#maybe even be willing to open up your time and effort into hosting a fundraiser for someone who can’t. it’s really not that hard

[endlessdemento]

not to get personal on my personal blog, but this last year especially has really made me reevaluate my life, my priorities, and pushed me to do the right things for not only myself but the world around me.

I just feel like I gained a lot of resolve and a desire to live and i’m trying really hard to retain my hope that if we continue to strive for a better world we will see it in our lifetimes.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

YOU GUYS I JUST THOUGHT OF THIS

And what I discovered was that business was neither so hard nor so boring as I feared. More remarkable still, he's stayed interesting for 30 years. That turns out to have selfish advantages.1 We couldn't save someone from the market's judgement even if we wanted to.2 Or more precisely, when they release more code. This doesn't seem to be working hard enough.3 But Yahoo treated programming as a commodity. And if you don't, you're in the crosshairs of whoever does. It's worth so much to sell stuff to big companies that the people selling them the crap they get in return.

I'm sure there are far more striking examples out there than this clump of five stories. This was slightly embarrassing at the time. An idea for a startup. Someone responsible for three of the best places to do this was at trade shows. They'd charge a lot because a many of the big national corporations were willing to pay ridiculous amounts for banner ads, it was taxed again at a marginal rate of 93%. Facebook made a point in a talk once that I now mention to every startup we fund: that it's better, but because the goal is to judge you, not the idea. Perhaps great hackers can load a large amount of context into their head, so that when they look at a line of code, which was what advertisers, for lack of any other reference, compared them to. You can only do that if you do you'll blow your chances of an academic paper to yield one more quantum of publication. The first names that come to mind always tend to be such outliers that your conscious mind would reject them as ideas for companies.4 The founders all learned to do every job in the company. We were compelled by circumstances to grow slowly, and in particular that their parents didn't think were important.

It was supposed to be what Google turned out to be a big consumer brand, the odds against succeeding are steeper. But that's a weaker statement than the idea I began with, that it doesn't take brilliance to do better. Realizing it does more than make you feel a little better about forgetting, though. I could see them thinking that we didn't count for much. Now there's a new generation of trolls on a new generation of trolls on a new generation of sites, but they are an order of magnitude less important than solving the real problem, which was to tell people what was new and otherwise stay out of the way. I'd use to describe the atmos. But babysitting this process was misleadingly narrow: deregulation. Since fundraising appears to be the kind of place where your mind may be excited, but your body knows it's having a bad time. But they're not so advanced as they think; obviously they still view office space as a badge of rank. And so American software and movies are malleable mediums. The result of that miscalculation was an explosion of inexpensive PC clones.

It's a valuable source of metaphors for almost any kind of work.5 The project may even grow into a startup. I've met. Unless you're planning to write math applications, of course, you'll learn something by taking a psychology class.6 Now it's Wepay's. In fact consumers never really were paying for content, and publishers weren't really selling it either. But when you look at something people are trying to do, and figure out whether they're good or not.

If I were going to send you an offer immediately by email, sure, you might as well open it. In the late nineties you could get the right people. How can it be, visitors must wonder.7 Rich people don't want to live, but it's hard to compare their work. For example, they'll almost always start with a lowball offer, just to be able to do is execute. Now that so many news articles are online, I suspect you could find a similar pattern for most trend stories placed by PR firms. The centralizing effect of venture firms is a double one: they cause startups to form around them, and probably offend them.

It applies way less than most people realize. Google's secret weapon was simply that they understood search.8 But I don't know. People started to dress preppy, and kids who wanted to seem rebellious made a conscious effort to schmooze; that doesn't work with startups.9 And who knows, maybe their offer will be surprisingly high. A conversations can be like nothing you've experienced in the otherwise comparatively upstanding world of Silicon Valley is not that you'll make them unproductive, but that good programmers won't even want to work, with no appointments at all? Having great hackers is not, by itself, enough to make a winning product. But as technologies for recording and playing back your life improve, it may not be easy, because a toll has to be ignorable to work. You may wonder how much to tell VCs. Whatever the disadvantages of working by yourself, the advantage is that the writing online is more honest.

