If you are wondering what it takes to get work as a music producer or engineer then this article is for you. Some of you may be handled by management, but many producers and engineers are not, and it can sometimes feel like your skills are a proverbial needle in a haystack. The bad news is that they are, but follow these simple tips and you have a better chance of being found by people you want to work with.
I was honoured to host a meeting this week of some of the most talented producers and engineers around the world and talk about this subject, here’s a summary of that meeting.
Personal Marketing
Personal marketing is not the same as if you were selling a brand, you are in effect selling yourself. To put it another way… it’s an endless job interview and just like a job interview potential clients have some questions that need to be answered if they are going to hire you.
Here are the questions anyone who wants to work with you will want answered. Do you have…
Competence
Do you have the right skills? This is proved by exhibiting experience, this is where credits come in. Testimonials mean you don't need to boast, someone else can do that for you.
Chemistry
Are you the kind of person they can work with? This is where you tell your story. Why did you get into making records? Remember that story telling is attractive. You can reveal a lot about yourself and your values by telling your story.
Relevance
You won't be great at making all kinds of music. Niche is king, decide what you love doing and what you are good at then concentrate at attracting that kind of work. Decide who you want to work with. Hint... your past successes will help inform that decision. More on that later in the article.
Many people are scared to be too specific about their skills because they think it reduces the chance of winning new clients. Quite the opposite, it makes you less able to stand out from the crowd.
Empathy
The number one mistake most people make when it comes to marketing is that they lack empathy. Here’s how the dictionary defines that word.
empathy | ˈɛmpəθi |noun [mass noun] - the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
If you want to attract a certain kind of client then you need to learn to think like them. A common mistake I see people make when they are checking their rankings on Google is to type in their name or the name of their production company to see how they rank. There’s two problems with this. Firstly, if you are searching in your regular browser it’s highly likely that you’ve already visited your own website numerous times and that information is stored in your browser, so it’s going to come high in the rankings, normally number one. That’s the technical problem with that test. The real problem with that test is this, if someone can type your name into Google then they don’t need Google, they know who you are, so in effect they are using Google as an address book.
What you need to be able to achieve is to be found by people who don’t even know you exist. That means you need to rank highly with keywords that will be used in the search, what I mean by highly is first page and if possible the top three results. Anywhere else on page one and they might not click, anywhere else but page one and you may as well not exist in the world of search.
This is where you need to think smart. Here’s some tips;
Niche Is King
Many people are scared to be too specific about their skills because they think it reduces the chance of winning new clients. Quite the opposite, it makes you less able to stand out from the crowd. Have a niche, be an expert in your field. If you were sick and needed surgery would you want the best surgeon in the hospital or anyone who had ever tried surgery? Of course you would want the best. If you generalise then you are putting yourself in a massive group of producers or engineers, but if you specialise then you are reducing the odds. For example, you go from being just a engineer/producer to being a rock producer (keyword) with credits for great guitar sounds (key phrase). Then you add the names of the bands you have worked with, another keyword for Google to find (more keywords.) As Google uses locations then that narrows it down further. Suddenly you’ve narrowed the odds from one-in-a-million to one in couple of hundred. If you live in small town then it could mean you are the only one they find!
Generalism is dead… niche is king!
If your last job was producing Kanye West’s Grammy-winning album and they want you to mix and master a track for $50 then you know they probably have the wrong person for the job!
Build A One Page Website
Too many people end up getting complicated websites created by developers, they look good but are about as useful when it comes to being found on Google as a chocolate fire guard.
First tip, fire your web developer and create your own website using Squarespace or Wordpress. One you can manage yourself and don’t have to shell out $50 every time you need to update it. They are easy to set up, if you have no clue then you might need some help setting it up, just don’t get a site that needs continued help from a web developer. Their time is better spent building sites for big companies like Amazon or BMW.
Then build a one page website, that means the home page has everything the people thinking of working with you AND Google can find what they are looking for. The page should include;
Tell Your Story
The story of why you do what you do - this helps people know more about your motivations and your own journey. It reveals your heart and some of the values. Don’t turn it into War and Peace, two or three well-written paragraphs, remembering to use keywords you want to be found for. One tip, even though you are writing to build up an SEO score, don’t write like a robot. Write from your heart and then go through afterwards making sure the keywords are there. Don’t be a moron, if you write sentences to try and rank for, let’s say, R&B, then don’t write something like. “I’m a top R&B producer creating some of the best R&B tracks for grammy-winning R&B artists who are top of the R&B scene.” That’s a dead giveaway. Instead make sure that keyword is across the entire page several times. Google isn’t stupid, they are looking for content that’s a good experience, not just something peppered with key phrases. So write naturally and if you don’t feel confident writing then find a friend who is good with the written word to help you.
Credits
Some examples of the clients you have worked with. Also include the specifics of what you did. If you were in a studio making tea and Lady Gaga happened to be in the same building then putting her down as a credit is dumb, you’ll get found out. It doesn’t take long to Google someone and see who actually worked on the track. So be honest.
Audio Examples
Make sure there’s some audio examples of your work. The amount of sites I see for audio engineers and producers with no audio examples is shocking - you sell sound so include it. Make sure you have permission to upload content directly, if not then use links from streaming services or YouTube.
Testimonials
Have some testimonials - there’s no greater turnoff and nothing more boring than when you brag about yourself, but there’s nothing more authentic when someone else does it for you. Again include info about the project you worked on that got that endorsement.
Sign Up Form
Have a pop-up to sign up to your mailing list - you can get a free account with MailChimp which helps you create a mailing list that covers all the rules and regulations to keep you off the SPAM lists and makes it easy for you to keep in touch with people interested about your services. MailChimp also makes it easy to add a pop-up on your website, even nice subtle ones at the bottom of the page.
Contact Form
Have a contact form - never include your email or contact details on your website. Bots crawl the net and harvest that data and before you know It you’ll have a Nigerian prince emailing you and offering you $5 million or a endless emails from hot blondes who want to meet with you. On the form include any questions that will help qualify the enquiry fast, such as the budget they have. If your last job was producing Kanye West’s Grammy-winning album and they want you to mix and master a track for $50 then you know they probably have the wrong person for the job!
Summary
Getting hired can be hard, but if you start to think like those you want as your clients, find a niche, and use a website to answer their questions that is SEO savvy, then you’ll have a better chance of being discovered.
Good luck!