Merry Christmas. Yes, I’m writing a blog on December 25th. I’m so grateful to everyone who reads these posts all year long, so it seems fitting that I uphold my end of the verbal contract to have yet another installment for you, even if it is arguably the biggest holiday of the year.
Please know that it means so, so much to me that you make the time each week to read what I post here. There are not only countless other blogs out there, but so many demands on your time. I recognize that and I don’t take your readership for granted.
In the spirit of paying it forward, this week I have a list – that you might end up checking twice – of ways that you can support indie music artists, podcasters, authors, YouTubers, and yes, even bloggers, today, this week, and all year round, to be honest. These are listed in no particular order, and you’ll notice that you can do more than one of them.
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| Take Inventory and Give Thanks |
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| It Costs Nothing to Support Another Business or Creator |
As someone who could very well be on the receiving end of one or more of these gestures, I can attest to the fact that anything you do from the list would mean ever so much to whoever you do it for. Remember, though, these are not done with the expectation of a gift in return. Do one or more and feel good that you supported someone. Lots of people out there would argue anyway that it may very well come back to you. (wink)
1) Download an indie music artist’s newest song. In other words, pay the 99 cents. Don’t just stream it.
2) Tell a creator how much you like their music, their podcast, their blog, whatever. Whether you’re a first time or a longtime consumer of what that person is putting out, don’t keep it a secret. Tell them that you enjoy it (and why you like it).
3) On a related note, tell others! Nowadays there are SO many methods you can use to tell others about something you really dig. Whether it’s a text message, an email, a social media direct message, or even the Share feature within an app, your one extra tap or mouse click helps the creator reach one more person. And it becomes the old, “They tell two friends, and they tell two friends,” and, well, you see where this is going.
4) Give a monetary tip. So many indie music performers make it easy to find their Venmo or their PayPal or CashApp. Sure, they likely have a good old fashioned tip jar at their live performances. At the end of my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast every episode I always invite the audience to Buy Me A Coffee as a way of saying Thanks for putting out a new episode every week (every month) (every year for well over nine-and-a-half years now).
5) Similarly, buy a ticket to their show. In other words, don’t ask for free tickets because that’s that much less money going into the pocket of someone who is creating and performing music for a living.
6) Don’t unsubscribe from someone’s email list. Think really long before you so nonchalantly do so. Unless they are absolutely bombarding you – like, at least once a day – then stay on the list only because of what message it sends to them when they look at their email marketing platform and see that you didn’t want to get their emails anymore. This is a psychological gift that you’re giving. It’s for the good of the sender’s mental health. I know we all get a ton of emails, but if you’re really that opposed to what they’re sending you, just don’t open it. That said, you might notice when you DO open it occasionally that there’s something in there that will catch your interest!
7) Engage on social media. Do you listen to a podcast but haven’t hit the Follow button on whatever platform you listen through? Oh, you have? Okay, but what about the show’s Instagram account, for example? Are you following that? Do you actually Like and Comment when there are posts on social media by creators you enjoy following? When an indie music artist puts out a new video on YouTube, watch it, like it, comment on it, and then – and this is the big one – share it somehow, somewhere. (See #3 above.) But if you’re a social media user and you’re not even so much as following a creator you really like, this should be a no-brainer action step.
8) Buy and wear merchandise. Again, you’re putting some cash in the creator’s pocket but you’re also happily promoting them. It shouldn’t be any different from buying merch for an A-lister. Support “the little guy” too.
9) Write a review. This is particularly helpful to authors and to podcasters. If you read a book and liked it, go tell other Amazon buyers. And if you listen to a show regularly on Apple Podcasts, leave a rating and review.
10) Do not take the “someone else will do it” attitude. That’s how creators are left sitting and wondering why they don’t hear from their audience and why they don’t feel the needle is moving.
The other thing you can do is have yourself a Merry Christmas. And receive my gratitude for being with me throughout 2023, whether as a blog reader, “Now Hear This Entertainment” listener, email newsletter subscriber, some combination thereof, or other.
Want to talk? Let’s jump on a ten-minute call. Tell me about your Christmas. Tell me about your New Year’s plans. Tell me how 2023 went for you. Tell me what you’re excited about for 2024. Ask me for help. I’ve been working with indie music artists, authors, entrepreneurs, actors and filmmakers, small business owners, and podcasters from around the U.S. for almost 20 years now. Draw upon all my experience to benefit whatever it is that you’re doing.