Pretty difficult. There are a huge number of books on promoting yourself and your services, which are sold, I will tell you a secret, neither shaky nor wildly. PR agencies are opening everywhere, promising their clients an increase in fame, media attention, sales growth, etc. Just magicians and wizards who are ready to make a person famous and rich overnight! But for some reason, over time, there are no more real experts, pioneers in their niche and rich people: there are much more books on wealth. Everything seems to be simple: read and grow rich, but something goes wrong. Maybe we are doing something wrong? Well, yes, of course! Therefore, we think, we need to turn to professionals, let them teach us, or better, they will do everything for us.

It turns out strange. Most of the business books of domestic authors are built according to the scheme: “I will briefly tell you how I achieved success. You will be happy for me, maybe you will learn something useful. And, if you want, you can order coaching. Or, “Why would you want to read watery American books? I read them for you. I pass off the information gleaned from them as my knowledge. And by the way, if it’s useful, then order coaching.”

“Oh, Sanya, why are you handing over your colleagues?” You ask. And I will answer: I am in the tank, in the business opposition to everyone, and I don’t care. Yes, before I myself read a lot of books and took trainings, where they gave a bunch of stupid papers, against the background of which a diploma of higher education didn't look like such a big deal. But now popular authors have become completely lazy and write books according to a new principle: “This chapter is from my first book, and then I will tell you what I already told in my third book. In short, do not bother, buy these books and read them. And I’d rather tell you from the pages of this book how good I am, and then I will sell my trainings for twenty pages in a row. I'm sorry, but without that, my book will only be a pamphlet." New authors who learn from the masters write their first books on the same model. Trainings are also developed according to the principle “a piece from here, a piece from there”. Then they are surprised: “Why don’t they buy anything from us? Why are we not known? And they start looking for agencies to promote them. But the agencies have already prepared their own templates in order to promote all clients according to the same type of scheme.

If you are reading this article, then you are probably worried about the same questions, or you just want to be quoted in all publics, and you would repost to your friends with glory: “Look cho! So famous!" And so I will give you one effective advice: do not listen to anyone and do not learn from anyone! There are very few people-brands, as they do not follow the trodden path, repeating everything after their predecessors.

Do you want to write a book? Read more books and practice, but don't try to copy.

Do you want your articles to become popular? Forget about the correctness of their spelling and throw stupid advice out of your head.

Do you want to be a great screenwriter? Read the history of the formation of famous masters, except for those who write shoddy serials. You will see: each of them is an individual.

Don't be like everyone else! Create your style!

If you go out to conduct a training in a jacket and tie (like everyone else), then you will be forgotten a few days after the training. And if you come in felt boots, then they will remember you for a long time, and, perhaps, they will start writing about you without the help of PR people.

Well, in conclusion, I will give one algorithm, how to instantly gain, albeit small, but fame:

• Find several sites that post a variety of quotes and find "Add Quote" in the menu.
• Add as many of your quotes as possible to different sites, signing the authorship with the Last Name, First Name and Patronymic (mandatory!). Quotes can be taken from your articles, books, trainings, etc.
• The next day, enter your full name in the search box of any search engine or social network and rejoice: you have already begun to be quoted.

Use this advice, but remember that publics and people do not quote all statements, but only those that.

We help small projects, young, beginners. And, as you already know, they are different. Therefore, we consult with competent specialists from various fields. Today we will talk about the promotion of groups and the advancement of novice musicians who are already dreaming of fame and millions of fans, but still do not know what to take on, which way to go and how not to make fatal mistakes. Our guest is Ekaterina Pavlova, the promoter and concert director of the OdnoNo and Sukhie groups.

Katya, do you have great experience promotion of young musicians. Tell me, if a person decides to become a musician, what does he need first of all for this: talent, faith in success, hard work?

There must always be perseverance. A musician is a daily practice, constant learning.

Talent, of course, should also be, but sometimes it happens that technique hides a lot, and technique is perseverance.

Here, as a rule, there are three options for the development of musicians: some go through super-technical playing, but play without a soul - they come out purely on technique, there are those who have a soul, but are not very technical, and the third option is ideal: when there is a technique , and soul.

