Becoming a performer, not a singer

A mark of an intelligent person is being able to see similarities in different universes. Anyone can point out how one person is different from another. It’s the hallmark of racism. We see a person with a different skin tone and draw conclusions. But race is a terrible predictor of behavior. I won’t get off on racism, but instead use it to illustrate the point that it is a prime example of finding differences in different universes.

(Picture: the great classical singer Carol Vaness and yours truly.)

When I lecture on college campuses I enjoy watching students come to grips with this concept. Those in the more intellectual or artistic pursuits have the most difficult time comprehending that they could possible be one who takes the easy way out and points out differences. But, they do. It’s almost reflexive in their chosen professions. Show why something is deficient.

Anyone, however, can do that. As Teddy Roosevelt once said, “It's not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or when the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worth cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.”

Being a critic is easy. Being a creator is tough.

Back to finding similarities in different universes. Here’s an example: quickly list how a cat and a refrigerator are similar. Very different universes. If we asked how they are different... no problem. But how they’re similar is tough until you change your view point. Then it’s fun. Go ahead. Make your list.

When I do this exercise with students, artists have the toughest time. They are almost overcome by a stupor of thought because they aren’t asked to think like this. Normally they watch a singer and point out flaws. As I said, that’s the easy part. I once wrote a comedy and entered it in a university play competition. The audience loved it. I sat in the back and enjoyed the actor’s performance but particularly got a kick out of the audience. Once gentleman sitting near me laughed so much and so hard he was on the floor on his hands and knees. The next day I quietly attended a “critique” of all the plays. When it came to my play, the moderating professor said, “I didn’t see it but heard there were some problems.” It had won, but the professor couldn’t overcome her training and just had to focus on the differences in the universe thinking it does some good. She just made herself look foolish while trying to appear important.

Okay, back to cats and refrigerators. How many similarities were on your list? Most people mention they come in an assortment of colors, both hold fish and milk, both are cold and won’t come to you when you call. Once people change their mind sets, they start getting creative (hmmm, is there a lesson here?) They start noticing that both have four legs, a tail, they both purr, have hairballs, sit in a corner, and so forth.

We recently attended a performance of some singers. They were terrific. Blended voices, active music selection, great range... and in fact were quite at home on the range. They were the Bar J Wranglers, a cowboy singing group. Every singer could learn some lessons from these guys. These guys were performers first, singers second. Robert Swedberg of the now defunct Orlando Opera once told me he was tired of hiring singers and only wanted to hire performers. Apparently his audiences tired of singers too.

People go to theatrical events to be entertained, not educated. If we learn something as well, that’s the clotted cream atop the butterfat rich ice cream.

Performance is all about blending art and reality. Great music elevates the soul but for a singer to stand and sing aria after aria after aria is mind numbing. Performance is all about engaging the audience. Getting the audience involved enthralls. That means speaking to them, tell them stories about the music, joking with them and making them laugh, touching their souls and making them weep. You’ve got to have a schtick. An entertainment routine.

Developing a performance is tough work. It takes talent to conceive of routines that add to the music rather than distract. More than that, it takes experience. You must perform to enough people that you know what moves them, makes them laugh, cry or chuckle. You must organize the music so it crescendos to a climax that drives the audience to leap to their feet and demand more.

Watch the Bar J Wranglers and you’ll see a finely tuned performance. They touch all the buttons. In college courses we tell students plagerism is stealing from another person. But research is taking from many! Bits here. Ideas there. But only from the best and only that fit you and your stage goals.

One tip from Gladys Knight contradicts advise I’ve heard voice teachers give too much. One rather stuffy teacher once preached to classical singers to never look their audiences in the eye because that diminished the music. Let the music speak for itself and don’t get common. Nice advice if you want to bore people. Instead, consider that tip from Gladys Knight. She states that every time she enters the stage, as she walks to the center or her starting mark she scans the audience for the most positive, receptive person and then zeros in on that person as she sings her first song. She draws energy from that audience member that flows through her and back to the rest of the audience. Gladys is a great performer. She knows. Take her tip.

That’s enough for now.

