Bob Baker's Artist Empowerment Blog

Beatle Bob and Me - Caught on Film

I'm famous. Sharing the screen with Jello Biafra, Mojo Nixon, and the legendary Beatle Bob!

A friend recently sent me a link to www.myspace.com/bb_rocks. That's the MySpace home of director Jenni Sterling and Arammana Productions, which is producing an indie documentary called "Superfan: The Lies, Life and Legend of Beatle Bob."

I clicked the play button on the embedded video player, and lo and behold, there I was -- talking about Beatle Bob. I'm the first voice you hear on the trailer.

(Not sure who Beatle Bob is? Click here to find out.)

I met Jenni and a camera guy at a local music store about a year ago and was interviewed for the documentary. Hadn't heard much about it since, until I was sent the link. Very cool.

Later in the clip, you hear former Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra, right before they return to a shot of me. Another classic scene is a rant by Mojo Nixon near the end.

Again, you can watch it at www.myspace.com/bb_rocks. Note: You may have to download the latest version of Flash to have the audio and video work together.

See you on the red carpet :-)

-Bob

New Full-Time Author Squidoo Lens

Have you heard of Squidoo? It's a cool new site described as an "online platform that makes it easy for anyone to build lenses on any topic they are passionate about."

These "lenses" are basically single web pages, hosted on the Squidoo site, that offer a unique, human perspective on things that interest the Lensmaster -- the person who created the lens.

Becoming a Lensmaster can help you spread your ideas, get recognized for your expertise, and send more traffic to your web site or blog.

I'm no dummy, so I just set up two of my own lens:


Check them out. And consider creating your own Squidoo lens on your special area of creative expertise. Make it a useful resource, while also directing surfers to your other sites and places where they can sample your talents.

-Bob

P.S. Squidoo is one of the 33 social networking sites I list in a bonus section of my new MySpace Music Marketing ebook.

Viral Marketing, Doggie Style

From Joe Vitale (www.MrFire.com):

Munrab Entertainment wants to hold the world's
first "Canine Concert," an event where the music
is played at a sound level only dogs can hear.

In order to find the right band for the canines,
Munrab is asking people to vote on what they
think their dogs want to hear. It's all explained at--

www.CanineConcert.com

This is how you start a viral marketing buzz.

You focus on fun and you hide the selling.
Then people will spread the news like a virus.


As always, think about how you can apply this concept to your own promotion activities.

-Bob

The Science of Exposure and Sales

Recently I took my daughter to the St. Louis Science Center and unexpectedly came away with some valuable lessons that could help you promote and profit from your talents. Let me explain ...

You've no doubt been to these science center type of places. If not, similar principles apply to museums and other tourist attractions.

Much of the St. Louis Science Center is open to the public. If you don't mind walking a bit, you can park for free, bring the family, stroll around, and enjoy three floors of hands-on activities.

However, there are more things to do at the Science Center.
  • For $3, your child can spend an hour in the Discovery Room.

  • For $7, you can attend one of the Omnimax theater movies.

  • For $12, you can gain access to the main exhibit (currently featuring artifacts from the Titanic).

  • For $65, you can go on a "Glided Segway Tour" of Forest Park.

  • For $75, you can get a one-year family membership to the Science Center and get free parking in the lot right next to the center and free (or discounted) access to the activities listed above.

  • For $1,000 or more, you can join the Albert Einstein Society as a Science Center financial supporter.
So where's the marketing lesson here? All you have to do is examine what's really going on at the Science Center.
  • First, free access to many parts of the venue gets people in the door and interacting with what the Science Center offers.

  • Second, once it exposes guests to the environment (after creating an enjoyable free experience), the Center makes offers to "upgrade" people to its paid services.

  • Third, the Science Center offers a variety of entry points where patrons can spend money -- from as little as $3 to many thousands of dollars.
How can you apply these ideas to your creative product or service?

-Bob