Music marketing expert Bob Baker ("Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook") checks back in this week with an exclusive Getsigned.com article on how you can turn your good deeds into powerful free publicity for your music career. Check it out here...

When most artists take steps to get media coverage, they put the focus where it seems to make the most sense: on themselves, their CDs, their live shows and more. There's nothing wrong with that, but many artists I've talked to recently found it can be more profitable to be less selfish when seeking publicity.

Uke Jackson (www.ezfolk.com/uke/ujradio) is one example of such an artist.

"Several years ago, I was looking for that big write-up to help sell my first CD of music and storytelling. I had just been awarded a Parents Choice Award for it. The CD had been out for a year and I had already received a ton of coverage locally. So, I decided to try a new tactic," he explains.

"I made a copy of the Parents Choice award announcement and wrote a press release announcing a free download of a story from the CD. At the top, I labeled it 'EXCLUSIVE TO NEWSWEEK MAGAZINE FOR 30 DAYS' and sent it to the editor of Newsweek's technology/Internet page.

"A week later I got a call from a writer at the magazine. He interviewed me over the phone and a couple of weeks later I had a full column of ink, with a photo of the CD! According to the writer, two things swayed his editor -- the 'exclusive,' and a promotional blurb on the CD cover for an environmental group that got a portion of the proceeds.

"The public service angle is a good thing to consider. My latest CD of stories and songs, called 'Tall Tales from the Watershed,' is available from the Delaware Riverkeeper, a nonprofit organization. They approached me about bringing out the new CD and let me come up with terms that I thought were fair. They paid to record and manufacture the CD, they sell it and I get a royalty on copies sold.

Uke adds, "Hooking up with a not-for-profit and having a plug for them on your CD cover does several things: It helps bring attention to a cause you believe in. It also makes you look like a good guy with public radio station program directors. I had a stretch for a while when about 200 community public radio stations around the country were spinning my CD on a regular basis. Nearly all of them were playing a public service announcement [PSA] in regular rotation, too.

"Also, in your own region, recording a PSA yourself and having it played on the radio makes your voice kind of famous. I've had many people come up to me at gigs and say, 'I heard the ad you did for the rivers. Good work.'"

Canadian artist Debbie Fortnum of FarAway Music (www.FarAwayWorship.com) is another artist who took the good-cause route.

"I hooked up with a great humanitarian organization called Canadian Food for the Hungry International," she explains. "The people who run CFHI loved my CD, and they responded positively to my desire to help people -- not just myself with the cash generated from my music. They asked me to be one of their artist partners.

"All I had to do is encourage sponsorships of needy children during my gigs by taking three to four minutes to describe what CFHI does. On my CD table at the back of the room I had children's profiles, which people could use to sponsor kids from around the world, get a free CD and go home feeling like they've made a real difference.

"In return, CFHI paid my way and sent me to Africa for a two-week adventure to go see some of the kids I was helping. Not only was this an incredible personal experience, it also boosted my image as a Canadian indie artist who was not just a gal trying to promote her stuff, but a young mother who truly uses her resources to help children who need it."

And what about media exposure?

"The newspapers totally responded to this and I got huge articles in many of the papers in Chilliwack, British Columbia," Debbie reports. "And, it increased the number of orphaned children who were sponsored as a result."

Stu Shulman, known as the Cowboy Surfer (Seedless Records, www.seedlessrecords.com), has a similar PR story.

"The experience that still amazes me started when I had a 'vision' of a Chumash Indian who told me to get involved in a land grab issue in Carpinteria, California, where the locals needed to raise $4 million in order to preserve a precious 52-acre coastal bluff property with sacred Indian burial grounds and artifacts," Stu says.

"At first, I only thought about doing a benefit concert and raising a couple thousand dollars to help out, but through my own drive and insight, I was able to do much more than that. As a result of getting involved, I became the focal point of the effort.

"I was interviewed on the radio several times, which led to my music being played on several local radio stations, including some major stations in Santa Barbara. While in one of the studios, I talked a program director into letting me cut a 30-second PSA. The station ran it for three months. I was also plastered in the local press for creating an extensive web site for the effort at http://earthisland.com/bluffs/.

"Next, I parlayed this into producing a TV commercial, which I had never done before, and convinced the local cable company to run it about 500 times in one month, which really got the word out about the campaign. Around $1.2 million came in the last month when the commercial ran on Cox Cable."

Stu continues, "I was also credited for bringing local kids out to clean the bluffs just prior to the California Coastal Conservancy coming out for a boat ride inspection to potentially give us grant and loan money. Days before, the boat captain said we had to pay him $350 for gas. The citizens panicked because they didn't have the money. I was written about in the papers for walking across the street during the critical meeting and convincing a local business owner to cut me a check on the spot. I walked back across the street and handed them the money. That led to the CCS coming and giving us $1.5 million.

"Subsequently, I've been covered online at MusicDish.com and TheCelebrityCafe.com. I became a writer for Music Dish for a while and gained massive amounts of exposure, and still do to this day, because of one little vision I had while watching the sun set over the beautiful Pacific."

What more proof do you need? Doing good for others (especially when it involves something you are genuinely interested in or concerned about) often brings you a multitude of personal and professional rewards ... and media exposure.

See you next time,
Bob

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  Website Back	Bob Baker
	Bob Baker is an author, indie musician and former music magazine editor dedicated to showing musicians of all kinds how to get exposure, connect with fans, sell more CDs, and increase their incomes.   Bob Baker is the author of "Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook," "Killer Press Kits" and "MySpace Music Marketing" and more. He also publishes TheBuzzFactor.com, a web site and e-zine that deliver marketing tips, self-promotion ideas and other empowering messages to music people of all kinds. Get your FREE subscription to Bob's e-zine by visiting http://TheBuzzFactor.com today.
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Comments (1)

Greetings!!

Thank you very much for your experience!! It should help us all be on the right path!! Thank you!

Ixxion

Jesse , November 12, 2008 | url

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