Artist mentoring program revealed

This post is loosely, Gab & Jam, episode 217. Artist mentoring program revealed

(video: https://bit.ly/217artistmentorrevealvid and podcast: https://bit.ly/217artistmentorrevealpod )

This follows up to episode 213 ( https://bit.ly/213goals2022vid ), where we talked about our BIG goals for 2022. We talked about how we’ve spent so much time building an audience for the blog, the podcast, and the YouTube channel and how we wanted to put some concentrated time into drawing fans of our music. We also talked about how we realized that we KNEW we needed help, so we had run across a couple of options that we were trying to choose between. What follows is what we chose, why we chose it, the pros and cons of the program, and what it has helped us do (in case any of you are interested in doing something similar).

In terms of choosing we had come across a more independent, learn-as-you-go, cheaper model and then one more expensive, hands-on, but with a weekly coach model. Guess which one we chose? --I will give you a hint: We’re old and would GLADLY trade time for money, which means that we don’t want to fuck around trying to figure out how to do some of the things that are required, which is why we plunked down the nice chunk of money to have a coaches’ guidance.

—The final thing that was at the top of our abbreviated, vision board-driven list, was growing the music arm of this operation; something that we were pretty dumbfounded as to how to do. We knew we might need to call in help, so we FINALLY made the decision to go with an artist mentoring program—versus the Indreprenuer model, which we had been considering for quite a while. What is the difference between the two? Well, they BOTH offered to yield us results that we DIDN'T already have, like finding people who might might actually vibe with our music to listen and then further to become members of our “fan club,” for lack of a better word. 🤷🏽‍♀️ —The MAJOR difference between the two programs is that one—Indreprenuer—is MOSTLY self-serve with teaching and coaching if you need it—whereas this Modern Musician artist mentoring is coach-led and set-up every step of the way. —Of course, this one-on-one coaching and support is NOT cheap, but we knew we wanted results quickly and that we may NEED this hands-on approach, so we ponied up the 5k upfront for 3 months (followed by about $300 a month in ancillary expenses for the coaching). —Indreprenuer is like $100 a month, from what I remember, but it’s like a lunchroom menu, where you go to the trainings that you think you need and dive right in.

—I hate to say this, as an aside, but this REALLY did factor into our choice. I have been listening to the Creative Juice podcast for a few years now, which is how I found out about Indreprenuer and they did not seem the friendliest to work with. In fact, when I FIRST started listening, I KNEW they were talking about things that we NEEDED to know to find and build our fan base, but they were snarky and made it seem as if the listeners were slow if they didn’t understand SOME of the concepts they were talking about. 😳 THAT didn’t feel good, which is why it took me SO long to go back and TRY to “hear” what they were saying….🤷🏽‍♀️ —I am just being honest here. NO ONE paid us to say ANY of this, so I am just going to be flat out honest about the way they made me feel. THAT'S the reason they didn’t get the business fresh out of the gate. Along came Michael Walker and the Modern Musician gang and I started listening. Not only were they offering the build-it-for-you model—which as busy folks sounded like a plan—but they were so positive and cheered us on at every stage. I DIDN'T want to be easily swayed, but the prospect that I might be throwing money out of the window, if I chose the wrong kind of support for our needs was NOT a fun idea, so the fact that Modern Musician promised to hold our hand the entire way and be there to help us work through everything AND they all seemed positive and supportive seemed the BEST value (EVEN at that price). 👏🏾

Pros:

Helped us market our music in a more business-oriented way
Helped us figure out how to make money along the way
Helped us gather people who REALLY listen and vibe with our music
Helped us set up our infrastructure (which we will talk about in a minute)
Helps folks like us who are serious about planning for the long haul on our music (and has already invested time and energy into what we’re doing)
Helped join us with a small group of other bands who are in the program—through a Facebook group—so that when you have questions, the coaches and other members are in there to answer them.
They record all the weekly sessions, so that you can go back and review the information that they may have shared.

Cons:

Costs a bunch of money (take your entire $5,000 tax return to pay for this)
Only lasts 3 months (we feel as if we are JUST now understanding
Requires about $500 a month to maintain the infrastructures that they helped us put in place
The trainings are so plentiful that it’s hard to know how to find the information that you are actually ready for. (They say that they have re-worked it to make it easier to navigate.)
You lose Facebook group access after the 3 month program is over.
Because they help us through so much—by actually doing things for us—sometimes I did not understand fully how to do it, so that now that we are at the end of the program, I feel like I need to go back through the entire thing.

These are some of the things that they have helped us create:

Facebook ads (tracking, tweaking, split-testing, optimizing, advice)
Facebook page (for the band) https://bit.ly/bpjfacebook
Private Facebook group (for Bourgeoisie Paper Jam) https://bit.ly/BPJFacebookGrp
Instant Messenging Bot (Manychat; that gets people to what they’re interested in most)
Email list creation (through Active Campaign)
Funnel creation (through Click Funnels)
Levels of interest (for increased fan engagement; people who want to engage on deeper levels sign up for what their most interested in, social media-wise and with buying our merch)

This is the link to find out more from the artist mentoring program:

https://modernmusician.typeform.com/to/oEuLvc?source=Vox

They will vet you by asking you a bunch of questions to make sure that you’re a good fit. We will receive a small commission if you are chosen.

What do you think? Is something like this for you? We’d love to hear what you think about it. Leave it in the comments below.

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