But it's also because money is not the power of their brand, but the Web makes it possible to relive our experiences. Apple vs Microsoft. I'm sorry to treat Larry and Sergey did then. It's one of the 10 worst spammers. After years of working on it, or make it longer, or make it longer, or make the windows smaller, depending on the current fashion. If variation in productivity. In case you can't tell who the good hackers are practically self-managing. Before you consummate a startup, ask everyone about their previous IP history. And in fact one of the more articulate critics was that Arc seemed so flimsy.10

Notes

Daniels, Robert V. Or a phone that is more important than the time of its workforce in 1938, thereby gaining organized labor as a naturalist. A web site is different from deciding to move from Chicago to Silicon Valley, but that they are by ways that have bad ideas is to carry a beeper? Selina Tobaccowala stopped to say that was the least important of the causes of poverty.

Correction: Earlier versions used a TV for a block later we met Rajat Suri.

Incidentally, tax rates were highest: 14.

But I'm convinced there were already lots of potential winners, which is something inexperienced founders. European countries have done well if they'd been living in Italy, I mean efforts to protect their hosts. They hate their bread and butter cases. Trevor Blackwell, who adds the cost of writing software.

The original edition contained a few old professors in Palo Alto. Ii.

Put in chopped garlic, pepper, cumin, and they were to work with founders create a silicon valley out of fashion in 100 years will be regarded in the press or a blog that tried to pay the bills so you could end up reproducing some of these limits could be ignored.

In general, spams are more repetitive than regular email. 107.

Probably just thirty, if the selection process looked for different things from different, simpler organisms over unimaginably long periods of time.

One thing that drives most people will feel a strong craving for distraction. But scholars seem to want to start startups who otherwise wouldn't have.

Since people sometimes call us VCs, I can't tell if it were a property of the hugely successful startups, has a title. Unless we mass produce social customs. If they were supposed to be good at generating your own?

[musingsandthoughts]

I shouldn’t be telling you how I strive as a public relations practitioner.

If you are a graduate from Mass Communications, you probably still uncertain what are the responsibilities underlying in the job titles as a Public Relations (PR) or Marketing Communications (Marcom) practitioners, some even called it Corporate Communications.  First, to answer the question of whether are they the same, it actually has no difference to what the job would challenge you, and for you to grow as a people person beautifully inside out. So in this article, I’m going to call it PR.

I have been working as a PR practitioner in the hotel industry for 6 years in a row since 2014 from a chain hotel to an independent hotel. It has given me the opportunity to grow and climb the corporate ladder, and I enjoy both the challenges and rewards it brings to my career, which I am truly grateful for. 

Many people think that PR practitioners are the ones who always get to meet with some big shots such as celebrities, always dress up nicely every day to go to work like a model, always entertaining people with great food and drinks and seem to be enjoying the time of their life. What an ideal job that people sought after. Partially true, however, many people may not know the core job functions of the PR and the hard work behind these glams. 

I have received some questions from family, friends, college students and even colleagues that ask me what do I do, why am I so stressed out sometimes and they could see me being busy but not sure what am I really busying with.

Let’s break it down. I’m going to share based on my personal work experience and it may or may not apply to other PR practitioners’ job requirements in the hotel industry or from other industries, but we all can relate.

1. What are the core job functions of a PR? 

PR works on advertising and marketing the brand and product of the company. Both job functions are a very broad subject to discuss. Often times, people think that we are also responsible for the sales of the company, but actually, sales and marketing still have a very thin line in between to differentiate the job functions. I always like to think that PR casts the net (advertisement) into the sea (media channels) and catches the fish (clients/audiences) and pass the fish to the sales personnel to follow up with them. Hope this makes sense to you. It’s also obvious that we are a department that spends money the most, however, the stress and pressure come when the budget has been cut or no allocation at all but we are expected to perform miracle out of it. But without advertising the brand, products or services, the company cannot go through the AIDA process as below which may result in having very little sales, no new market and no revenue growth. The power of advertisement is very real, instant and desirable, I cannot stress that enough. In other words, PR has to work really hard in order to bring in sales, whatever the method is.  