One last tip from Carol Vaness, the famed Met opera singer. "Enjoy your craft. Love your craft." It’s the best marketing advice ever.

Marketing tip of the day: If you believe it, they’ll believe it.

So who is in business?

I could just as easily ask, "who is in marketing" as "who is in business." Is there really a meaningful difference? Maybe in theory, but, not in the real world. So the question is the same. Who is in business?

(This picture is of me and a new Soviet business man in 1990 in the USSR. I was there teaching people how to start their own businesses. He just bought one of my books that had been translated into Russian.)

As a writer there is nothing more I'd like than to spend my days penning some marvelous script, writing some music and finding just the right lyrics that fit the notes, rhythm and mood at that point in the score. Then take up a chance to finish my latest book.

But, reality intrudes yet again. I have to pay the mortgage and buy some food. No one comes along and rips the transcript from my hands and hands me a check. Instead I have to find a buyer. Yes, that is a pain.

About 5 days after Elizabeth and I returned from our honeymoon, we were sitting around the apartment on a Sunday afternoon, reading, listening to music and generally enjoying the solitude with each other. A thought came into my head. "I think the rent for this place is due in two weeks." So I asked Liz, "Ahh, how much money do we have in the bank account?" She looked up at me and said, "I haven't a clue."

"Hmm, " I said, "Neither do I. Maybe we ought to check."

We got out the check book and balanced it... it was a mess but still had the amounts of checks recorded. Once the adding machine did its thing we saw the balance and laughed. We weren't overdrawn, but it was close. We had nothing in savings and not much cash sitting around the house.

"What are we going to do?" her look said to me.

"I guess one of us ought to get a job."

"Let's both get one," she said.

We did. We made ends meet. Liz, my artist wife, got a job at a construction company as... are you ready... a bookkeeper!! I flipped hamburgers and made shakes while I finished off my English degree.

As life happened I found no one was beating an Agatha path to my door to read my better Mousetrap. I had to send my story out to get a buyer. And I did.

Since that time I've learned the art of advertising and marketing and it has served me and my family well. I've written 15 books and always self published so I could market them myself. The mark-ups beat the heck out of royalties. I've also learned to start businesses. I've seen wonderful successes and mind-numbing failures as I've started companies in construction, advertising, publishing, tour operations, fund raising, adult education, vehicle transmissions and others. I've staged musicals, created a venue for more than 100 sold out concerts for my friends in the classical music world. I've even been a lobbyist for a free market grass roots lobby where I wrote and helped pass the only unanimously approved resolution in US history supporting freedom fighters. It's been a wild ride but filled with great adventures.

I've discovered several facts of life including: Everyone is in marketing. Only God does not rely upon customers to validate his existence. The rest of us are constantly selling something so we can trade what we have of value for what someone else has in value.

Reality bites, but, you're in marketing and business too. So let's do it right and have some fun with it. Once we decide that is what we must do, marketing and business become natural. More on that another day.

Marketing fact for the day: If you gather the names and emails of everyone you come in contact with on a professional basis, when you go to sell something, that list of people will buy 5 times more than any other list except one. Once they've bought from you, when you have something else to sell, the list of previous buyers are 10 times more likely to buy again.

Business phrase for the day: If you can't fix it, feature it.

I keep watching people put together plans for making sales. Most have little experience so they copy something that seems good. Images bombard us daily so it is natural to assume those images are worth copying. The overwhelming number of marketing and advertising plans, however, are not for you. They may work, but then, how do you know? Certainly the people who created the plans rarely know if the plan actually worked, sort of worked, probably worked or didn't work at all.

Pompous of me to say so? No. Because most marketing plans are not created with a way to immediately measure the impact of the marketing plan. The billions spent on marketing each year are spent by the big boys and girls like Adidas, Nike, General Foods, and so forth. Madison Avenue makes their money off these international corporations. They're not fools so there is method to their madness. Their plans are created with millions of dollars to spend on multiple forms of media spread over quarters for testing and sometimes years for roll outs. They are determined to create brand awareness.

This type of marketing strategy employs DRA: Delayed Response Advertising.

I seriously doubt if anyone reading this blog has millions of dollars to spend and years to wait for their sales.

