Like a budding new song writer ready to burst on the scene, you’ve done all the work – composed the songs, hired the musicians, spent time in the studio. The big day comes. Album releases. Zero downloads.
You’re ready to donate your guitar and make a career out of your job as a barista.
OR
You reconsider your approach.
Did you ever daydream about becoming the next big thing? I used to imagine abandoning my crippling stage fright and going on tour. Alas, I lacked the necessary musical ability…and my stage fright is still very real. But if, like me, you’re actually a marketer and not a famous singer, you’ve probably had a few “flops”.
You create a marketing campaign. Put in the work, sit back ready to watch your audience fall in love and…crickets. What happened? Time to dig deep and ask ourselves some questions:
- Can you get inside the mind of your customer? What would they think? What do they need??
You might think that your audience needs to know about all your product’s bells and whistles. But unless you ask, “What will resonate? What are the pain points this will address? What matters?”, you’re probably off-beat. - Is this something I’d read, watch, listen to?
Be honest with yourself. If the answer is no, you’ve got work to do. In 2017, the average American was exposed to between 4 – 10,000 ads each day. That number can only have gone up in the last few years.
How do you break through the noise? By carefully considering whether your story is valuable and accessible. If you honestly wouldn’t read, watch or listen, why would someone else?
3. Who and what else are competing for your audience’s attention?
Of course you think about your direct competition…but in the world of content you’re also competing with TikTok, Netflix and cat videos. If you’re only looking at your industry and considering where you are relative to competitors, you might win Best Rock Album but you’re not walking home with Album of the Year.
Bonus question: How do you get to Album of the Year?
Do technical skill and quality matter? Absolutely. No question. But something else matters too: attention. You need to get airtime.
Consider About Damn Time by Lizzo, arguably one of the top songs of summer 2022. It didn’t just get released and magically climb the charts. There were teasers on social media. A music video. A TikTok dance trend. Radio play. You can’t just create great stories – you need to keep telling and presenting them in different ways and on different channels.
You’re going to be sick of your content. But that’s because you’re exposed to every single touchpoint – because you’re creating it. Your audience will experience a fraction of it. And every time they do, they inch closer to becoming customers.
So, to recap:
- Are you addressing a real customer question or need?
- Would you watch, listen or read it?
- Are you breaking through the noise?
- Have you provided enough opportunities to watch, listen and read to hit the tipping point?
Start there. If you feel like you’re still producing hits but not getting the airtime you deserve, it might be time to sign with a new agent.
