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8:25 am
June 10, 2011
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QuoteOk. John (in the kindest way) got on my case for not having any real upsells (more expensive/profitable products). I have added some additional products (cross-sells) and two things that might be considered "upsells". I'm looking for other creative ideas. Here's what I'm doing so far:
1. CD ($15 reg, $10 LTO)
2. Minus one mixes of my CD ($5)
3. Downloadable lead sheets ($10 for all songs for instruments in C, Eb, and Bb)
4. "Merch" ($8 - $23)
5. Session work ($50/hour, or $75/"typical" song)
6. House concerts ($TBD; maybe $300 for a duo?)
I've been regularly making sales of item #1, and have made some sales of items #2, #3, #4, and #5. I'm still working on getting #6 off the ground.
Any comments on pricing or the way I've organized my "store" at: http://www.charleylanger.com? More importantly, what are you all doing to bring in additional sales?
4:14 pm
October 27, 2011
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Hi Charley,
You might want to think about wording the fee for the house concerts differently. Maybe say something like 'minimum of 20 guests at $15 each' or $300. I think that just saying $300 will put some people off who would be able to get 20 of their friends to come at $15.
I've heard of some people funding their albums by having fans sponsor songs and then having the track named after or by the fan. I think it's a great idea for instrumental tracks especially. I haven't done it, but might in the future.
If you're a teacher, you might want to think about selling lesson videos on your site, or giving skype lessons or workshops or lessons in person.
I think your store looks fine except I would have the t-shirt design showing too. I love your logo. Is your site a reverbnation site? If so, you probably have some design limitations.
Do you all know any great on demand printer for tshirts, etc?
DRESSED HIS WIFE UP LIKE A HORSE FOR HIS NEW ALBUM COVER
http://www.deanfields.net
5:33 pm
October 27, 2011
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Hi Dean,
I've been using Zazzle, but I don't really recommend it. Some of their products are great quality but some aren't . I've also had lots of problems with products disappearing from my store for weeks at a time while they are updating their site. Also - they don't have great quality when it comes to printing on dark t-shirts. There are ways to design around that, but can be really limiting. They also don't allow you to collect email from buyers.
I'm looking into totomerch. http://www.totomerch.com/ Supposedly they use a higher quality print method and they are set up for musicians. There are some down sides. They are located in the UK which might put off some buyers in the US. But they do ship here and you can have your store in $s. They also do allow you to collect an email address from purchasers. I'm going to order something from them soon and I'll tell you what I think.
2:36 am
October 27, 2011
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Dean Fields said:
Do you all know any great on demand printer for tshirts, etc?
I personally haven't had much succes with on demand. I used ReverbNation and the design never looked the same on the actual merch. Print was too small and other things. If you can't actually see it in your hands you just never know. Also it is priced so high you hardly make anything off the sale and if your gonna charge 20 bucks for a shirt plus shipping to only make $3.47 you're missing out on a lot of profit.
I get T shirts made locally for under $7.00 each, 1 side 1 color and sell them from my Bandcamp site for $12.95 plus shipping. I have to physically ship the merch but I make like $6.00 a sale and I get the opportunity to give them a little something extra in the package and people love that! It also makes me feel a connection to the customer and I think that relates to them as well....sometimes
It's a little more work but I think it's a more satisfying experience for both sides 
Good Luck
12:41 pm
June 11, 2011
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Yes...I've had the best success with local printers. But you'd think by now someone would create a great print on demand company. Thanks Dave and Annie!
DRESSED HIS WIFE UP LIKE A HORSE FOR HIS NEW ALBUM COVER
http://www.deanfields.net
3:21 pm
June 10, 2011
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I've never used them, but CafePress.com has "on demand" promo items, including t shirts
What would a jam session with Gordon Lightfoot, Collective Soul, and Damien Rice sound like?
Check out Greg Parke and you’ll have a pretty good idea!
5:11 pm
October 27, 2011
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Charley Langer said:
6. House concerts ($TBD; maybe $300 for a duo?)
I've been regularly making sales of item #1, and have made some sales of items #2, #3, #4, and #5. I'm still working on getting #6 off the ground.
Hi Charley
I don't know if you have heard of this service, Concerts In Your Home, it is a paid gig finder $100 bucks I think, I looked into myself but Fran's clientel / network is not really my genre but I do think this would be great for you!! Here is the link:
http://concertsinyourhome.com/
Hope this helps 😀
5:45 pm
June 10, 2011
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I submitted a video to Fran at concertsinyourhome.com a while back, and got a real nasty, rude email in return, claiming that I was "obviously using backing tracks" and "nobody wants to hear that at a house concert". I explained to him when I sent him the video that I was using a MIDI guitar with a little bit of symphony strings and bass in the background. I guess he doesn't understand that stuff? I did find it a bit ironic that his site promotes keyboard musicians that are probably using the exact same sound modules that I am using, only I trigger them with a guitar. The house concert scene is rapidly growing so I may try his site again sometime, and maybe he won't be so f*****g arrogant next time! I have done a few house concerts in the past, both with and without my MIDI gear, and got good response both ways.