Therefore, don't copy this marketing strategy and don't use their advertising techniques so blithely.

Your job economically, is to find sales that bring you money in fairly soon. For that you must employ marketing strategies the do two things:
1. Produce trackable results. You must be able to measure the results. You must know what exactly produced the sale. If you can't measure it, you can't replicate or improve your strategy. 2. Produce sales in quantities you can keep your doors open.

Therefore, you need IRA: Immediate Response Advertising techniques.

I keep posting information on IRA techniques on this blogs. If you have a marketing plan and you'd like me to comment on it, just send it to me.

Enjoy life and Relish All Victories.

Dealing with rejection and criticism

Being told you are lousy is no fun. Frankly, it can turn a person into a hermit. I have two things to say about this.
Thought #1 -- Don't do to others what they are doing to you. It's so easy once you're criticized to figure that is the way things should be. And so to your subordinates, students or anyone, you do what you've seen done to others and yourself. Criticize, and then rationalize it as just being helpful.

Not true. I know. If received and I've dealt a plenty. Does that mean if someone you're responsible for (student, child, subordinate worker) needs to change that you say nothing? Sometimes. But at other times the person needs some help. Here's the key: your arm. Yep, that funny thing hanging off your shoulder. Take that arm and put it around the person and let them know you care. The prime rule: no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.

I've judged a number of artistic endeavors. At one opera festival in Austria one of the judges actively sought out each singer and told them what they were doing wrong. She was quite proud of herself. I saw a couple of the singers the next day and they were livid over the criticism. Should they have been? Hey, they're human. And that is how unsolicited criticism is almost always received.

Here's a letter I wrote to my children many years AFTER I should have known it. One daughter, after reading it said, "Okay, who are you and what have you done with my father!?" I'm glad she had a smile on her face but I knew if I'd known these things as a new father I would have done a better job. Of course I can't argue with the results as all of our children are wonderful. Here's the letter:

Dear Kids,
About criticism. I’ve done too much of it and have some thoughts on it in reflection.

What I learned most from negative criticism is self-loathing and personal despair. Once over that I stumble forward none the wiser but more cautious.

Those who wish to teach using negative criticism only fool themselves into thinking it is teaching in route to learning.

Learning comes mostly from emulation. It's how we learned to walk, talk, sing, and live.
“I've heard it said we learn more from our failures than our successes, but I'm not so sure.

Failures are filled with angst, depression, cynicism, skepticism, contempt and loss of confidence.
Yes… Failure is a part of life, but well worth leaving behind as quickly as possible. Visiting the caverns of failure should only done after positive experiences have led us to understand we are of value.

Perhaps in tranquility we can then stop for a moment at the cavern of failure, peek inside and pull out something of use for later.

Should anyone seek to shove us down into that dank cavern of despair through words of criticism, to make sure we learn from our failures, we enter unarmed and at the mercy of the bowels of negativity.

Instead, journey forth to the springs of eternal life and sip from the clear pools surrounding it. Take others with you. Encourage them as if they were already there.

Kind words. Thoughtful encouragement. A mansion can be built upon a tiny foundation if positive thoughts are the concrete and steel.

As those thoughts mature into actions, the foundation magically increases and soon becomes rock solid and a far larger platform than the loftiest mansion may need.

As the shingles of positive thoughts are applied to the roof, no longer are the hailstorms of negative criticism allowed to damage the mansion's gossamer draperies and plush carpets.

I've considered criticism and conclude that I welcome all criticism so long as it is filled with love and adulation.

Love,


Your Dad (my favorite title)

Carole Blum asked me to review this advertisement that she posted in Classical Singer magazine to try and figure out how to get more responses. A worthy goal! Here is my response. It applies to all advertisements regardless of the product or publication: (I noticed that when the ad is posted the color goes all weird, but, double click on the ad and you'll see the proper colors.)
"Dear Carol,
I remember you well and hope you are doing great.
Your advertisement doesn't do you justice. I like the photo, however. It attracts attention and is approachable and vulnerable (critical elements in most head shots).