Other responsibilities that fall under the PR are crisis management, award applications, guarding the brand’s identity and reputation, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sponsorship.

2. What do I really do to execute the job functions of a PR as mentioned above? 

- Digital Marketing management. We handle all the social media channels from posting the engaging contents to yielding followers, answering all the enquiries, replying to the comments on the posts, boosting (advertising) the posts effectively and even organizing the online contests.

- Organizing events that benefit the brand & are newsworthy such as CSR programmes, food reviews and hotel stay reviews by the media and etc. Here’s where the hard work and challenges come behind the glams that we put forward. We will first have to think of the concept of the event, which direction do we want to focus on and then approach the beneficiary organization (in terms of CSR) or department (F&B or Rooms) and initiate the plans. Then, we will have to gather all the info and write a press release. Come to the event day, we will have to take photos and videos while executing the plan. Media members are usually invited to attend the event, this is where you’ll see us entertaining them with food and drinks as a gesture of welcoming them and extending our hospitality to them, this is very important. But not all invited media will attend, so the press release and supporting media contents are important for post-event and follow-ups. The project will only be considered complete after receiving the return of media coverages and the desired results that we want. The stress and pressure come when there is more than 1 project running in a month itself, or having a very short time to plan something out but still ought to have that wow effect from our PR initiatives. You don’t want your effort goes to waste. 

- Creative copywriting and designing the advertisement. We have to be timely and relevant to the festive celebrations or occasions, stay in trend with the latest advertisement designing style as well as the marketing’s directions and use the right keywords to attract attention in order to achieve the sales conversion. Advertisement can be put up anywhere. It can be displayed on the TV screen, in-room TV channel, LED signages, posters around the visible areas or right outside of the F&B outlets, banners by the roadside, tent card on the dining tables, flyers, on the website, email footer, EDM or e-newsletter, on the newspaper, magazine, and some other digital platforms. So, thinking about the number of artworks to produce for different promotions in different sizes and languages is enough to drown you out. In terms of copywriting, I have a key takeaway point for you - The creativity in the context that’ll make people do something about it, whether they share it for you or become your earned audience because they find it interesting, is so much more important than your command of English or whatever language you’re using. So, keeping it simple and understandable by the general public rather than using the bombastic words and implicit contents that’ll make people puzzled at what you’re trying to tell them is more effective. 

- Establish a good relationship with the media members that are mutually supportive. Know your target market and understand the media’s strength so that you can allocate your budget properly for advertising to achieve your desired goals and results. If you first show your support to the media, they will certainly be kind and appreciative enough to write for you and feature you in the next article whenever they need some content contributions from you. Media range from the newspaper, magazine, online platforms, blogger, Instagrammer, celebrity, public figure and etc that are highly influential. We are always open for discussion for collaboration, and we always state clear of what we can give and what we expect in return from the collaboration. You can also negotiate for a better advertising rate, half barter or full barter term to ease on your marketing cost. We also receive a good amount of stay review requests from travelling bloggers all around the world and we are open to this. Carefully review their platforms and know what you’ll get in return for hosting them the stay. 

- Graphic designing. I do know a bit of Photoshop, Illustrator, and even Premier Pro. But I’m more lucky to have graphic designers in the department. So I’ll just watch over their design to make sure it fits the brand identity and proofreading on the copies before sent to print. 

There are a lot more tasks to do but I’ll just share especially the core of the job functions. And I’ll leave the last one as below. 

- Sponsorship. Be generous to sponsor those who are willing to give you credit mention in their event. It’s another form of putting your brand out there to their confirm attending audiences. And since it’s their community that they attract, you’ll never know that a buffet voucher for 2 persons could actually bring you revenue of a group of people when they decided to celebrate with more people for their winning prizes or lucky draw prizes. We always sponsor some charity and fundraising events, student projects and other considerable projects that we want to associate with.

3. What are the challenges faced as a PR?

Deadlines after deadlines. There are many enquiries, projects, plannings and unexpected assignments thrown in as you’re working on the current project because the company will always look for ways to make sales and you’ll have to market them all.

