I walked into Leo’s office with a marketing plan that included research, data, and the assumptions I could draw from them. Leo knew that I had the right information, so he didn’t address it but he would be the first person to tell you that enthusiasm needs to be backed up with facts. You need to make an assessment of You.Inc, and the market that it’s operating in. You and your current business might not be ready to fill in all of the blanks on the following outline, but if you want to sustain a successful path forward, it’s good to know the big picture right from the start.
Sure, here's a general outline of strategies that a performing artist can use to identify their strengths and weaknesses for marketing purposes:
- Self-Assessment:
- Identify your unique selling proposition (USP): What makes you different from other artists in your field? This could be your style, your voice, your performance techniques, etc.
- Evaluate your skills and talents: What are you particularly good at? What areas could use improvement?
- Consider your personal brand: How do you want to be perceived by your audience? What values and characteristics do you want to be associated with?
- Market Research:
- Understand your audience: Who are they? What do they like? What are their preferences and behaviors?
- Identify your competition: Who are the other artists in your field? What are they doing well? What can you do better?
- Understand the industry trends: What's popular in your field right now? What's the future outlook?
- Feedback Collection:
- Ask for feedback from your audience: This could be through surveys, social media, or direct conversations.
- Seek professional feedback: Consider getting a mentor or coach who can provide constructive criticism and guidance.
- Analyze reviews and comments: What are people saying about your performances? Are there common praises or criticisms?
- SWOT Analysis:
- Strengths: What are your assets? What do you do well?
- Weaknesses: Where do you struggle? What could you improve?
- Opportunities: What trends or gaps in the market could you take advantage of?
- Threats: What obstacles do you face? What are the potential challenges in your path?
- Marketing Strategy Development:
- Based on your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, develop a marketing strategy that highlights your strengths, addresses your weaknesses, capitalizes on opportunities, and mitigates threats.
- This could involve social media marketing, email marketing, content marketing (e.g., blogs, videos), collaborations with other artists, live performances, etc.
- Continuous Learning and Improvement:
- Keep up-to-date with industry trends and changes in audience preferences.
- Regularly review and update your marketing strategy based on your performance and feedback.
- Continually work on improving your skills and addressing your weaknesses.
Remember, the key to successful marketing is understanding your audience and delivering value. Your strengths are what set you apart from the competition, while recognizing your weaknesses allows you to improve and grow as an artist.
Read over the list again, but this time, think about You.Inc on the receiving end of this plan. A lot of people are out their looking at you as a member of their “target demographic.” You know that you’ll need help reaching your goals, and there are a lot of people ready to give you a hand—I’m one of them! Knowing how to sell will help you become a more discerning customer. Believe me, when you feel someone pull that emotional trigger, the first thing you should do is press pause, and look at the facts. When you’re selling, open up an enthusiasm expressway between you and your audience. When you’re buying setup speed traps, road blocks, toll booths, and everything you can to make sure you’re making a smart decisions for your business. You have dreams to get to, and the people who want your time, talent, and money know that nothing gets those emotional wheels turning more then selling the dream.