Also, the last time I checked, I think the annual fee went up to $200, with a money back policy if you don't make at least $200 back in a year. Also check out http://www.houseconcerts.com
What would a jam session with Gordon Lightfoot, Collective Soul, and Damien Rice sound like?
Check out Greg Parke and you’ll have a pretty good idea!
12:20 am
June 7, 2011
Offline
Hey Charley,
I think the pricing seems fine. I would just start and see what happens, adjust accordingly. With the house concerts I might make it donation based (sort of a private auction) but suggest some kind of a subtle ball park figure. Have people email you to make an offer kind of thing. Brian Vander Ark tells his list that it needs to be in the range of a major appliance. Then he works with people and prioritizes based on what comes in. A lot of money can be made on free house concerts because of CD sales so if you happen to be in a town and all you have is a free offer, you don't necessarily want to rule those out. But at the same time you don't want to advertise such a low price either. You could always start there anyway and see what people are willing to pay and then experiment with a direct price tag. Hard to say what might convert better.
As far as as print on demand. Cafe Press does a good job, but it's tricky to integrate them smoothly with your sales funnel.
I think I mentioned in another thread that I have my sites set on a new project which is to create a turn key solution for musicians who want to apply the direct response sales model to their careers. If that happens, print on demand services will be part of what we offer. I'll keep everyone posted. That is still a ways off.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
8:24 pm
June 10, 2011
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Annie said:
Hi Charley,
You might want to think about wording the fee for the house concerts differently. Maybe say something like 'minimum of 20 guests at $15 each' or $300. I think that just saying $300 will put some people off who would be able to get 20 of their friends to come at $15.
Hey, I like that idea. Thanks!
Annie said:
I've heard of some people funding their albums by having fans sponsor songs and then having the track named after or by the fan. I think it's a great idea for instrumental tracks especially. I haven't done it, but might in the future.
If you're a teacher, you might want to think about selling lesson videos on your site, or giving skype lessons or workshops or lessons in person.
I love the skype lesson idea. I never thought of that! Awesome! Thanks!
Annie said:
I think your store looks fine except I would have the t-shirt design showing too. I love your logo. Is your site a reverbnation site? If so, you probably have some design limitations.
Thanks for the compliment on the logo. One of my fans did that for me. Yes, the merch part of my site is reverbnation; the rest is bandzoogle. They both were good enough to get me started. I may revamp those because, yes, they do have limitations! 
8:28 pm
June 10, 2011
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Dave Barnett said:
I don't know if you have heard of this service, Concerts In Your Home, it is a paid gig finder $100 bucks I think, I looked into myself but Fran's clientel / network is not really my genre but I do think this would be great for you!! Here is the link:
http://concertsinyourhome.com/
Hope this helps 😀
Thanks, Dave. I'm going to look into that and sites like that.
8:31 pm
June 10, 2011
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Greg Parke said:
I submitted a video to Fran at concertsinyourhome.com a while back, and got a real nasty, rude email in return, claiming that I was "obviously using backing tracks" and "nobody wants to hear that at a house concert".
Also check out http://www.houseconcerts.com
The funny thing is, I know a smooth jazz saxophonist who makes a living doing this and brings in about $750/house concert. He uses backing tracks. LOL!
I'll check out the link. Thanks!
8:36 pm
June 10, 2011
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John Oszajca said:
Hey Charley,
I think the pricing seems fine. I would just start and see what happens, adjust accordingly. With the house concerts I might make it donation based (sort of a private auction) but suggest some kind of a subtle ball park figure. Have people email you to make an offer kind of thing. Brian Vander Ark tells his list that it needs to be in the range of a major appliance. Then he works with people and prioritizes based on what comes in. A lot of money can be made on free house concerts because of CD sales so if you happen to be in a town and all you have is a free offer, you don't necessarily want to rule those out. But at the same time you don't want to advertise such a low price either. You could always start there anyway and see what people are willing to pay and then experiment with a direct price tag. Hard to say what might convert better.
As far as as print on demand. Cafe Press does a good job, but it's tricky to integrate them smoothly with your sales funnel.
