Ya’ know that old expression about how you just can’t look away from car crashes? I feel as though Top 10 lists are the same way, don’t you? There are so many wrecks out on the road that there are lots (and lots) of YouTube videos (and channels) devoted to footage of car crashes. And there are – especially at this time of year – endless blogs and articles listing the top ten of something. Yet we keep coming back for them.
Every January I get a new year started by publishing a top ten most read blogs from this website and 2023 is no different. But here’s a pro tip for you. I also do it for my own internal reasons. If you write a blog, this exercise is a good way to see what is resonating with your readers. And then, obviously, see if you can let that help influence the direction you go in from there.
Of course, just like I sometimes post on Instagram about catching up on past episodes of and/or binge listening to my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast, the top ten list of most read blogs from 2022 is also a chance to refresh your memory of something you might’ve read but forgotten (or never got around to) OR catch up on one or more posts you might’ve missed over the last twelve months.
Here’s the list, and with it, please receive my thanks for reading the blog every Monday and my wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.
10. “It’s the First Day of Your Year-Long Success Story” – How fitting that the first blog published last year is on the list for the initial post of 2023. The post that I published last year on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day pointed to three performers and the success stories they’d just had in the calendar year prior, serving as rallying points to inspire you to work toward something you could celebrate the following New Year’s Day.
9. “Turning People OFF From Doing Business with You” – Hm, I’m seeing a pattern here. This one had gotten put on the website on a holiday too. However, although it went online on Valentine’s Day, it wasn’t sweet and filled with cute expressions found on candy hearts. Just like there are things you can do (or not do) that will turn off your partner and could lead to a broken heart, there were promotional attempts that I witnessed firsthand (cited in this blog) that would do anything but want to lead me closer to the person who initiated them.
8. “Report on Your Live Performances Accurately, Every Time” – Technology can be a bad thing, as most of us know. When you publicize a performance that you did, avoid stretching the truth because there are ways of it coming back to haunt you, as per the many examples that were given in this post from last April (the day after Easter… wow, very bizarre pattern here, but I digress).
7. “7 Reasons Why Not Answering Someone is Bad” – Now it’s getting weird. Coming in at number seven on the list is a post that gave seven reasons to stop avoiding getting back to people? Yeesh. This post starts off mentioning the irony of doing something you complain about other people doing. The list will convince you that saying something is better than saying nothing at all. (Don’t forget – as this blog points out – about the Golden Rule, after all.)
6. “What’s Next? Keep Creating Content on a Regular Basis” – I was writing this blog fresh off of just having spoken at Podfest Multimedia Expo in Orlando. When you’re surrounded by content creators – podcasters, YouTubers, songwriters/recording artists – there’s a natural tendency to assume that he or she has something in the works. The thing is, though, that – not to meet other people’s expectations, but – it IS important that you’re always ready to answer the logical inquiries you’re going to get from folks who want to know what you’re working on, even if you’re tempted to just point to your latest accomplishment. This post gives you a deep look into those very scenarios.
5. “Rogan’s Spotify Mess has Lesson for Indie Musicians” – Although this was from eleven months ago, doesn’t it feel like even longer than that when there was controversy around Joe Rogan going Spotify exclusive and the backlash that came from the likes of Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and others? In this blog I pointed out that despite those being some really big names, there is trickle down even to the aspiring performer. Go back and read the action items I recommended that, despite the original post being from last February, are still applicable for you to do today.
4. “New Teddi Gold Track Checks Lots of Boxes” – Something new that I started doing last year was the occasional blog post where I review a single that an artist submits. While this was the only one that got enough views to crack the top ten from 2022, my GUESS is that (here’s another teaching moment) the artist probably promoted what I’d written, wanting more of his fans to see the attention that his song was getting. What attracted me to his song that I wrote something favorable about it? Go read what I’d said back then and maybe draw from it to send me something of yours for consideration.
3. “4 Benefits from Trying Something New” – Sadly, my dentist retired late last year. What does that have to do with this third-most read blog that I wrote in 2022? See the quote from him that I’d included in something that I wrote after I went to an event in Orlando, although this time not as a speaker. Check out what the change in perspective gained for me so that you can be more open-minded to trying similar opportunities in 2023.
2. “Use All Your Resources and Contacts to Find Gigs” – I shouldn’t be surprised to see this one land not only on this list, but, practically at the top. After all, what indie artist out there – heck, what artist, period – doesn’t want to find more opportunities to be onstage somewhere performing? In this post, I pulled back the curtain on the many (many) speaking gigs that I did in 2022. How does that translate to those of you looking to get more bookings to perform live music? Read this blog to learn the strategies that I employed to get so many opportunities in so many different cities.
1. “You’re Stuck on What to Create Next – And That’s Okay” – Wow. I’m going to have to go back through Top 10 lists from the last several Januarys to see if this was the most read blog ever in one year! Did one (or more) of you with a big following share this out? Maybe it’s simply the reality that in this society we live in that demands and expects new content “on the regular,” writer’s block becomes a real thing, plus we just don’t like the pressure. To pull an excerpt from what you’ll read in this post, “you do have to sometimes take a step back and see if you’re forcing it. If your name is going to be on it, don’t you want quality over quantity?”
Soak all this in, take notes, apply the lessons, and come back next week for the top GUEST blogs of 2022.
And always remember that you can get in touch with me for some one-on-one help. I’m not trying to get you as a client. Rather, it’s a way for you to get a private, one-on-one, online video consultation with someone who has “been there, done that” with clients across the country. Contact me so we can set up a date and time to talk and get you started into 2023 with an excited attitude for your career.