Even though I intend for part 3 to deal with the step by step detail selling and other more technical things, I felt that a little diversion into that territory within this section is justified, especially that I just listed a number of income generation ideas any artist can consider. So let’s have a look at a couple of other things in that context.
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As with everything, you need to be careful and tactful when approaching sales (not merely music-related ones but also any other things you decide to include in your income streams).
People don’t like to be sold to. That is why it is so important to only ever be offering things you genuinely like and believe in and which have as much to do with your particular brand of music as possible – within reason. If what you’re offering has real value it becomes more of a recommendation than a desperate attempt to sell, and you’ll find that people will not only buy from or through you, but will do so with pleasure.
One of the “secrets” of rapidly scaling online incomes is through the so-called “upsells” and “downsells”. While I’ll give you more details about this in the next section, here I just want to mention it broadly, to get you thinking. It’s what they call a “sales funnel” in the Internet marketing world.
This is also known as “selling on the back-end.”
Typically, it starts with something you’re giving away. When the visitor gives you his email address in order to receive that gift, you can then do a number of things:
- Deliver his freebie to his inbox
- Send him to a different screen where you thank him and then suggest that he also consider buying “X”
- Simply thank him and continue sending him regular email updates where, once in a while, you offer something he might be interested in buying.
- Any combination of some or all of the above
The typical marketing hard-sell is to hit them while they’re fresh. Personally, I don’t like this method, even though I know that it’s often the most effective. But it’s also potentially too pushy and aggressive. I too hate being un-subtly sold to, so I don’t inflict it on others even if my sales might suffer slightly as a result. But I find other ways to compensate for that.
Still, here’s what typically happens after you send your prospect to a paid offer: he/she either purchases it – or not. In both instances you can do either:
- After he buys, offer him another “upsell”
- After he buys, leave him alone, but follow up later with something else
- If he doesn’t buy, offer him a “downsell”
An “upsell” is typically a more expensive product which you think the visitor may be interested in, since he already bought the first product. A “downsell” is either a cheaper version of your main product or another cheaper product.
I realize completely how “distasteful” all this may seem to many artists who do not wish to think of themselves as “marketers”. I used to (rather foolishly, I might add) think in very much the same way and as a result we never once monetized our multi-million-strong database of Fame Games participants and fans! And when sh** hit the fan – it was too late. We never monetized them, even when some of them themselves suggested that we do. It was a case of standing on the wrong principle!
Like with everything in life, it’s a matter of HOW you approach your sales and your visitors/fans. It’s ultimately about your ethics. If you treat them with respect, without being pushy – why shouldn’t you be able to recommend products and profit from those recommendations? I see no moral or ethical problem with that. A simple “click on my Amazon link if you’re planning to buy there anyway – it will help us!” would work perfectly.
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| Book 2 – Chapter 11 Your Art vs Your Incomes |
Course Overview | Book 2 – Chapter 13 Audience Building |
Book 2: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 14b, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, Overview