But, the rest of the advertisement is all about YOU and nothing much about THEM (the customers). The key to advertising is to make the ad about them and not you.
What's in it for them?
How will they benefit?
What problem in their life is being solved?
How will contacting you make them better, richer, more famous, happier, jollier, less stressed, etc.? Whatever the benefit.

See my previous blog for more ideas.

Don't try to be like everyone else -- your ad is predictable and provides no reason for me to stop turning the pages and focus on your message."

How to Write a Good Ad... anyone can!

(to read the ad to the left, just click on it.)

To write a good advertisement first know why you're writing it.

Here are some of the choices:

1. To gain notoriety

2. To become familiar to the audience

3. To make money

4. To give recognition to someone (like my great university faculty)

5. To at least pay for the cost of the advertisement and gain notoriety, some branding and positioning.

6. To position our company, university, product in the minds of our consumers in a certain fashion

7. To brand our product

I'm sure there are more reasons but these are the ones typically given. Some overlap.

If your reasons are 1,2,4,6, or 7 you are about to spend an enormous amount of money. That's what it takes to brand a product. To do that you or the art director will copy Madison Avenue and the Fortune 500 advertising departments figuring if they do it then it must be good. Often you'll copy them just because you see their work everywhere and it has oozed into your subconscious mind and been riveted to your creative thougts. They are the archetype.

But, that doesn't mean this type of advertising is for you. Frankly, it's not. Forget Madison Avenue. It's not that their advertising is wrong or improper. It's just wrong for you. And horribly expensive. To truly brand a product -- make your name a household word like Kleenex or Jell-o, it takes a minimum of three years and $30 million. I'm counting creative time and costs, placement time and costs and repetition.

Unless you have Fortune 500 and Madison Avenue time and resources don't try to copy them. And don't let your art director cower you into feeling lesser for suggesting advertising is NOT about pretty pictures and award winning layout.

For you, the typical small business person or university director, budgets matter. Costs matter. You need results and you need them now.

Here are the quick requirements for your advertisements:

1. It must catch the eye. Call that Attention.

2. It must immediately tell the reader or listener what's in it for him. How will she benefit immediately? Call that Interest. Nothing interests us more than something that benefits us.

3. It must generate emotion. Selling is not an intellectual exercise. People buy because they are emotionally stimulated to do so. They reconfirm the buying decision through intellect, but, first, you must generate emotion. That can and should be through a combination of your visual and graphics and your written word. Call that Desire.

4. Now that you've got their attention, shown them how they will benefit and gotten their juices flowing. Now they're ready for you. You must have in clear, bold space how they should react... do you want them to e-mail you, call you, or write to you? For the most part the best things to do are the most immediate. Call. E-mail or click on this website.

Call this Action.

Look at the advertisement at the top from New England Conservatory of Music. It's by far one of the better advertisements I've seen in Classical Singer. It follows most of the correct or effective principles. Mainly, it is one of the few ads that is about the client, not about the advertiser. Ask yourself if your ad is about YOU or THEM. You aren't important. Your customer is. How you benefit them is all that matters.

Will this ad work? Probably, but I don't know. Does it have a chance to work far better than the others who copied Madison Avenue? Absolutely.

The names of the game, however, are tracking and adaption.

Create the ad based upon the best principles as I've given you above, publish the ad, then track the results. The adapt. See what you can change to make it better.

Hopefully you more than make your cost of advertising. Within a few days you'll have your results to know about how many sales or responses you get. Every advertising medium has a pattern. In direct mail that goes first class, within 10 days of mailing you will have received 50% of your total sales. It's often called the "doubling day." The rest will come within days and weeks to come. The "tail" can be long but the predictability is consistent. With 3rd class mail doubling day is usually 15 days and in some cases 20. It's an erratic mail delivery method so you'll learn from trial and error when the doubling day is.

But you must track the results to know how effective you were. It is not enough to say "I don't know how many sales but it gave us good visibility." That doesn't pay the bills. You must rework the ad so it makes sales or gets responses.

In my next blog I'll take any responses you have for the quality of the New England Conservatory advertisement and then discuss exactly why it was a great effort on their part. I'll also have suggestions on how they could make it even better... and by better I mean... yep... more trackable response.