Three things I’d like to talk to you about today that can make your entire package look better and make you look more professional.

Honestly, if you’re looking for a label or even press like music bloggers and reviewers to review your music online you’re going to have to look the part.

We all talk about “don’t judge a book by the cover” but you know what we all do it.

We see see a girl walking down the street and if she’s not pretty then you don’t even give her time of day.

When she’s pretty she turns your eye and yeah she might not be very attractive underneath all that but you’re judging a book by the cover.

You look at a cover of a CD or a book and it gets your attention or not.

The same thing goes with your entire package to make yourself look more professional… or not.

Podcast URL: https://anchor.fm/gigfaster

1. Update Your Promo Picture

The first thing you really need to do is update your promo picture.

You can have the greatest song but people just a book by its cover.

Record labels and everyone else have tight schedules. No time. They don’t have time to work and develop amateurs.

You really need to up your look so that they see this guy has his act together and he’s been doing his homework and you know I’m not going to have to babysit him.

I’m not going to have to invest a ton of my own time and money into this guy because he’s already working it.

Updating your promo doesn’t mean you have to hire a professional photographer.

Nowadays the camera on the phone is so much better than any camera that even existed probably 10 years ago or maybe in five years ago.

So just be creative with it and make your picture look your promo pic should look.

If used to have like hair down the middle of your back and now you have a shaved head maybe you should take a new picture.

2. Update Your Bio (Resume)

This is your resume.

If you want promo for your music then make it easy for them to know your accomplishments and what you’ve done.

So if you done anything worth talking about put it in your bio.

If you don’t have anything yet then start doing stuff.

Get out there and play free shows. Try to open for other acts. See what you can do. Be creative so that you can get your name out there and you can start adding stuff to your bio.

If I want to play a show nowadays I want people to know who I am.

If they’ve never heard of me I’m definitely going to be named dropping all these major artist that I played with before.

It’s going to say a few things.

  1. This guy’s done this before.
  2. He knows how it works.
  3. He’s a pro.
  4. He can step in and get the job done without me having a babysitter.

That’s the kind of stuff you want in your biography. Stuff that will impress.

It should all be true.

The first thing you have to do is go out and start playing free shows.

You might not have the experience but that’s fine that’s how you learn. You’re going to get that experience so you work your way up.

They didn’t build Rome in a day. They built it brick by brick. So that’s what you’re going to do and little by little you’ll get there.

3. Don’t Be Desperate

I’m not even kidding. Like 90% of the acts that I see look so desperate and hungry and not in a good way you.

People don’t want to work with people that are so desperate that they’d sell their soul to get an opportunity.

They don’t want people like that.

They want people that are confident.

Think about it. If you have a choice between two bands or two acts and the ones like “yeah I’m good” and they’re confident you know they can get the job done.

And then you have the other guy that’s “pick me, pick me! I really need this, I have such a bad background you know I need to get out of this. I need this!”

They’re never going to pick the latter. They are going to pick the guy who doesn’t seem so desperate and needy.

Where you came from doesn’t matter.

I don’t care where you came from.

Guess what I came from a very poor neighborhood too.

My parents didn’t have $100 in the bank. That motivated me to work hard and never stop.

Don’t be desperate. It’s not where you come from that matters… it’s where you’re heading.

okay so let’s see let’s recap this really quick update your promo pic be creative make it stick out but make it look like you so I know everybody knows how I know what this act is about update your biography your bio and make it so that it highlights those accomplishments that you’ve had and number three do everybody a favor look don’t look in the rearview mirror stop being desperate and take you

Be grateful for the day God has given you today and go forward with it.

Do something and don’t dwell on the past.

Thanks for listening and you know there’s just so much more I could say about this and this is a thing, don’t look at your past and dwell on it and think ‘woe is me’.

I used to be like that. I came from a poor and abusive upbringing and you know one day I thought ‘What are you doing Craig? You can either feel terrible and down on yourself and dwell on this past or you can say ‘no this is my day’.

I’m not letting those events of my past control where I am today and where I’m going.

 

Craig Kelley

About Craig Kelley

Craig helps indie artists book more gigs, promote their music and submit to record labels @ GigFaster and GigFaster University . His latest release is his 7th album, Not So Blue. His band has supported Grammy artists including Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Rick Derringer, Gary Hoey, Joan Jett, Fuel and many more. http://craigkelley.com He is also the host of The 5 Minute Podcast For Musicians.

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