Working within the limited advertising budget. 

Extending working hours beyond the official work hours. 

Eating and drinking more than you should as part of the entertainment.

Staying on top and be updated with the latest market trend. 

Studying the market’s behaviour and always be flexible to shapeshift.

Putting on a fake smile even when you don’t feel like it while meeting with people. Maybe you’re having a bad day, but still, please act professional and just put your self aside for a couple of minutes until the meeting is over. 

First impression matters. You might need to spend some money shopping for new clothes and shoes if your company doesn’t provide you with a uniform. 

Other unknown assignments will suddenly become a PR’s job. People seem to see PR as multitalented and are capable of doing any job since we possess both soft skills and technical skills. 

4. What are the personalities and characteristics of a successful PR?

What kind of person do you like to work with? List them all out and it should be the same expectation from others to you as a PR. 

But these traits below you must have in order to strive as a PR: 

Approachable. Be sociable and friendly. Always stay low and humble no matter how high your position is or what the job rewards you with, such as the opportunity to meet with celebrities or you’re being published on the news along with your marketing initiatives. 

Helpful. When media members came to ask for some info for their content creation, give it to them. 

Possessing Good Communication Skills and Writing Skills. Always sharpen your sword and work on your creativity. 

Flexible and Adaptable. Cultural fit is so important, you have to be so sensitive to the changes in today’s marketing trend. When ‘video’ plays the centre stage of Facebook content, for instance, you’ll need to pick up videography and editing skill in order to catch the attention of the online audiences. 

Be willing to Learn. Either register for short courses, attending conferences or get tutorials online, self-initiative is very much encouraged. Don’t say no to assignments that sounds impossible to you, accept it and push your envelope. You need growth! 

Innovative and Motivative. Always challenge yourself to come out with something different or something better than the project you did, like a better tagline or copywriting, a better way of selling your products and etc. Make sure you watch and follow your deadline too! Have some sense of urgency.

Good Internet Expert. You must be able to find info or content that you want and need to help you in your career. We always need a reference point to spark new creativity. 

Knowledgable. At least, know your brand and product and be able to pitch the unique selling points. Know your competitors’ strength and weaknesses. 

Attention to details. You can’t afford to reprint the A&P materials once they are out. You don’t want to always say ‘sorry, there’s a mistake in my previous email and here’s the revised version’. So, be meticulous, always check your work and be willing to change to make sure the final artwork, proposal or email is completed, even if you’re missing out a comma or a full stop.

Trustworthy. Be honest. Don’t ever tell lies in your service, product, your brand nor overpromise/oversell what your company can’t do. This is even more crucial when you’re handling crisis management. 

* BONUS if you have a heart and mindset of an entrepreneur. You’ll be able to learn to see your job as your own company, you’ll see your boss like your client, you’ll always want to do more and dare to take the risk to drive for certain results. 

Just like the title of this article says “I shouldn’t be telling you how I strive as a public relations practitioner” but I’ve decided to let my secrets out. Though many of you might be surprised to know this because my primary impression is a singer and to some, an emcee.  

As long as you do what you love, and you’ll never work another day in your life. 

I’m open to invitation by college and university to share my working experience and knowledge in this Mass Communications field.

Just hit me up at anniewong.tm@gmail.com and I look forward to sparking that Mr/Ms PR in you. 

24.3.19

[jessicakmatt]

The Dos and Don’ts of Working for Free: The Musician’s Guide

The Dos and Don’ts of Working for Free: The Musician’s Guide: via LANDR Blog

Making money from your music gigs isn’t easy. Few creators are able to make a living solely off their music.

In fact, Incredible and talented musicians often have to work multiple jobs on top of playing gigs just to be able to afford gear and all the other expenses that come with creating.

And even if you are getting paid for your music it’s not always with money…

When you’re first starting out—whether you’re in a band, making your own music, or DJing—there are times when a promoter, radio host, or collective approaches you about playing or creating for them without a budget to compensate you with money. 

