Doesn’t matter if your working musician, a successful businessperson, a struggling screenwriter or an active actor. Doesn’t even matter if you’ve been in the business a long time and think you’ve got it all figured out. Either way, hopefully this will help provoke some forward movement in your world:
1) Once a week, send your “opt-in” fans, followers, or customers a very short video, sound bite, newsletter, blog or free sample of your work. Keep it short and keep doing this once or twice a week infinitum. Doesn’t matter if you have 20 emails or 20k.
2) Build your tribe slowly and intelligently. Direct them to your website NOT your Facebook page! Sure, it’s fun to have a lot of people you don’t know wish you happy birthday. However it’s smarter to have a 1000 true, “opt-in” devotees visit your personal website every day—where a mutual exchange of art & commerce could take place. Of course you’re not going to abandon your FB friends. You’re just going to continually (and creatively) provoke them to visit your website, watch your videos, listen to your music, test your products, and read your blogs.
3) Respectfully ask us to subscribe, opt-in or join your world. Put a “join” option on your home page. Make it easy for us to connect with you. Also, make it easy for us to disconnect or “op-out” as well.
4) Don’t get all flustered about those who choose not to follow you. Rather, honor, respect, and reward those true devotees who love your work. If what you offer is genuine, honest, entertaining, informative, and beneficial they will share it with those who they think would be interested, and your tribe will grow.
5) Be patient and be grateful. It’s taken me a few years of continuous blogging to win the trust of thousands of crazy, genius “unique” readers.