And making music, like any other business, is worth it if you can't live without it. You can't NOT do this! Then it's yours.

And what specific actions will help the musician become famous?

There is a whole set of factors in fact, they can be listed and listed. But the main criterion is catches what the artist does, or does not catch. This is the most important, the rest is details.

And if we are talking about specific more or less standardized steps, then it is important to constantly be on the move:

• build communication with the audience;
• develop yourself;
• go to other people's concerts, get inspired;
• and it is very important to make interesting, unique content if we are talking about development in in social networks rather than talking about them in our time is strange.

It is also important to have a team.

A musician must make music, and specially trained people should help in promotion.

To promote groups "One But" or "Dry" we have a command that is usually not visible, it remains in the backstage. Only the results of the musician are visible, but this is the tip of the iceberg.

It is important for a musician to roughly understand who is functionally included in his team, and no longer be distracted by promotion, but do his own thing. But at the same time, it should also generate interesting content.

That is, it is impossible for a musician to advance independently?

It’s not that it’s impossible, it’s just that it’s very difficult to combine. It should be a completely different logic, different approaches, a different view of what is happening.

It's very hard to do everything yourself in the music market. Yes, unfortunately, young musicians are forced to do this, because the team has not been formed, and there are no budgets for this team and for advertising, so the novice musician does it himself.

But you should always strive to ensure that everyone is busy with their own business, then there will be more productivity.

Do you know such projects that entered the stage with practically no budget and became in demand?

This rarely happens.

And if you hear a story about a video on the Internet that has gained a million views, you should immediately think that it is unlikely that anyone will admit that they invested in the promotion of this video. But people need legends.

It's the PR guy's job to make the promotion look like it's happening by itself.

Therefore, it’s hard to say which stories have spread precisely because of a good product, good content and with zero financial additions. Moreover, it is necessary to take into account the time investments of a person - they also have an opportunity cost.

I can cite the example of the singer Manizha. I believe her content goes viral in many ways. She is truly amazing and very talented. Manizha uploads to Instagram songs in an interesting way: the screen is divided into 9 parts, and in each square something happens - it turns out 9 parallel actions - it's very interesting to watch! A perfect example of how good content helps promote a musician: you want to review it, you want to share it. Which, in fact, is happening.

What is the minimum investment required to enter the music market? If there is a conditional budget, where to start?

• First, we need recordings, we need video and audio content.
• Secondly, a stylish photo session. A good product should have beautiful packaging. You need to develop positioning and invest in promotional materials.
• Third, recruit a professional team. A lot of people start saving, but you can save on professionals, and then this unprofessionalism will still cost more. Therefore, it is very difficult - but very important! - choose the right team that will resonate with you, that will understand the realities of the music market and have a clear plan for promoting the group.

It turns out that you need to invest in everything. But it's true! Like any business, like any investment project, music projects also require investments.

That is, it is necessary to invest in everything a little bit, or is it still necessary to focus on something?

See how little. :)

There are such teams, you look at them and think: “That's all they have is great!” And you come to a concert and you see that it’s torn here, it looks incomplete here, here they don’t play out, here they don’t give all the best. This is what is called "a little bit of everything".

That is, it is better to create a common, but harmonious picture?

Of course! To make it look beautiful, so that people want to share it, and it will quickly disperse in a "sarafan".

It is very important to do everything with the highest quality. It seems obvious, but, unfortunately, often everyone rushes to snatch a piece here and there. And it looks very strange.

Does an aspiring musician need a producer to promote?

The producer is important and many, however, need it. He directs. Specifies a vector. At the same time, he should not suppress the musician, but prompt him in time - usually musicians need this. But someone works without a producer, someone with him - there are no uniform rules. There are no rules at all. :)

How to choose a good producer? Are there any criteria?

As in any business, you need to look at a person, at his work, to coincide with him in views, in approach, in goals.

When a musician already goes to the PR, what level should he be? There are such nuggets who come with one guitar and demonstrate something cool to the producer?