I think I mentioned in another thread that I have my sites set on a new project which is to create a turn key solution for musicians who want to apply the direct response sales model to their careers. If that happens, print on demand services will be part of what we offer. I'll keep everyone posted. That is still a ways off.
Thanks for the advice, John. With the house concerts, I'm going to start with the $15/person (min 20) idea and see how that goes. I'm also going to check out the artists that are recommended on Fran's site and see how they price.
Please do the print on demand thing! 🙂 I started with Cafe Press, but I ended up liking the ReverbNation option a bit better. It's still not ideal. It's something.
9:32 pm
June 7, 2011
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Definitely give it a go and see what happens. My concern with $15 per person is that one of the motivations that some people have (and a good selling point), is that people can charge people themselves and actually make money on the event. By charging $15 per person that cuts down on the incentive. I also would personally feel that $15 was a bit high for a house concert unless I was a die hard fan (which most of the friends of the host will not be). I guess that's why I like a flat guarantee better.
On the otherhand, $15 sounds like a low price and at least initially will scare less people off.
I'm sure you'll do well either way.
You could always send an email out to half of your list with the $15 offer, and the other half could get the donation/flat fee offer. Then follow up with the list that under-performs with a revised pricing plan.
Let us know how it goes.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
11:16 pm
June 11, 2011
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I always offer both options, the suggested donation OR the flat fee. And almost every time they go for the flat fee. One thing about house concerts that I have found to be absolutely necessary is a deposit check for 1/2 of the agreed amount to confirm. It keeps people from bailing on you at the last minute.
DRESSED HIS WIFE UP LIKE A HORSE FOR HIS NEW ALBUM COVER
http://www.deanfields.net
4:54 am
August 27, 2011
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Hey Charley,
I second the Skype lessons, could be a great extra stream of income.
I find it curious that you're not selling any digital merch at this point in time? Besides the obvious MP3 downloads, you can also create higher quality format downloads for the true audiophiles on your list, create powerpoint 'videos' that go with your music and bundle them all together to get beyond the 99 cent per song limitation. Since it's digital, whatever you make on the sale is pretty much gravy with zero worries about shipping or anything like that. You could also bundle it with the CD so your fans can listen to your music while the CD is on it's way in the mail.
Does anybody buy ringtones anymore?
6:37 am
June 10, 2011
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Mike Ippersiel said:
Hey Charley,
I find it curious that you're not selling any digital merch at this point in time? Besides the obvious MP3 downloads, you can also create higher quality format downloads for the true audiophiles on your list, create powerpoint 'videos' that go with your music and bundle them all together to get beyond the 99 cent per song limitation.
Yes, you would think that other digital merch (beyond the minus one mixes of my CD that I have for sale under the "Education" submenu of my store) would have been obvious to me. But they weren't. So...Thanks! That's exactly why I posted this!
The high quality downloads and powerpoint videos are excellent ideas. Thanks again! Don't know why I didn't think of those. I'm going to offer those.
I probably won't make regular mp3 downloads available on my site again simply because I used to have them, but download buyers always went straight to iTunes. I also happen to prefer that regular mp3 buyers go through iTunes because the "Listeners Also Bought" visiblity I can get there is helpful. Plus I was doing a lot of iTunes promotion through playlists before I discovered MMM 2.0.
5:26 pm
June 7, 2011
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Don't know if this helps or not but one thing I plan to do on my next album is offer it exclusively through my own channel. No itunes, nothing. I want to get maximum sales in the first few weeks and hopefully try and get some "best seller" credit and maximum profit. Then a month or two later I will offer it on itunes and use it as an excuse for another promo, as well as to get in front of the itunes search traffic.
As far as digital downloads you can offer... the "bucket offer" is another great way to go. People just bought one album for $15, then right on the thank you page you can offer 2 or 3 albums worth of stuff for around the same price. Even if they are b-sides and alternative mixes. It becomes psychologically difficult to pass on the offer because the fact that they spent the money with you already means that they internally made a "purchase decision". You are now offering more of the same at a dramatically better price. For a buyer to say no requires them to go contrary to the decision they just made a few seconds earlier. You should end up getting quite a lot of takers and a dramatic spike in your subscriber value. And of course, because it's digital, it costs you nothing.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
10:42 pm
October 27, 2011
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Charley Langer said:
Ok. John (in the kindest way) got on my case for not having any real upsells (more expensive/profitable products). I have added some additional products (cross-sells) and two things that might be considered "upsells". I'm looking for other creative ideas. Here's what I'm doing so far:
1. CD ($15 reg, $10 LTO)
2. Minus one mixes of my CD ($5)
Jeez, I hate to ask but what is a "minus one mix" LOL
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