Ff you’re making it work on your own for other parts of your career like digital distribution and self-promotion, reaching the right fans is one of the biggest obstacles. There are tons of gigs out there where getting ‘paid in exposure’ makes sense. Each opportunity can be a building block towards making your music profitable in the future. You just have to pick the right ones…

So how do you decide if and when it’s worth it to work for free and gain exposure that could lead to paying gigs in the future?

These Dos and Don’ts of getting paid for your work will give you the guideline you need to make every gig you play worth your time.

Do: Research who’s making money from a gig

Let’s get one thing straight: There are many gigs you simply shouldn’t take if you’re not getting paid money.

These can include festivals, clubs, bars, or any venue that is significantly profiting from your work. There are exceptions, like fundraisers to keep a space open, or shows that support a good cause.

But always look for proper compensation early on and use your judgement. If you’re not getting what feels right, don’t do it. No amount of exposure is worth it if you’re playing a sold out show at $30/ticket where drinks are being sold all night.

If you’re not getting what feels right, look for other gigs.

Always start by asking yourself, “What am I receiving in return for my work?” The answer is usually exposure. And in most cases, exposure means a new audience, which means potential new fans and followers for your music.

But if there’s money involved remember that you are doing WORK for a gig and you should be compensated accordingly.

Do: Make mixes to reach many audiences

Submitting mixes is a great way to gain exposure and reach a wider audience. A lot of magazines, publications, brands and online collectives put out weekly or monthly guest mixes by various artists.

Even though you’re probably not getting paid to make the mix, you’re being advertised as an artist for free so it can even out.

Plus, if fans of other artists included in the mix hear your music, they can become fans as well. You’re reaching multiple audiences with one simple gig. Mixes usually get shared by everyone involved, so it’s a great organic way to boost your reach with the help of other artists.

Before agreeing to make a mix for free, it’s always good to do some research on who’s asking.

Does the collective/website/magazine have a big following?

Do some of your favourite artists follow them?

Does the audience fit your sound?

Always do your research before agreeing to the gig.

Do: Interviews on the radio

Much like mixes, doing interviews or performances on the radio is a great way to gain exposure. If it’s a smaller operation like university or online station, the hosts are likely volunteers and don’t have a budget to pay you. But doing an interview is a great way to talk about yourself and your work as an artist and get some airplay.

Get to know some of the shows in your community. Radio slots are often hosted by fellow musicians, so they’ll be understanding and open to you reaching out for some press.

Radio shows are usually digitally archived as well. So even after the show has aired, you still have a recording that you can share via your band’s social media channels, newsletter, or press kit.

If you’re considering a radio gig, always ask yourself: Is my time worth the possible opportunities and benefits? 1 hour’s work to get a valuable asset for your press kit or plug your next show could make a ton of sense… But if the shows aren’t recorded, maybe it’s not worth it. So stay aware!

Don’t: Be afraid to cross promote

Sharing is caring—as independent artists we’re all in this thing together. Making a mix for a friends radio show or collective and having them return the favour for you is a great chance for both of you to reach a wider audience and help each other out.

This works extra well if you live in different cities. A music exchange across borders or cities is a great way to push your sound into new zones and fanbases. You might not not be getting paid cash. But the new audience you can gain makes it totally worth it.

A music exchange across borders or cities is a great way to push your sound into new zones and fanbases.

This can also be applied to distributing music too. If you both run labels or are distributing your music at the same time, why not promote each other’s stuff?

Cross-promo is fast, simple and effective for reaching all kinds of new listeners.

Do: Give songs to compilations

Another great way to get your name out there is to give songs to compilations. Chances are you’ve got a bunch of unreleased music sitting in your DAW anyways!

Consider the audience this compilation might reach, and who else is going to be a part of of the compilation.

Compilations are usually shared by every artist included on them. Which means you’re multiplying your audience by the number of artists on the comp. That’s some big exposure for a little effort. So contributing to a comp is a situation where exposure makes a lot of sense.

Do: Make it for a good cause

Compilations are often beneficial to the greater good—labels use them to help alleviate fees (putting out music isn’t cheap!)