There are. Anything can happen. Here the producer's task is to discern talent and potential, to see a hit, even if the musician comes with raw material. As for the PR manager, he is needed at the stage when, in general, there is already something to promote, when there is a product.

Tell me about content platforms. What can and should be used for promotion?

Instagram is developing very well, video content is now on the wave. On VKontakte, the video is now automatically played in the feed, on Facebook this has long been debugged and gives a very good return.

It seems to me that short videos are the future of promotion.

And if we talk in general, then everywhere and always you need to look at what kind of audience you have and where it is most active.

When you go out to the masses, the question of copyright immediately arises. Is it necessary to enlist professional legal support or can we pull up the legal side of the issue ourselves?

It is better, of course, to contact lawyers. For example, we have a lawyer with whom we constantly consult. Maybe she can comment on it?

Maria Protsenko,
legal adviser

Lawyer comment:

Copyright for a piece of music (song) really arises at the time of creation. Registration of a work or compliance with any other formalities is not required for the emergence, exercise and protection of copyright. (Article 1259 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). But in case of disputes, there are several tools to protect your copyrights:

1. Publication of the work in the media (for example, a note with a song test in a newspaper).

2. Depositing a work in RAO (Russian Authors' Society) is a paid service for storing a duplicate of a work (a disc with a song, a manuscript of the text and notes).

3. Sending a letter with a copy of the work to your own home address, the envelope should not be opened until a dispute arises. In litigation, more reliable evidence of authorship will still be evidence from the Russian Open Society about the deposit of works and publication in the media.

If a musician has achieved something, reached a certain level, how can he keep this height and continue to grow?

It depends on the musician himself and on his team. They must understand that if they have reached some kind of leap, then this leap is still temporary, and if this level is not maintained, then everyone will quickly forget about you.

You need to keep your audience in tune. This is an ongoing process, on the contrary, it only begins to intensify if something suddenly starts to work out. The most important thing is not to miss out.

Have you often faced burnout among musicians who have squeezed everything out of themselves and can no longer create anything?

It happens, yes.

Especially among young bands who hope for a quick result, and this, especially here, does not happen. So, unfortunately, this happens.

Here - is it in Russia? In general, is it difficult for musicians to get promoted in our country?

I don't know how in comparative degree- Is it more difficult than somewhere else - but yes, it is difficult.

We had tours in America, in England with the guys, but it's hard to talk about their music market from the inside.

It’s easy and difficult for us to get promoted at the same time, because there is the Internet, everything is available to everyone, there is a lot of competition for attention, but at the same time there are great opportunities.

Are the difficulties mainly due to competition or are there other obstacles?

Here the question is in capturing attention, it is difficult to surprise, it is difficult to stand out against the general background, to convey that everything is cool with you and that you need to be listened to. There are a lot of people involved in music - and all of them can be found on the net. There are plenty to choose from. At the same time, there is a lot of “garbage” content, which also clogs attention.

Do you think anyone can be promoted?

If desired and with huge budgets, it is probably possible to repackage the product.

There are production projects that are created for a certain niche, for a certain target audience, the project works out for some time and then closes.

If we talk about the target audience, do you need to tune in to a narrow segment of the listener, or, conversely, give what the majority will like? And how do you find your style?

This works in both cases. It all depends on the purpose of promotion. It is easier to niche because the target audience is more obvious. Advertising cannot be set up for everyone, or rather, it is possible, but it will be ineffective. And there is a clear audience. But it is also limited by style frames. Everywhere has its own capacity.

How to choose a style? No way. A musician usually works in the style that is close to him and in which he is more comfortable and understandable in terms of his expression. True creativity and self-expression comes from within, and not by order.

Thanks to Kate for the helpful tips! And what difficulties in promotion, in your opinion, do musicians experience in Russia? Or maybe there are musicians among you? Or maybe you promote the musician yourself? Let's discuss what needs to be changed and how to help talented guys become heard.

Interviewed by Nadezhda Merkusheva

Hello dear Yana! Have a good mood and a great day!

