So, it’s update time. Since time is a valuable commodity these days, I’m going to kill a few birds with one stone here (figuratively, of course – I like birds and have no intention of harming any). In a dazzling display of multipurpose efficiency, I’m going to combine a) a blog post… b) more precisely, a ‘contest’ post for the MSNW series… and c) an email newsletter. Since the next chapter of MSNW is all about email newsletters, I figure rather than telling you what I’ve learned I will just show you by including the newsletter here.
Before we get to that, I will preface by pointing out that my list is actually still pretty small, since I don’t play a lot of shows and have really only recently begun to get myself organized and maintain a list or a newsletter of any sort. Still, I’m a fairly quick learner, and I like to wade into the thick of things, so that’s what I’ve been doing: learning the ropes and laying the groundwork for more serious list-building later on…
I did some research and selected MailChimp as my email and list management platform – as far as I can tell the features rival anything out there, they have great tutorials and a very low-key, easygoing and fun vibe. Also, the whole service – not a limited or dumbed-down version, the full premium package – is completely free until you hit 500 people. From that point on their prices are in line with their competitors, so I figure this is both friendly and smart on their part. A nice way to get started on a serious platform without spending too much until you have the numbers to justify it.
So, without further ado, here’s what I sent to my list today:
The Latest Shenanigans
(what I’m up to, in case anyone was wondering…)
Hi everybody, this is tobias tinker with a little Newsletter update from chilly Berlin. For those further afield, we’ve been having a pretty wintry winter this year, definitely the coldest and snowiest in my 10 years here in Germany. We don’t mind so much, it makes the place feel a bit more like home (we’re from Canada remember!), but it’s getting a bit old now and we’re pretty much ready for spring.
Deep winter has its advantages, however, and for me this has been a very productive and indeed transformative few months. My crash-course on the business and marketing side of being a musician and creator (after avoiding it for 20 years) continues to challenge and surprise me. I won’t bore you with the details of that except to say: it actually hasn’t been boring at all. I’m completely fascinated in fact. This has been one of the pleasant surprises.*
So besides that, what’s cooking?
First, I’ve relaunched my official homepage, tobiastinker.com – it was high time it had a bit of spit and polish, though there are still a few things to iron out. Head over and check it out – there’s two free albums in it for you! – and let me know if you have any comments, questions or suggestions.
Next up: Still Waters… Chill-out nights by candlelight! This is a concert series featuring my trio, Stillness3. If you haven’t heard that yet, please give it a listen – it’s really a lovely project. These concerts are mostly of interest to folks here in Berlin, but I can still give you a taste of what we’re up to: here’s a free download of a live track from last week’s concert.
My blog, ‘Cliffjump’, is in a transitional phase and will soon be relaunched in a substantially different form, and under a new name: Fearless Creativity. I have some cool stuff in the pipeline, including a new Manifesto!… Meanwhile, if you didn’t catch my post on toddler creativity last week, I thought it was a pretty good one…
Finally, for those of you following my Symmetricity project (’novel in words, sounds and images’)… I’m getting ready to ship the next installment next week, again in multiple formats including video. Read, listen or watch Chapter One now at symetrk.com … and yes, I promise to pick up the release pace a bit as we go along, it’s just been a bit of a crazy time.
And that’s about it (whew!)… As always, if you don’t want to get these you can unsubscribe using the link below. Thanks as always for your interest and support, have a fascinating day!
- tobias
… so, there you have it: my life in a nutshell. Did I mention that I’ve been living in a nutshell? Frightfully comfortable, I’m sure it will be the next big thing.
Right, I’m off to make some stuff happen. More soon…
tobias
* I think that like many creative people drawn to the arts, I have harbored a pretty strong prejudice against the whole business realm, and certainly against the reality of considering my career a business and myself an entrepreneur. On closer inspection, I am finding that most of the preconceptions informed this bias, including the assumption that everything associated with business is inherently boring and soulless in comparison to the deep spiritual well of artistic creation, are baseless. Trying to understand marketing and entrepreneurship is bringing me up against some powerful and, dare I say it, spiritual questions about myself and how I interact with the world. It’s actually fascinating and I wish I’d done this years ago. Ah, well, better late than never!
