800 000 New Fans in One Year

Here’s a Q&A with Noush Skaugen, a rock artist from LA. She used social media, specifically twitter to get 800 000 follower’s in one year! 2 months ago when I first contacted her she had 500 000 follower’s … this woman is moving!!

This is proof to the point that independent musicians have SO much control & opportunity to really build an incredible career. It’s all about getting creative, taking a calculated “risk” and finding ways to break through.

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(start of interview)

1) Kyle – when did you join twitter?

Noush – About a year ago.

2) Kyle – How did you hear about it and why did you join?

Noush – Word of mouth, and I thought it was a good idea.

3) Kyle – Please describe your career, pre-twitter and social media … what was your approach at that point?

Noush – My career has always been grassroots and established through a one on one connection with my fans. So pre Twitter and social media it was very much centered around writing the best songs I could, and my live show. Bottom line it still is, as that is ultimately why I do this and I believe people want to see you and have that live connection. Social media is a way for independent artists, if used wisely, to have increased exposure, but you need the goods to back it up once they check you out.

4) Kyle – Compared to 0 followers, how has 500 000 followers changed your career?

Noush – I’m on my computer all the time:) That’s a joke but there is truth to that. In the past rockers would have never been on a computer, now it is an essential tool to building a career. I fought it a bit in the beginning as I am not tech savvy and wanted to play and write music all day. However I learned to use it and research how social media was affecting musicians, as I realized it was key in this modern music age.

5) Kyle – You came up with this song writing idea, how many requests do you get/week and how do you manage them all?

Noush – The deadline has now passed, but I was receiving many entries per week, and it has been a very interesting project to do. Everyone has a unique story. I am going through them this month and picking the three people’s stories that have a common theme, to write the song about.

6) Kyle – You were named the #1 independent artist on twitter, how did you reach this point?

Noush – Preparation meets opportunity meets luck. I think really it has been about using this fantastic platform Twitter, in an honest and real way, communicating with them on news, updates and some fun stuff I’m up to. Involving them on the process of writing a song, or my life from the inside. Coming at it not from a marketing angle, but a way to connect with my fans and hopefully grow with them through my career.

7) Kyle – What has 500 000 followers done for the bottom line of your career?

Noush – It has most certainly affected my career. Album sales have risen, ticket sales, increased exposure and fans are spreading the word virally.

8) Kyle – In terms of translation of fans to your live shows, what’s the trend you’ve seen since twitter has picked up?

Noush – A notable difference; many fans are now coming to my live shows from twitter.

9) Kyle – Artists often don’t understand twitter and what it can do. What would you suggest to artists in terms of using twitter effectively?

Noush – Keep it 90% chit chat and a way to connect with your fans, 10% marketing. People are fed up with blatant marketing pushed down their throat. Be real and honest with your tweets, give free downloads. If your music is good it will spread.

10) Kyle – Anything else you’d like to share with Canada??

Noush – Love your country and people, especially the mountains. I’m an avid snowboarder and fell in love with Whistler when I was there. Hope to be there touring soon!

11) Kyle – What are the benefits you’ve seen from your couch sessions?

Noush – I’ve learnt to play songs I never knew how to play:) I think it’s a great way to have fun with my fans, they get to see me do acoustic stripped down songs in my own way, which sometimes works better than others. On the whole it gives them an immediate benefit from following me and it’s a way for me to play for them even if Im not passing through their town at that time. A win-win situation.

(end of interview)

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Success and results don’t happen randomly. Noush Skaugen is a great example of this … an artist with an open mind, who is now reaping the rewards of an idea … turned decision to engage in social media.

If you want some help in figuring out social media, I encourage you to check out Ariel Publicity and sign up for the free ebooks & bi-weekly ezine, packed full of information. Ariel Publicity serves as many as 50 artists at a time through Cyber PR (online PR campaigns) and in the last 13 years has supported over 1400 artists. Also, study other artists that are doing what you want to do! After that, engage – take a chance and get your career moving!

Kyle what are you doing now?

Kyle what are you doing now?

That’s a fair question. One I get more then once a week … the reality is I’m doing a number of things … in fact projects and interests that stretch into completely different industries. Lately I’ve been answering with “talking to people”, which is pretty much what I do now … it’s much fun, keeps me on my toes and engaged.

In terms of something I can share, that’s concrete … this is what “I’m doing now”: I’m collaborating with a woman (Ariel Hyatt) out of New York, who has worked with 1400 artists in the last 12 years in PR (I’m not drunk … that number is actually accurate).

All the impressive stats and glitz of New York aside, I’m excited to help Canadian artists navigate the complexities of the online world … and not only navigate them but take advantage of the opportunities found within Web 2.0 & social networking sites.

I truly believe that if you want to create something … including a career in the music industry it’s completely possible. Something like what Ariel has created for artists, has leverage and generates results. Naturally, I wouldn’t be working with her if I didn’t believe it wasn’t any good.

I’ve sat down with a few artists in the last few weeks regarding Cyber PR (our online campaign for artists) and it’s been really interesting to see how little I have to say. The program seems to be just as strong in the eyes of the artist, as it is in mine. It’s fun to share something that has that much obvious value. Powerful stuff!

Here’s an artist that used Cyber PR and loved it:

“Ariel has incomparable reach. Less than one month into my campaign, I’ve already been played around the world, in Australia, England, the US, the Netherlands, and more. I’ve already come across in-depth reviews of my debut album from widely-distributed bloggers to which I would otherwise have no contact. No effort is wasted, and I can follow the campaign, in detail, in real time. It’s incredible, and it’s working.”

– Trey Green

Thanks for reading &. feel free to say hi & leave a reply 🙂

Cheers,

Kyle

P.S. I really want to blog some more … this can get so captivating for me!! At some point I’d like to share two concepts that I feel are so huge 1) reaching out, i.e. asking for help when in need (people love to help other people) 2) The “what can I do for you approach” … this is powerful and 180 degrees different from the other approach of “what can you do for me”.