Once I wrote to you. The topic concerned personal life and the advice that you and your audience gave helped me a lot then.
Now it's a matter of career. For me, you are one of the best examples of how you can succeed in what you love the most. And not just to achieve, but also to be able to provide yourself with what you love.

I am a creative person, with a creative profession and a bunch of talents, as others say. But every year my work (I am an architect) becomes for me not a means of earning money, but a headache. Of course, the situation in our country is doing its job to some extent. But my main problem is not the ability to offer my services correctly.
I studied well, achieved some success in the process of work. But then it faded into the background. I tried to give announcements, advertisements, participate in various competitions, just tell everyone around me who I am and what I do. But all in vain. Everyone looks, praises and that's the end.
Although some of my friends have long been able to break through to the top having the same level as me.
I remember that you discussed this topic more than once. And they said that even three people out of 1000 who paid attention to you is already a success. And that "promoting" oneself is not at all easy.

Now the ideas in my head are almost dry. I'm on the verge of despair. I tried to quit everything and do something mundane, but it turns out for me a hundred times worse than drawing and drawing.

My question I would formulate like this: "how to unwind yourself?". I really need your opinion on this. And the opinion of readers is also needed. I understand that there is no one recipe for everyone. But nevertheless I think that the question is relevant not only for me.

Thank you in advance!
You can't post anonymously.
--
Sincerely!
I.

Hello!

In fact, if you seriously dig on the net, you will quickly find that all the methods "how to promote yourself" have already been described a hundred times. At some point, you begin to meet some repetitions, and different variations of the same thing.
It turns out that "everything has already been invented" on the one hand. On the other hand, some people do well, others do worse - and it's hard to understand why.
When people come to different coaches with such a question, they also go over the obvious options.

Some do everything right, they just do too little. In very many cases, 1% really "shoots". With many products, for example, in my LiveJournal, of the readers who saw the advertisement, 0.1% make a purchase! Sometimes some advertising campaign manages to achieve 10% - this is very cool. And there are situations when people offer somewhere, and a third reacts! This is the case when the right place and target audience are chosen.

For example, I have a couple I know - designers - who at one point both left their jobs, with two children. They also read this LiveJournal, maybe they will respond. They then accomplished an unthinkable feat, and quickly untwisted as freelancers. And they said that, among others, they thought hard - where, where, where are their potential customers? They wanted to design for small businesses. Perhaps start-up businesses (who do not have a design yet). So they began to go to the office where they register small businesses - there is a government-sponsored course for start-up entrepreneurs. Of course, who goes there? Who is now opening his own cafe or shop for the first time. Here they (each personally) offered them - design, business cards, signs, and what else could be useful to them. This is, in my opinion, a brilliant idea. Combined with courage, diplomacy, and some luck. But this strategy brought unexpectedly cool results.

So - all actions are the same. Here the trick is that we found a place where potential customers are found in large quantities. And you think - where are yours found? In reality or virtuality? Maybe there and turn to them with everything that you already do?

It also happens that we do something little. We do little, not only because there is no time (when there is interest and motivation, there is time), but because it is sickening to do it. I don’t like it, it’s unpleasant, it seems that “not yours”, plus they demotivate failures, self-doubt. It helps to change your attitude to all this. Try to develop a "sporting interest" in yourself, try not to get upset because of failures, somehow look for interesting and pleasant sides in this.

In general - I suggest not to lose heart, and to do the same further. Just, maybe, carefully see if there are places where the same investment will be more useful. And look for some charms in this thankless work. To work more fun. :-)

Of course, if dear readers have new ideas about this, I read it with great interest, I am always interested too!

SMM Blog

Today we reveal the secrets of self-promotion at thematic sites. How to properly promote your business or blog in different thematic communities? We will tell you how to do this in manual and automatic modes, as well as what results can be achieved using self-promotion.

Remember right away the main rule of successful PR: you should always build a dialogue with your audience, and not set out a monologue. In other words, if you share any important and useful information with your readers or followers, then it is extremely important in this case to receive feedback in the form of feedback from the audience.

