Recently, I did a podcast talking about the similarities between marketing and songwriting. There are some thoughts I want to add to that.
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Marketing vs Writing a Hit Song
I like the idea that creating effective marketing is like writing a hit song. Maybe not every song you write is going to be a hit. If you’re a local band that doesn’t have hit songs but has a nice following of a hundred or so people, a few of your songs might be a real standout to some of your audience. There will be something about your songs that resonates more with people, and the same goes for your marketing.
The Power of Persistence
When you create two or three Facebook ads and they just don’t work, the problem may not be Facebook. I heard so many music schools say, “Well, I’ve tried Facebook ads, and they just don’t seem to work.” Facebook ads work. They might not just work for you. Even so with songwriting. Just because you haven’t written a hit song yet doesn’t mean that it isn’t possible. You’ve got to just keep doing it and learn from each experience.
When Marketing Doesn’t Work
When you create a Facebook ad and it does not perform the way you would like, perhaps it’s because of one factor. Maybe the headline is the issue. It could also be your lead or your hook. Your opening sentence may have failed to pull people in. The first sentence in any marketing collateral you create should capture someone’s attention, whether it’s an ad or an email.
Sometimes the Smallest Things Make All the Difference
Quite often, the difference between a song being a hit and not being a hit could lie in one little factor. Just take a look at The Beatles’ song “She Loves You”. What if they hadn’t included the part “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah”? Do you think the song would have been a hit? If it was just “She loves you”, would it have been a hit? The simplicity and the ability to sing along with “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” made it appealing. What if Hey Jude didn’t have the “Na Na Na Na” at the end? Do you think the song would have been a hit? Maybe.
Whenever I listen to Top 40 radio with my kids, I’m always listening for that one little part in a song. There’s typically one part of the song that sticks to your ribs. Maybe the way the note sits against the chord creates this cool harmony. There seems to be at least one moment in every hit song that’s super catchy, and that’s all you need. You need one little super catchy component of it to be ahead.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger
Same as with your marketing. There’s got to be something in your marketing. It could be some emotional trigger, a line that you say, or even a sentence that really resonates with your ideal client. When marketing doesn’t work for you, don’t blame the platform. Don’t blame the delivery system. Don’t blame email. Email is an easy one for some people to blame.
“I tried email marketing. It doesn’t work. No one opens my emails. I don’t want to be a nuisance anyway, bothering people.”
This Could Be Your Ultimate Solution
Your email is not a nuisance if it contains attractive and appealing messages. What’s fascinating are the words that you create. We call that copywriting. That same word “copyright” exists in the world of music, and the musical copyright isn’t the drumbeats, the bass lines, or the chords. The copyright is defined by the melody and the lyric. So in order to make your marketing work and your songs a hit, you need to focus on copywriting.