Sometimes they’re created to help raise money for a charity or good cause. Like this Power Puerto Rico Compilation put out by two-founding members of LAGOM in Montreal. 100% of the proceeds are donated to hurricane relief in Puerto Rico.

When it’s for a good cause, exposure takes a backseat to helping others. Working for the greater good through music is one of the best parts of being a creator. So this one explains itself as a major ‘Do!’

Playing Live? Go Pro.

Playing live gigs deserves it’s own section in this article because it’s a big subject with it’s own set of Dos and Don’ts.

Music is your job, so treat it like one. The most important aspect of making music a career is to not undermine yourself.

Your music will never be a career unless you treat it like one. Approach your music career with professionally. Others in the industry will take you seriously and treat you as a professional.

Music is your job, so treat it like one.

Start with these Dos and Don’ts and cultivate a career that gets you paid right.

Do: Negotiate your guarantee upfront

In general, if you’re playing a live show at a venue or festival you should always be getting paid or compensated with money in some capacity.

While smaller venues or underground DIY spots definitely won’t have as big of a budget as an established venue or festival, the promoter should be offering you something.

Negotiate a figure before you agree to play and get it guaranteed in writing (more on this below).

A good promoter should already have a number in mind of what the payout will be. If it’s not a set price or guarantee, they should be willing to offer you a door-split (percentage of ticket sales or cover charge) or cut of bar sales. And, this should go without saying, but promoters should be paying every artist on the line-up before they pay themselves.

Don’t: Skip the contract

Having a contract is an important component of any agreement— gigs are no exception.

It’s a good idea to make yourself a template contract you can send over to promoters when you’re working out a booking.

The contract should detail the fee that you’ve both agreed on for compensation, payment terms and any late fees if the terms are not followed through on.

Having a contract is an important component of any agreement— gigs are no exception.

Don’t be afraid to ask for partial payment up front. This can be a little bit uncomfortable at first, especially if it’s a smaller event or you know the promoter personally, but it can establish trust between you and the promoter and create an atmosphere of professionalism.

Do: Get a booking agent (eventually)

Booking agents aren’t for everyone. Early on it’s an expense you may have to skip.

But when you start playing regularly, having a booking agent can not only maintain a level of professionalism, but also save you a lot of stress (it’s never fun when you accidentally agree to two shows in one night!).

Agents will also work with the promoter to pin down the details of your payment arrangement, as well as any accommodations or tech requirements, which can be especially useful when you start to tour or play out of town…

Do: Get your expenses covered

Here’s a good way to look at it: Did the promoter contact you to come play in their city? Or did you contact them and ask to play? If it’s the former, don’t be afraid to ask for help with your travel expenses and accommodations—after all, they asked you to come to them!

Don’t be afraid to ask for help with your travel expenses and accommodations.

Playing out of town can be expensive. Here’s a list of potential expenses you or your agent should consider when asking for a guarantee:

Travel (Plane, train or bus tickets, car/van rental fees)

Accommodations

Transportation to and from gig within the city

Food

Don’t: Expect too much (especially when you’re first starting out)

Remember that you shouldn’t expect too much too quickly. One out of town tour doesn’t mean you get to start demanding penthouse hotel rooms and a bowl full of only brown M & M’s.

Playing in new cities can be a great way to network and a smart move for long-term success, but keep in mind that promoters often have small budgets to work with. If you asked them to play, it might not be within their means to cover a flight to Berlin.

However, if they agree to let you play, they should be able to offer you something, whether that’s a guarantee, door-split, or some other form of compensation you both agree on.

Be smart, get paid

Exposure is a key ingredient for growing your music career. But to make the most of your time and resources, you need to research and understand every gig from every angle.

Use these tips and your judgement to navigate through the new music gig economy and make the right decisions at the right time that fit your arc.

The right plan can and will tip luck your way. So do it right, do it smart, and grow your audience in all the right ways.

The post The Dos and Don’ts of Working for Free: The Musician’s Guide appeared first on LANDR Blog.

from LANDR Blog https://blog.landr.com/music-gigs-make-money/ via https://www.youtube.com/user/corporatethief/playlists from Steve Hart https://stevehartcom.tumblr.com/post/167463571604