Developing the topic of dialogue further, we must remember that for each topic we need to look for a suitable platform and target audience. You need to find places where people sit who need the information that you share. It is necessary to look for users who will be generally interested in infa. Otherwise, what's the point of all this? For example, why talk about diapers in a public of motorists? Therefore, today we will talk abouthow to advertise properlyyour business and how to choose suitable platforms for successful promotion.

Self-promotion - what is it

Self-promotion is cool thing that helps to present yourself and your business in at its best with the right approach to this issue. As with anything, there are things to be done to right PR , but there are things that must be avoided in order not to get a negative result.

Self-promotion is a great opportunity to express yourself to the whole world. But whether you will take advantage of this chance is already a question.

How to advertise correctly:step by step instructions to help

1. First, believe in yourself and your abilities.. If you do not do this, then no one will believe your words. In short, without faith in the correctness of their words, all information will be perceived by readers as spam.
2. Choose a clear position. Decide in which area you are a real expert and promote yourself in this vein. You can't be an expert in every field. Then no one will take you seriously.
3. Study your competitors.It is foolish to think that you will not have competitors when you start your own promotion. Rememberthat self-promotion isdifficult work, so it must be treated with appropriate attention and seriousness. Therefore, before you start to engage in self-promotion, you need to study the competitive environment, take the best out of it. In addition, it is an opportunity to avoid mistakes that competitors have already made.
4. We create a successful image.Even if you are not as cool as you want to seem, let everyone think that this is not so. Your main task is to make everyone believe that you are successful in life and in business. Think about how this can be done more effectively, what is special about you, what is the highlight.
   
5. Step out of the shadows.What is this about? In the modern realities of an information breakthrough, self-promotion is impossible without social activity. However, this does not mean at all that you need to hang out on social networks. It is necessary to write conscious and relevant comments on thematic sites, post interesting and high-quality content on your blog. About, how to advertise properly yourself and on what platforms, we will tell a little later.
6. Always be yourself.Let's move on, the next step - remember, you are a person with your own opinion, which must be defended, even when it does not suit everyone. Prove your individuality and do not strive to "be like everyone else." You can't please everyone and that's a fact you can't argue with.
7. Help others move forward.From the fact that you recommend a professional to your audience of readers, it will not be worse. On the contrary, it is useful and correct. By the way, as a rule, in such cases, people also recommend in return.
   

   How tomyselfpromote: what not to do

   • Do not position yourself as someone you are not.Imposture is a complete failure for self-promotion.
   • Don't post unverified information.This is unprofessional.
   • Don't be selfish egotists. If you are promoting a business, then narcissism and glamor are out of place. This only annoys and sometimes even infuriates people from business circles. You do not want, do you. To be considered empty-headed upstarts?
   • Do not participate in various dubious and "bad-smelling" events and promotions. This can earn you a bad reputation, especially if we are talking about politics. Then such knowledge can be used to your detriment.
   • No inadequacy. Do you suffer from delusions of grandeur? Remember, this is purely your problem, if you are promoting, then no “royal manners”.
   • Forget familiarity and familiarity. Do you present yourself as a professional? So be it always and everywhere. Do not forget that everywhere there are ears and eyes that monitor your activity on social networks and not only.
   • Say no to rudeness and avoid excessive politicization in your comments on social platforms. Later, such comments can play to your detriment.

   
   PR correctly: howchoose thematic areas

   So, if you are planning to promote your business or blog, then you should not forget about various thematic sites. There are many platforms on which communities of interest are created:

   1. Groups and publics on social platforms. For example, a group of BMW car enthusiasts.
   2. Thematic categories on major portals. For example, Reddit.
   3. Various interest forums. Alternatively, Forumhouse.ru.
   4. Guest posts, as well as placement of special projects in personal blogs or publications. This is a great opportunity to build trust with your target audience. The main thing is to prove yourself as a professional in the topic you are commenting on.

   Afterword

   So what do we have as a result? Self-promotion is cool, important and simply necessary to promote a business in the virtual space. The main thing is a serious approach to this issue. About, how to promote yourself and where, now you know, so it's time to deal with this issue.