It's important to make mental notes of the words and phrases that people use to describe you and your music. Why? Quite often, the view you have of yourself is different from the way music fans perceive you.

For example, when I started publishing "Spotlight," the local music magazine I published for a decade, I called it a newspaper. It was tabloid-sized and printed on newsprint. To me, it was a no-brainer. It was a "newspaper."

But I found myself regularly correcting people who called it "Spotlight magazine." Since it wasn't printed on slick paper, I felt it was misleading to call it a magazine. But the impulse for readers to call it that was overwhelming. I eventually gave in and started calling it what people wanted.

Also, my original concept for the paper ... er, magazine ... was that it would be a music publication that would appeal to musicians, industry people and consumers/fans alike. I thought my advertising base would be greater if I appealed to music lovers as well as the players themselves.

It quickly became frustrating when people frequently said, "Spotlight? Oh, that musician's magazine, right?" After years of fighting this uphill battle, I realized the power of public perception was not supporting my broader view of what the magazine stood for. Once I started using the "musician's magazine" as a selling point, I landed just about every music store and recording studio in town as advertisers.

Bottom line: Listen to what people are saying about your musical offering. Start taking the words and phrases they use and put them in your ads, fliers, press releases and more.

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Get FREE music marketing ideas by e-mail when you sign up for Bob Baker's weekly newsletter, The Buzz Factor. Just visit http://www.bob-baker.com for details. Bob is the author of "The Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook" and "Branding Yourself Online: How to Use the Internet to Become a Celebrity or Expert in Your Field."

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see also:

INDIE DISTRIBUTION ADVICE
http://www.guitarsite.com/newsletters/010528/10.shtml

HOW TO WIN IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS
http://www.guitarsite.com/newsletters/010604/8.shtml

BOB BAKER
http://www.bob-baker.com