Guerrilla music basic training series; Guerrilla techniques in action

In this series, you’ll be challenged to be different, to expand your thinking, to focus your goals and actions – in essence, to become a true Guerrilla Music Marketer. We won’t be talking about national advertising campaigns, music videos on MTV, or worldwide retail distribution. Instead, the following pages will show you how to:

1. Work from the trenches, with little or no money

2. Use often-overlooked techniques to give your music wider exposure

3. Build a following one fan at a time

4. Use each small success as a stepping stone to a bigger and more significant success story

I’m also going to ask you to do some serious soul searching and then commit your thoughts to paper. On these pages I take the main points covered throughout this and subsequent series and allow space to reflect.

I implore you to undertake this exercise! For it is here where assorted suggestions come to life and become your own. By writing, you’ll get a clearer idea of where you are and in what direction you need to be heading.

Guerrilla techniques in action

One music commentator explains;

It was using these same guerrilla tactics – while capturing my thoughts and goals on paper – that led me to start playing music when I was 15. (The year was 1975, in case you’re keeping score.) In the 1980s I played the club circuit full time throughout the Midwest as a singer/ guitarist/ songwriter, and I later played in bands that each put out independent releases. I continue to play music part-time to this day.

I used many of the very ideas in this series to launch my own local music magazine in 1987. I didn’t have much money to work with and had no connections or experience with publishing. What I did have was a good concept and a knack for writing. That newspaper, called Spotlight, grew and flourished for 10 years until I stopped doing it in 1997. I put the paper to rest so I could concentrate on writing and publishing resources like this one.

In 1993, a company published my first book, 101 Ways to Make Money in the Music Business (now out of print). I realised then that being an author would be a big part of my future. Later that year I founded the St. Louis Regional Music Showcase, an annual music conference that ran for five years in the Midwest. In 1996, I self-published the first version of an incredibly successful book.

Evolving over the years

In the mid to late 1990s, after years of writing music success columns in the print world, I established an online presence for indie music marketing tips at TheBuzzFactor.com. At last count, my e-zine, also called The Buzz Factor, was approaching 10,000 subscribers. In more recent years, I’ve also been publishing blogs, a podcast and video content.

I’ve also cranked out many more books and spoken-word audio programs, including Music Marketing Crash Course, MySpace Music Marketing, Unleash the Artist Within and Branding Yourself Online - while also speaking at music industry conferences.

Why the résumé listing? To make a point: I wasn’t born into a wealthy family. I don’t have friends who wield great power, nor do I have any special abilities. I’m certainly not a super salesman and I don’t have a hyper, Type-A personality.

Insight: But I realised early on that I had a mind, just like everyone else’s, that I could use to make things happen. The only thing was, it seemed so many people around me felt as if they were victims of circumstance; that life handed them their fate and they were just along for the ride. That wasn’t good enough for me.

After reading many inspiring books and pondering about life for a while, I came to the conclusion that our lives are simply a reflection of our accumulated thoughts and actions. There’s a great quote by Earl Nightingale that goes, “We become what we think about most of the time.” If you truly comprehend that simple statement, it will change your life.