follow through.
That said, it will take time, so I need to be realistic about it. So here’s my goal: it should be half completed (that’s 32 chapters with music for each one…) and online by the end of 2010. Moreover, I will find a way to serialize the translation into German and have that underway within three months, so that local promotion can proceed and a Berlin audience be built. This will help synergistically cross-promote my other musical projects, for example:
7. Stillness3
My trio project of a few years ago, Stillness3, has also been in a kind of dormant state for a while, which is not a good state for a band to be in (inertia versus momentum again). This is quite a silly state of affairs, since on a number of levels I feel very strongly about it. Musically it is some of my very best work, and it’s accessible – people generally respond very well to it. I would love to take it further, write and record some more, and even tour with it – something I’ve actually never really done.
As a way to jumpstart the project, we have arranged to begin a series of benefit concerts at a church here in Berlin (none of us are really churchgoers, but it’s a nice room with a truly magnificent piano, and they are interested in having us). I will follow through with these and try to expand on the momentum they provide, and we will sell at least 500 CDs in 2010. And we will write and record another album’s worth of material, to be released online through next-generation venues.
8. One last thing…
I will have turned all of this, by the end of 2010, into a viable income. I am not going to name a figure I’m aiming for here because I find that a bit asinine, but I’ve written it down. I am perfectly aware that turning the current trickle (from CD Baby and online sales) into a raging torrent in a year is not very realistic, but I will get enough flow to start the old mill-wheel turning by mid-year, and do it in a scalable and sustainable way.
I also realize that this will not be easy, and that wishing will not make it so. It will take work, and focus, and total commitment. It is true that my music is not likely to top the pop charts anytime soon – it’s too quiet, too slow, too subtle, too challenging, too strange for many people – but there is an audience for it; I have proof of this in the form of the many Broken Saints fans who had a strong connection with the music when the series was in the public eye. I just need to find more of them and engage with them using all the tools available.
So that’s what I’m going to do. It’s a daunting list (and it’s not a complete one, either…) but I like big challenges, they bring out the best in me.
How about you?
